Downshifting

[SovietRobot]

Well to be honest how many times has a car come up behind you and didn't stop? I'm just curious. Most riders say never so theres my point.

Uhh twice for me. Once I was quick enough on the throttle, the other I was out of the way and came within inches.

Had I been in neutral, I would've been screwed.

If you treat every car like it's going to kill you, you will live longer.

 

[Lightndattic]

I've been conflicted on this subject ever since I started riding my FZ (a whole 6 weeks now). I have past experience with a manual transmission car (2003 WRX which is known for a cranky, somewhat fragile transmission), so I know the benefits and technique of the downshift, heel-toe, rev matching, etc and got very good at it. I actually RTFM about this and like Damnpoor mentioned it said to brake down to under 20mph, then work through the gears. I used about a 50/50 combination of straight braking and downshifting through each gear up until 3 weeks ago when I too did the dreaded double downshift to too low a gear and the back end went wild. After that, I've been more cautious and 90% of the time, I use the brakes, then downshift to 2 when I'm under 20, then to 1 when stopped.

 

[dako81]

I just leave mine in 6th all the time and slip the clutch.

 

[SovietRobot]

I just leave mine in 6th all the time and slip the clutch.

I was in 6th going 5mph and tried doing that. It took a long time to get up to speed. Not recommended!