Downshifting a motorcycle?

Question

Am learning how to ride a motorcycle and am wondering when am slowing down can I wait to change the gears when am at a complete stop or do i have to decrese the gears one by one. I live where there is alot of traffic and it is pain in the behind if i always downshift while slowing down every minute or less. I thought it'll be easier for example if am in 4th gear, I'll stop the bike in the 4th gear...and then shift it back to the first. Will this wear out the clutch quickly?

Answer 1

You can down shift multiple times while holding in the clutch, so yes. You can come to a stop or a creeping slow speed before downshifting. Just don't lug the motor by starting off in a tall gear. Good luck.

Answer 2

U can downshift whenever ur speed decreases.It's all the experience in ur driving at what speed/engine rpm u should shift up a gear or shift down a gear.

In a motorcycle u will be shifting gears one by one either up shift or downshift.There is no way u can shift straight from 4th to 1st in a go like as we do in a car.U will have to go 4 3 2 1. Nothing abnormal will happen to ur clutch.Only thing u should avoid is shifting gears without pressing clutch.that is not recomended.
Staying in a higher gear in a very slow traffic is also not good.when u will accelerate from a high gear from a very slow speed, the engine will not accelerate quickly, a lot of load is put up on engine,because at slow speed the engines does not make enough power to carry forward the weight of the rider and pillion.That is why one should stay in a low gear in very slow traffic.By riding in a low gear the engine power is multiplied many times and the power reaching at the rear wheel is high enough to propel forward rider and pillian.

Answer 3

I have a Kawasaki straight-twin 750. When I downshift, I have to step down through the gears one at a time, slipping a little clutch in between. My gearbox needs power in between shifts in order for the shifter to index for the next gear.

It caused me a lot of problems starting out, because nobody told me this, and I had come from ATVs with fluid couplings (no clutch) where you could step through all the gears at once. I remember stalling the bike at the bottom of a very steep hill with the bike in 4th gear, and not being able to shift down out of gear.

So...try it...if it seems to get hung up in gear, try slipping some clutch between gear shifts. If you kill it, you can do the same thing by rocking the bike forwards until you feel resistance, and then downshifting.

Besides, the downshifting/clutching will give you a little extra braking action.

Answer 4

By holding off changing down you are missing engine braking and you run the risk of being in the wrong gear if traffic pulls away before you have downshifted, it is more responsible/safer to be in control of the bike at all times and that means being in the correct gear.

Answer 5

I don't see how downshifting several gears would be needed if you are speed matching. Like you'd never really need to jump from 5th to 2nd unless it was some extreme situation. There's no amount of blipping you could do to compensate. You would drift. If you were already screaming in 5th, downshifting to 4th would only level you out but not reduce speed so in that case, going straight to 3rd would be more effective for reducing speed. Now lets look at cost effects. How much gas would you waste, screaming through gears so much so that you'd need to skip gears downshifting compared to how often you'd need brake pads from riding sensible? It's better to just ride at a level where you would only have to downshift one at a time to engine brake in a normal situation. Preserve your gas, engine and brakes relatively. This is basic stuff you learn by experience. Get some miles in and you'll see.

Answer 6

There is a good reason to change gear progressively, as you come to a halt: That way, you will always be in the correct gear, if you need to take off in a hurry (to avoid a collision, for example). If you wait until you come to a near halt, and try to change down several times at once, you cannot take off quickly, and if you try to take off in the wrong gear, you could stall; which could be dangerous in traffic.. It's all part of predictive riding, and best to be changing down progressively as you approach the lights. It's not going to harm your bike if you come to a halt in the wrong gear, but it's inconvenient.

Answer 7

You should downshift a gear at at a time, while slowing.
For your own safety, if nothing else.
There will be a time when it pays to be in the proper gear.
You won't have time to find it when this happens.

Answer 8

I won't hurt the transmission and it won't hurt the clutch at all. If anything it is harder on your bike to downshift one gear at a time while slowing down. Just downshift all of your gears once you have pulled in the clutch and are drifting up to the stop light/sign. Just don't shift into first until the bike is barely moving. That way when you stop you are already in first and ready to go.

Answer 9

Yes you can. If I were you I would do it before I came to a stop. Sometimes with my bike it wont down shift if im at a stop with out me giving it some clutch. So as you come to a slow just drop down to 2nd and after you stop go to 1st. It is bad for your bike to drop in to first when in motion.

Answer 10

Get yourself a Boss Hoss and you won't have to worry about downshifting, or up shifting as far as that goes.