The art of downshifting...

I am always trying to pick the brains of fellow riders to see if there is something new I can learn. Downshifting is one of those things that your either really good at or ok at. I am always trying to master the perfect downshift at every light... Sometimes I screw it up and kiss the wind screen.

What are your thoughts and tips?

Wow, you actually hit your windscreen on a downshift? You need to slow down a bit before you gear down.

John Boy said:

Wow, you actually hit your windscreen on a downshift? You need to slow down a bit before you gear down.

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Yes luckily not on this bike. It was my first street legal bike a 1985 Honda XL650. Novice mistake.

cdnuser said:

I am always trying to pick the brains of fellow riders to see if there is something new I can learn. Downshifting is one of those things that your either really good at or ok at. I am always trying to master the perfect downshift at every light... Sometimes I screw it up and kiss the wind screen.

What are your thoughts and tips?

Click to expand...

Slow down! Start a game with yourself. Try to never touch the ground until you get to your destination. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose, but its still a fun game.
Learn to crawl your bike inches or stopping without putting a foot down. Its a fun game and helps you improve your balance. If you come on to a light too fast, you have a better chance you will have to stop.
I do this on every ride I'm on. Then you will start watching other riders duck walking their bikes and try harder to improve your skills.
Trials riders ROCK in my books!
Don't get in a hurry! Read the owners manual on shifting.

motorcycle trials - YouTube

turbodieseli4i6 said:

Slow down! Start a game with yourself. Try to never touch the ground until you get to your destination. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose, but its still a fun game.
Learn to crawl your bike inches or stopping without putting a foot down. Its a fun game and helps you improve your balance. If you come on to a light too fast, you have a better chance you will have to stop.
I do this on every ride I'm on. Then you will start watching other riders duck walking their bikes and try harder to improve your skills.
Trials riders ROCK in my books!
Don't get in a hurry! Read the owners manual on shifting.

motorcycle trials - YouTube

Click to expand...

This is a skill you learn in time... it's very noticeable when someone is good at riding this way...almost as noticeable as the duckwalk with the less experienced riders

Hmm, maybe a bike with a slipper clutch? Just kidding..

As the NC doesn't have a slipper clutch, either letting out the clutch much more gradually than your are currently doing, or better still, rev matching is the key to smooth (and safe) downshifting. If rev matching is done correctly it's a good thing - the resulting engine braking augments the retardation from the bike's brakes, keeps the bike balanced and ensures you're in the correct gear as your speed decreases. If done incorrectly it risks unbalancing the bike or worse, even causing the rear wheel to break loose under certain road conditions.

If it's proving challenging then I'd advise seeking some rider coaching (the MSF's run excellent advanced classes). At the very least I'd seek out a deserted parking lot and go practice riding at speeds from say, 5 - 30 mph running up and down through 1st to maybe 3rd or 4th gear going up and down through the gears matching the revs. Once that becomes second nature, then start to add some braking into the mix with the downshifts (gently at first). And yes, slow riding is EXCELLENT practice! As a kid my mates and I used to have slow bicycle races to see who could go the least distance over the longest time. Ultimately I learnt to be able to balance a bike for minutes at a time without moving. I certainly can't do that on my NC, but I still often practice manoevering at walking pace.

What's a duck walk?

Philipp said:

What's a duck walk?

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That unmistakable: "Hi! I'm a newb!" look of constant left/right/left/right foot dabbing at slow speeds, and/or, but not limited to, keeping your feet skimming the ground as you go all the way through intersections...lol

Although, I have also seen obviously new riders who try too hard, and attempt to get both feet on the pegs before they even start letting out the clutch! This makes for a rather awkward lurching and teetery wobbling start, with too much focus being spent on the wrong, needless task. The resultant method invariably leads to the duck walk after all, heehee.

L.B.S. said:

That unmistakable: "Hi! I'm a newb!" look of constant left/right/left/right foot dabbing at slow speeds, and/or, but not limited to, keeping your feet skimming the ground as you go all the way through intersections...lol

Although, I have also seen obviously new riders who try too hard, and attempt to get both feet on the pegs before they even start letting out the clutch! This makes for a rather awkward lurching and teetery wobbling start, with too much focus being spent on the wrong, needless task. The resultant method invariably leads to the duck walk after all, heehee.

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Yes! The foot or both feet dragging through intersections.

Learn to crawl your bike inches or stopping without putting a foot down. Its a fun game and helps you improve your balance. If you come on to a light too fast, you have a better chance you will have to stop.

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Very good idea and funny to practice !

B.R.

turbodieseli4i6 said:

Slow down! Start a game with yourself. Try to never touch the ground until you get to your destination. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose, but its still a fun game.
Learn to crawl your bike inches or stopping without putting a foot down. Its a fun game and helps you improve your balance. If you come on to a light too fast, you have a better chance you will have to stop.
I do this on every ride I'm on. Then you will start watching other riders duck walking their bikes and try harder to improve your skills.
Trials riders ROCK in my books!
Don't get in a hurry! Read the owners manual on shifting.

motorcycle trials - YouTube

Click to expand...

I have been doing this for years especially on my commute as it also helps relieve the bordom. Agee 100% with you about trials riders. My father was one back in the days when rather than having dedicated trials bikes he would ride his bike to/from work during the week then strip off such things as the lights and use for competition at weekends. It was an Ariel Red Hunter

Plus ... using this advice .. your MPG's will probably go up, your tires will last longer, .... being smooth helps out lots of things ..

turbodieseli4i6 said:

Slow down! Start a game with yourself. Try to never touch the ground until you get to your destination. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose, but its still a fun game.
Learn to crawl your bike inches or stopping without putting a foot down. Its a fun game and helps you improve your balance. If you come on to a light too fast, you have a better chance you will have to stop. I do this on every ride I'm on. Then you will start watching other riders duck walking their bikes and try harder to improve your skills.
Trials riders ROCK in my books!
Don't get in a hurry! Read the owners manual on shifting.

motorcycle trials - YouTube

Click to expand...

Also, when at low, first gear speeds, a tip I learned is to use just rear brake for slow rate braking. Dunno the exact physics as to why, but using front brake at idle speeds seems to reduce stability.

As for mastering the downshift, is all about the rev matching. Shift by ear and not by tach so you know what engine sounds like at previous gear.

I blip the throttle in conjunction with a reasonably rapid clutch release to get a smooth downshift. Use engine braking to slow down enough for the next downshift. I do this down to 2nd then clutch in, shift to 1st and brake to a stop. Left foot goes down and I'm ready to roll again. I've found that I make straighter stops and starts if I'm somewhat assertive at theses times, rather than trying to crawl to a stop or creep off the line. As I've aged, my sense of balance has declined making slow riding more difficult.

cdnuser said:

I am always trying to pick the brains of fellow riders to see if there is something new I can learn. Downshifting is one of those things that your either really good at or ok at. I am always trying to master the perfect downshift at every light... Sometimes I screw it up and kiss the wind screen.

What are your thoughts and tips?

Click to expand...

That's a pretty good question. If you practice increasing your rpm just a little when downshifting, you'll eliminate the lurch you feel when engaging a lower gear by virtue of maintaining the approximate rpm of the speed you're actually travelling. Try blipping the throttle in sync with releasing the clutch in a lower gear.

ducky walk ?? take a looky ere.....
[video=youtube_share;T3rG73VOqyo]http://youtu.be/T3rG73VOqyo[/video]

turbodieseli4i6 said:

...
motorcycle trials - YouTube

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Wow! I was glued to the screen watching this. Thank you!

Chris

Those big singles with long suspension are a little rough on the downshift sometimes. But any bike requires practice, and anything that allows you to become more smooth up and down is a good skill. I remember reading a car magazine report with a test driver going out in a fast car (like a Corvette) with a successful professional racer at the wheel. He said the overwhelming feeling, as they took laps faster and faster, was one of smoothness.

Not sure what exactly your question is. Are you having issue down shifting to slow down or down shifting to a stop. Anyway, the NCX is so low revving that downshifting by simply slowly letting out the clutch is fine for the most part. But for a more "spirited" riding and with higher revving bikes, I would blip the throttle to match engine RPM when I downshift.

1. Clutch lever in, downshift a gear
2. Clutch still in, blip the throttle to rev the engine up
3. Let the engine RPM fall and when you feel the engine speed matches bike speed at the new gear, Clutch out
4. viola, perfect downshift.
5. When engine braking slows down the bike enough, repeat 1 - 5, until you are in 1st gear
6. Remain in 1st gear with the Clutch lever in

Naked_Duc said:

Not sure what exactly your question is. Are you having issue down shifting to slow down or down shifting to a stop. Anyway, the NCX is so low revving that downshifting by simply slowly letting out the clutch is fine for the most part. But for a more "spirited" riding and with higher revving bikes, I would blip the throttle to match engine RPM when I downshift.

1. Clutch lever in, downshift a gear
2. Clutch still in, blip the throttle to rev the engine up
3. Let the engine RPM fall and when you feel the engine speed matches bike speed at the new gear, Clutch out
4. viola, perfect downshift.
5. When engine braking slows down the bike enough, repeat 1 - 5, until you are in 1st gear
6. Remain in 1st gear with the Clutch lever in

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This is near as damit called "Double de clutching" in trucking circles. We use to have on old trucks with non sycromesh gear boxes (crash boxes) this is how you had to change gear,,changing down 1st clutch in put in neutral,then rev abit to match each cogs speed then clutch in again and move lever into next gear,,Going up the box you never needed to rev ,but still use the clutch twice...if you messed up, down changing,mostly you then had to coast to a halt,,as you could not engage any gears,,(fun times)....As for a bike ,,like Duc says Clutch in,then rev to match the cog speed and clutch out,if you are trying to make an impression change down early and give it the beans then clutch out, your mates will think you are the next Hailwood,,you really do not need to do it nowadays,,,But it adds a certain something to your riding style!!!!