Readers ask: When To Downshift On A Motorcycle?

Do you have to downshift when slowing down on a motorcycle?

As you prepare to stop, apply both brakes and as you slow down, pull in your clutch and downshift all the way to first gear. As you pass a certain point, you ‘ re required to brake hard in order to stop as quickly as possible, while downshifting to first gear.

How do you know when to downshift?

If the engine is making a high pitched noise and it feels like no matter how much gas you give, you’re getting nowhere, then you’re in too low a gear and need to upshift. If the engine is making a low, rumbling noise and is vibrating a lot, you’re in too high of a gear and you need to downshift.

Is Downshifting bad for a motorcycle?

Downshifting to low gears at high speeds isn’t good, as it can cause an engine over-speed as well as skidding the rear tire. Other than that, it’s actually a good way to slow the bike in a smooth, controlled manner.

What happens if you downshift too soon on a motorcycle?

When you downshift too quickly on a motorcycle, particularly if you do not first with the throttle a little to “rev match”, you run the risk of locking up or more accurately, dragging the rear wheel, forcing it to break traction in a similar fashion to a skid.

Is it bad to hold the clutch in on a motorcycle?

It will heat up the clutch and cause wear. Holding the clutch all the way in works just fine without the threat of burning out your clutch. These clutches are far more forgiving than the dry clutch in my car but they do experience wear if you constantly slip them. Ok.

Can you downshift multiple gears on a motorcycle?

Yes, you can definitely down more than one gear in one clutch press but that’d cause quite a shudder and put some heavy stress on the engine. When you downshift this way, the engine slows down to match the speed of the gear it is shifted into.

Is it OK to downshift from 4th to 2nd?

Yes it is recommended that in a modern manual transmission you can skip gears when going up or down. Alternatively when approaching a corner you may change from 4th or 5th down to 2nd without using the gears in between. Care needs to be exhibited to ensure you have the right speed for the gear.

At what speed do you downshift?

When slowing down from a highway speed, a little more work is needed. It will require you to watch the speedometer and tachometer to measure your downshifts. You might want to wait until you get to 35- 40MPH before downshifting from sixth to fourth to third – using the brake, clutch and accelerator pedals properly.

Is it better to downshift or brake?

When you downshift what is slowing you down is actually the compression stroke and is recommended over hard braking. Like another said, it is a bit of a mix of the two but engine braking is ok as long as the engine stays under redline, so do not go from 5th to 3rd.

Can you downshift from 5th to 1st on a motorcycle?

Yes, but be very careful. Popping it into first you are going to engine brake, hard, unless you are going extremely slowly. This is liable to lock the rear wheel, which isn’t something I would recommend.

Is engine braking bad for a motorcycle?

Engine braking causes the engine to rev up and sound strained, but unless you’ve downshifted to such a low gear that the bike is spinning up into the redline, no harm is being done.

Why does my motorcycle shift hard?

There may be cases where the shift lever becomes hard and shifting the bike into gear becomes difficult. This is generally seen when the bike is cold. The cause is the clutch cable here. You need to readjust it by loosening the locking adjustment and then working the clutch lever a few times.

How do you know when to change gears on a motorcycle?

Determining when to shift will vary on the bike, road conditions and travel speed. While most bikes are happy shifting at 5,000 to 7,000 RPMs, it is best to judge by the sound and feel of the engine. As you move faster, its pitch will increase. When the pitch is high, it is time to shift.