Braking while downshifting/Blipping the throttle: Difference between revisions

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Blipping the throttle means to roll on quickly and for just an instant to get the engine speed to match the lower gear you're shifting into. This means matching revs between the rear tire and engine while downshifting.

Let's go back a bit. You are accelerating. You are in 5th gear and the engine is spinning really quickly, so you shift up to 6th gear. Notice how the ~~RPM's~~ drop and you are no longer revving the engine so high.

Let's go back a bit. You are accelerating. You are in 5th gear and the engine is spinning really quickly, so you shift up to 6th gear. Notice how the rpms drop and you are no longer revving the engine so high.

Now, think backwards - think deceleration. Same engine, same rpms, just the other way around. You're in 6th gear and you want to go to 5th. You could just jam it into 5th gear, but you'll notice the tach shoot way up and the bike lurch a little bit. This is the same reason the rpms dropped when you went from 5th to 6th. The engine has to spin ''faster'' in a lower gear to make the rear tire spin at the same speed.

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Last spring while riding at Deal's Gap there were several times that I locked up the rear tire going into very sharp turns when downshifting a little too aggressively. This causes the rear tire to skip to the outside of the turn just as you release the clutch. Nothing unmanageable, but something an expert rider probably wouldn't do.

Since then, I've been working on blipping the throttle slightly while downshifting hard through each gear. This allows the ~~RPMs~~ to quickly raise to match the wheel speed for each gear as you downshift and eliminates rear wheel skid. It's still effectively using engine drag to slow you and also maintains the proper gear to exit the corner.

Since then, I've been working on blipping the throttle slightly while downshifting hard through each gear. This allows the rpms to quickly raise to match the wheel speed for each gear as you downshift and eliminates rear wheel skid. It's still effectively using engine drag to slow you and also maintains the proper gear to exit the corner.

The way you do this is: While downshifting through the gears, hit the throttle hard and then let off (very quickly) just at the instant you release the clutch. You'll want to give it enough throttle to raise the rpms by about 1,500-2000. If you do this in quick succession while going through the gears (downshifting) it will become a rhythmic second-nature habit that occurs simultaneously to braking. Once this is perfected, it's possible to brake hard into a turn (before the turn) and downshift, while at the same time avoiding any rear wheel slide. This works best in the lower gears, where it's possible to quickly downshift through three or four gears much quicker than the bike slows down.

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 Blipping the throttle means to roll on quickly and for just an instant to get the engine speed to match the lower gear you're shifting into.  This means matching revs between the rear tire and engine while downshifting.
-Let's go back a bit. You are accelerating. You are in 5th gear and the engine is spinning really quickly, so you shift up to 6th gear. Notice how the RPM's drop and you are no longer revving the engine so high.
+Let's go back a bit. You are accelerating. You are in 5th gear and the engine is spinning really quickly, so you shift up to 6th gear. Notice how the rpms drop and you are no longer revving the engine so high.
 Now, think backwards - think deceleration. Same engine, same rpms, just the other way around. You're in 6th gear and you want to go to 5th. You could just jam it into 5th gear, but you'll notice the tach shoot way up and the bike lurch a little bit. This is the same reason the rpms dropped when you went from 5th to 6th. The engine has to spin ''faster'' in a lower gear to make the rear tire spin at the same speed.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 Last spring while riding at Deal's Gap there were several times that I locked up the rear tire going into very sharp turns when downshifting a little too aggressively. This causes the rear tire to skip to the outside of the turn just as you release the clutch. Nothing unmanageable, but something an expert rider probably wouldn't do.
-Since then, I've been working on blipping the throttle slightly while downshifting hard through each gear. This allows the RPMs to quickly raise to match the wheel speed for each gear as you downshift and eliminates rear wheel skid. It's still effectively using engine drag to slow you and also maintains the proper gear to exit the corner.
+Since then, I've been working on blipping the throttle slightly while downshifting hard through each gear. This allows the rpms to quickly raise to match the wheel speed for each gear as you downshift and eliminates rear wheel skid. It's still effectively using engine drag to slow you and also maintains the proper gear to exit the corner.
 The way you do this is: While downshifting through the gears, hit the throttle hard and then let off (very quickly) just at the instant you release the clutch. You'll want to give it enough throttle to raise the rpms by about 1,500-2000. If you do this in quick succession while going through the gears (downshifting) it will become a rhythmic second-nature habit that occurs simultaneously to braking. Once this is perfected, it's possible to brake hard into a turn (before the turn) and downshift, while at the same time avoiding any rear wheel slide. This works best in the lower gears, where it's possible to quickly downshift through three or four gears much quicker than the bike slows down.