When to Downshift into 1st

[raja777m]

I'm having a bit of trouble determining when to be in first or second gear. First always has that extreme engine breaking in comparison to the other gears, which has me hesitant to switch down since it feels 'clunky' in that aspect, so I try to hold second. That being said, especially in parking lots, I sometimes sputter along in second around 2K RPM and it feels sloppy. Different gearing throws me off still, since I'm used to my CBR 250 where second gear was pretty much mandatory if you were starting to roll at all, and where it could pull so easy at borderline zero RPM due to the single cylinder torque.

Use clutch more effectively, pull in clutch up to 10-15%, and you can stay in 2nd gear.
Practice this by doing the smallest radius circles you can with your bike. I can make a U-turn in 2 car spaces (series parking car length), inclined up north in my direction.

 

[rideslikean00b]

Me shifting down into first is dependent on the conditions, mood (i.e. cruising about or have somewhere to go) and traffic density. If there's lots of traffic or it's raining medium to heavy then it pays to treat first gear with respect to avoid tank slappers brought on by inadvertently engine braking heavily. But on a sunny day with dry roads it can be a lot of fun to drop down at higher speeds, open her up and feel the front end lift a bit.

I pride myself on being able to engine brake very well, which in rainy England as it is right now is very important for controlled stops. I used to be in the habit of block shifting down from whatever gear I was in down to first and letting the clutch back out as much or as little as possible but as the FZ6 has a stiffer than average clutch when you have two or three pairs of gloves on it gets harder to do this with finesse so it's better to shift, let the clutch out for engine braking and repeat for a smoother stop so you don't end up dumping the clutch when you don't want to. Slow control can be as satisfying to perfect as high speed accurate cornering and in my opinion more crucial - coming to a controlled stop at the stop line for the lights with the last bit of engine braking in first gear so it's just a subtle tap on the rear brake to go from 5mph to stop always brings a smile on my face, as in I've judged everything as well as possible and not relied on the front/rear brake in any combination to bleed off the speed.

 

[broody]

I drop in first when I'm mad at traffic and get a chance to leave them into dust