I fully agree. Unless you're stopping fast or don't want to gradually slow down. ie corner; Quick down shift and some brake, roll on the throttle through the turn. 6R does like those twisties.
I always use brakes because of the way people drive. If I simply let off the throttle I'll get rear ended. My philosophy is I'd rather them see my brake light, and slow down with me, then to get nailed and potentially hurt. Drivers in NJ are pretty bad because they ALL tailgate, doesn't matter how many rear end accidents they see, they continue to do it. I wish the cops would enforce the rules on that a bit more, but I guess they can't very well hand out a ticket to everyone! Lol
The additional caveat for me is that I also use the brake (even if it's a light tap just so the light turns on) with rolling off the throttle, and downshifting.
The additional caveat for me is that I also use the brake (even if it's a light tap just so the light turns on) with rolling off the throttle, and downshifting.
I am a real slow learner myself, I was nearly all rear brake for the first 4K on the FZ6R, then locked it up a couple of times; so, then I started using the front brake more, and now am pretty much all front.
(Corrrect me if I am wrong here, just started implementing this)
But, there are instances where the rear brake is favored over the front, like to scrub a bit of speed on down hill turns, or turns in general, you can use the front to set your entry speed, but once into the lean perhaps a touch of rear can scrub a bit of speed without having to chop the throttle. I have had just a few times where I checked the speed a bit too much mid corner with the front brake where I was fixin to go wide, and I could feel the front wobble a tiny bit like I was upsetting it. Losing the front can result in an instant down, whereas a small slip in the back is no big deal and can even keep you on line (of course be careful not too lock up the rear mid corner).
As far as engine braking, I do this a lot, also did it a lot in my old Prelude, kinda get worried about clutch wear, but the Prelude clutch never went bad in 160,000 miles that I owned it. Most peeps favor brake pad wear to clutch wear, but I kinda go the other way, I have warped rotors on several cars from high speed braking.
(Corrrect me if I am wrong here, just started implementing this)
But, there are instances where the rear brake is favored over the front, like to scrub a bit of speed on down hill turns, or turns in general, you can use the front to set your entry speed, but once into the lean perhaps a touch of rear can scrub a bit of speed without having to chop the throttle. I have had just a few times where I checked the speed a bit too much mid corner with the front brake where I was fixin to go wide, and I could feel the front wobble a tiny bit like I was upsetting it. Losing the front can result in an instant down, whereas a small slip in the back is no big deal and can even keep you on line (of course be careful not too lock up the rear mid corner).
As far as engine braking, I do this a lot, also did it a lot in my old Prelude, kinda get worried about clutch wear, but the Prelude clutch never went bad in 160,000 miles that I owned it. Most peeps favor brake pad wear to clutch wear, but I kinda go the other way, I have warped rotors on several cars from high speed braking.
Re: decelerating, braking & gear braking
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I agree, drivers in jersey are horrible. Still no driver is worse than the drivers in Puerto Rico. Lived there 3 years. Couldn't pay me to ride there. You'd get jacked for your bike and hit day one.
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F
FZ6R2013
is there something they make that can simulate the brake light coming on, even if your not hitting the brakes sometimes, maybe some sort of switch to activate it, when people are tailgating, to keep them off your a$$, but they dont necessarily know your not hitting brakes.
haaa, i just realized, this so called device to do this can also be called..............................................
the throttle. lol.
haaa, i just realized, this so called device to do this can also be called..............................................
the throttle. lol.
Haha no doubt. PA is blissful to ride in sometimes!!
That doesn't work on NJ roads, too congested!is there something they make that can simulate the brake light coming on, even if your not hitting the brakes sometimes, maybe some sort of switch to activate it, when people are tailgating, to keep them off your a$$, but they dont necessarily know your not hitting brakes.
haaa, i just realized, this so called device to do this can also be called..............................................
the throttle. lol.
I take my distance very seriously when on the bike. People just don't get it. If someone is tailgating me, I will go slower and increase my distance to the car in front of me.
decelerating, braking & gear braking
I hope you don't go slower than the limit if someone is tailgating you.
Yeah, I hear that. One thing to piss em off in the cage, another vulnerable on a bike.
Haha you know that's pretty impossible in Jersey bro!
Front brakes pretty much only. I never use down shifting especially at high speeds. Too high a risk of locking up the rear wheel and getting out of shape. When I down shift I rev match by blipping the throttle while down shifting and braking all at the same time. This keeps the revs up at the same speed as the rear tire when you drop down a gear. Only time I ever touch the rear brake is slow speed maneuvering in a parking lot or u-turns. When I'm pulling up to a stop light ill just use the front brake and pull in the clutch and down shift into first without letting the clutch out.
You can see me rev matching at about 3:29 in this video.
https://vimeo.com/58660701
You can see me rev matching at about 3:29 in this video.
https://vimeo.com/58660701
Well said Jon. I need to get the whole blipping thing down as well. I use mostly downshifting and front brakes as well. I downshift smooth enough, just wanna play around with quicker/smoother transitions. Like you said, rear is only really good for low speed maneuvering or letting the cager behind you know your stopping.
Brock Kickass
New Member
decelerating, braking & gear braking
There is nothing more satisfying than nailing 2 or 3 perfectly rev matched downshifts in a row. It's a beautiful sound
There is nothing more satisfying than nailing 2 or 3 perfectly rev matched downshifts in a row. It's a beautiful sound
There's a lot of good posts on this thread. Kudo's on the way for coming up with it!
I've really nothing to add, other than how I do it... The question of braking at what speeds is too open-ended with too many variables. I'll speak to what I do to my nemesis, the short yellow.
When coming to a quick stop, it's very rare that I brake without downshifting. If I'm braking and downshifting to a stop, then I'm off the throttle.
I take pride in how quickly I can brake and downshift in most situations. Those two actions work together to bring a bike to a quick, controlled stop, without losing traction or control.
The key there is not throttle control. We're assuming a complete drop in throttle to a stop. The key is clutch control. With lots of experience, it's really not hard to ease that clutch out after you drop a gear. With some experience, you learn to do it very quickly. You can feel where it grabs, as you let the clutch out. VROOM shift, VRoom shift, Vroom shift, vroom shift.
I just looked at my clock, watching the second hand and visualizing about 60mph and a sudden stop, say at a short yellow light.
For me, it's about a second per gear downshifting, with brakes, and not breaking traction.
Not sure if it's any help, but that's what I do.
3leggeddog
New Member
I'm glad I read through this thread because I appear to do it a little differently...I roll off the throttle, clutch, then usually double-tap the shifter down 2 gears, then slowly release the clutch. I think this habit comes from driving a car with a manual tranny because I'd usually go from 5th to 3rd, then slowly let the clutch back out to slow down. Not sure it's the best practice, but it seems to work.
You don't rev match on the downshifts in the bike nor car? I don't think it's the best practice to allow the clutch to get the flywheel up to speed in the car, you're putting a lot of strain on the drivetrain.
3leggeddog
New Member
My bad, nismos. I do try and rev match on both, but especially the bike. I've read that not rev matching can cause the rear wheel to spin, and that's something I want to avoid.