Misti here saying hello!

[Dennis in NH]

Hi Misti, Welcome, love to read some good advice from a experienced rider!
I've only been riding for a year, and am taking the different courses available here to learn how to ride fast&safe, but I have 1 big issue.

The people I ride with usually have much more powerfull bikes than my fz6,
(zx6r, zx10r, even a zzr1400 (big but fast)) and I notice that when I'm going through the mountains with em, I obviously have to shift more due to the lack of power throughout the rpm range. But when I approach a corner, slow down and shift down, my rear tire locks up and slides abit, causing me to poop my pants (not literaly lol) and stiffen op, sometimes completely messing up the corner, and twice now almost had a near crash (heart pounding so bad it'll sound like a vtwin) Too bad the fz6 doesn't have a slipper clutch, but any tips are welcome!

I have to jump in here although I look forward to Misti's response.

I think you really need to throttle blip (i.e., rev match) on downshift as this will smooth the transition to a lower gear. Without this, you upset the suspension way too much -- e.g., to the point of locking the rear tire (yikes!). I'm guessing your downshift is in a straight line and that's why all that happened was a tire lock. If you downshift while leaned over, a tire lock like that can be disasterous.

Dennis

 

[Drinky]

I have to jump in here although I look forward to Misti's response.

I think you really need to throttle blip (i.e., rev match) on downshift as this will smooth the transition to a lower gear. Without this, you upset the suspension way too much -- e.g., to the point of locking the rear tire (yikes!). I'm guessing your downshift is in a straight line and that's why all that happened was a tire lock. If you downshift while leaned over, a tire lock like that can be disasterous.

Dennis

yea well shifting while leaning is something I've never done, and never plan on doing either
but I am still in the process of slowing down, so throttle+down shift only makes the bike end up in a higher rev while still slowing down, causing me to accelerate again??? (I'm a bit of a coward in hard turns especially in the mountains where you often can't look through the corner..)

 

[Dennis in NH]

... but I am still in the process of slowing down, so throttle+down shift only makes the bike end up in a higher rev while still slowing down, causing me to accelerate again??? (I'm a bit of a coward in hard turns especially in the mountains where you often can't look through the corner..)

Yes. The point of the downshift (as I understand it) is to get your bike ready to exit the turn strong (i.e., being back in the power band after having braked hard and slowed down and reduced RPMs).

Next time you downshift, before letting out on the clutch, rev the engine (what many call "blipping the throttle") so that when you let out on the clutch, the RPMs match the rear wheel speed. The end result is you will now be in the lower gear and you will not have gained or lost speed and the suspension will have been disturbed minimally (i.e., the rear or front remain neutral).

If you did not blip on the down shift, the front will dive down because the RPMs are too low and rear wheel speed is still high (i.e., you will have induced engine braking). If you over blipped the throttle, the front will raise and rear will squat and the bike will buck forward because the higher RPMs are forcing the rear wheel to abruptly speed up. Either case will feel sloppy and the bike will feel unhappy.

If you blip just right, you will be rewarded by a smooth gear transition and the RPMs will be higher but the bike will have maintained its smooth pitch (forward to back). But being in the right gear with good amount of RPMs, you will be in the power band ready to exit the turn.

Spend some time downshifting and throttle blipping in a straight line for a while first then try it before a turn.

If you drive standard transmission in your car, do this too. Nothing like downshifting from 4th to 3rd and RPMs ending up at 4K and the shift was smooth .

For most cars (and perhaps bikes) throttle blipping (aka rev matching) is not always necessary but downshifts will be smoother, the bike or car suspension will remain stable (better for traction) and there is much less wear on the transmission. Plus, it feels good.

I hope this helps but I'm sure Misty has much more to offer.

Dennis

 

[necrotimus]

When I first got my bike I had the same issues since the MSF course doesnt really cover downshifting and the bikes don't have enough power to cause any real issues.

Just remember when you are say upshifting from 3rd at 8k rpms into 4th the rpms fall 3k to 4 k. So when downshiftting at a similar point from 4th to 3rd you should get the rpms up to where they need to be by twisting the throttle.

Until you get it down the best thing to do is to ease out the clutch lever so you don't abrubtly transfer the power and lock the wheel.

 

[Misti]

Yes. The point of the downshift (as I understand it) is to get your bike ready to exit the turn strong (i.e., being back in the power band after having braked hard and slowed down and reduced RPMs).

Next time you downshift, before letting out on the clutch, rev the engine (what many call "blipping the throttle") so that when you let out on the clutch, the RPMs match the rear wheel speed. The end result is you will now be in the lower gear and you will not have gained or lost speed and the suspension will have been disturbed minimally (i.e., the rear or front remain neutral).

If you did not blip on the down shift, the front will dive down because the RPMs are too low and rear wheel speed is still high (i.e., you will have induced engine braking). If you over blipped the throttle, the front will raise and rear will squat and the bike will buck forward because the higher RPMs are forcing the rear wheel to abruptly speed up. Either case will feel sloppy and the bike will feel unhappy.

If you blip just right, you will be rewarded by a smooth gear transition and the RPMs will be higher but the bike will have maintained its smooth pitch (forward to back). But being in the right gear with good amount of RPMs, you will be in the power band ready to exit the turn.

Spend some time downshifting and throttle blipping in a straight line for a while first then try it before a turn.

If you drive standard transmission in your car, do this too. Nothing like downshifting from 4th to 3rd and RPMs ending up at 4K and the shift was smooth .

For most cars (and perhaps bikes) throttle blipping (aka rev matching) is not always necessary but downshifts will be smoother, the bike or car suspension will remain stable (better for traction) and there is much less wear on the transmission. Plus, it feels good.

I hope this helps but I'm sure Misty has much more to offer.

Dennis

Excellent explanation Dennis. The only thing I could add here, and it is based on what Drinky said about being "in the process of slowing down" when this happens, is to make sure that you are braking BEFORE you downshift. Many riders start slowing down by rolling off the gas, then dowshifting and then braking. You want to roll off the gas, get almost all of your braking done and then downshift (with a blip of the throttle as Dennis described)

It is a difficult series of control actions and one way to work on getting the hang of it is to practice it while the bike is static. Sit on your bike (side or center stand) and pull in the brake, then practice blipping the throttle while the brake is still on. You want to make sure that your throttle hand rolls over the throttle so that the pressure on the brake lever doesn't fluctuate.

Once you get good at that, start practicing the series in sequence: Brake on, clutch in, downshift, blip the throttle and clutch out. Do it slowly at first and then build up so that you are able to get it done quickly and almost simultaneously. Start by downshifting just one gear at a time.

I hope that helps

Misti