174Racing
Well-known member
But his question was for stop signs & lights, not for emergency stops, so directing a new rider to stop and click through gears isn't going to help him learn to downshift correctly.... its planting seeds for a bad habit.
Proper way to stop at stop signs/red lights?
- Thread starter Lynart
- Start date
For stop signs and lights there was a good answer above.
What I do personally, is check where I am in the tachometer, slow until I'm in the sweet spot, drop a gear or two and slip the clutch to smooth the transition.
I do that until I'm in either first or second gear and then just roll or go slowly up to the stopping point using the clutch. If it's a light and it turns green I might not have to stop.
When I do slow using engine braking I either push the rear brake or pull the front brake enough to turn on my brake lights so that those behind can see that I'm slowing.
I don't usually blip the throttle unless I'm dropping a gear to accelerate.
What I do personally, is check where I am in the tachometer, slow until I'm in the sweet spot, drop a gear or two and slip the clutch to smooth the transition.
I do that until I'm in either first or second gear and then just roll or go slowly up to the stopping point using the clutch. If it's a light and it turns green I might not have to stop.
When I do slow using engine braking I either push the rear brake or pull the front brake enough to turn on my brake lights so that those behind can see that I'm slowing.
I don't usually blip the throttle unless I'm dropping a gear to accelerate.
I like to downshift as I slow down, to third or second gear, and then I'll pull in the clutch and click down to first. For a few reasons.
1) If necessary I can twist the throttle and start going again without worrying about engaging the transmission in a gear that's way too high / low for the speed
2) Practice. It's a good skill to be able to downshift. There are times where you need to slow down in order to approach a turn; you want to have the clutch engaged in a turn so you can speed up smoothly through the turn. So if you can slow down and spend as much time as possible with the clutch engaged, you're setting yourself up for a smooth turn.
3) It's fun. I love the sound of an engine downshifting. I love the feel of clicking down the transmission and revving the throttle just enough to make a smooth transition from one gear to the next. It makes me feel like a bad-*** race car driver.
1) If necessary I can twist the throttle and start going again without worrying about engaging the transmission in a gear that's way too high / low for the speed
2) Practice. It's a good skill to be able to downshift. There are times where you need to slow down in order to approach a turn; you want to have the clutch engaged in a turn so you can speed up smoothly through the turn. So if you can slow down and spend as much time as possible with the clutch engaged, you're setting yourself up for a smooth turn.
3) It's fun. I love the sound of an engine downshifting. I love the feel of clicking down the transmission and revving the throttle just enough to make a smooth transition from one gear to the next. It makes me feel like a bad-*** race car driver.
Haha great reasons, esp #3. Thanks to Baggsy for the advice too. I will keep working on it, sometimes I downshift too early and feel like I'm humping my bike.
And regarding and that dude's "logic" for not answering this question: I know how to e-stop, and practiced it enough during my training course. We did not spend much time practicing downshifting, so thank you for the concern, but it was misplaced.
Yeah, it just sounds awesome and you feel like you have skills. Totally agree!
kiwi
Well-known member
I guess a lot if not most people learn to drive here in Automatic vehicles, hence the OP's question. Had you learnt or know Manual transmission, the idea downshifting is more easily understood I guess.
espro
Well-known member
Says the guy with 300+ posts since April...
silence
Well-known member
By that Logic I should be the best rider on GTAM...
To answer the OP, I simply downshift fully till second gear then clutch in and click down to first at stop signs/lights.
jolomatic
Well-known member
My understanding is that downshifting to slow down (in any vehicle type) is a leftover from a time when brakes didn't stop you as well as they do today, and more importantly, when brake overheating was a real and present danger. It is also why trucks (big heavy ones) still use 'engine brakes', particularly downhill.
Nowadays it is actually cheaper in the long term to use brakes more and downshifting less (brake pads are cheap, engine work less so).
And probably safer too, since the technology has made brakes much more effective than they used to be (everything has discs on the front or even all wheels, used to be drums all around), and overheating is not likely any more, except for really, really agressive driving.
That said, you definately want to be in the gear that matches your speed, for purposes of emergency manouvering, but you don't really want/need to use the engine compression to slow down.
I'm sure it won't take long for someone to come on and tell me I'm all wrong, but that is my understanding, and what I usually do.
Nowadays it is actually cheaper in the long term to use brakes more and downshifting less (brake pads are cheap, engine work less so).
And probably safer too, since the technology has made brakes much more effective than they used to be (everything has discs on the front or even all wheels, used to be drums all around), and overheating is not likely any more, except for really, really agressive driving.
That said, you definately want to be in the gear that matches your speed, for purposes of emergency manouvering, but you don't really want/need to use the engine compression to slow down.
I'm sure it won't take long for someone to come on and tell me I'm all wrong, but that is my understanding, and what I usually do.
I just remembered another one: Approaching (red) traffic lights I'll slow down and downshift early (both in the car and on the bike). If you leave yourself enough time and space, you can often avoid stopping. We did this several times coming down Yonge street on the way home last night.
(I also laugh at the people who madly accelerate up to a red light, only to slam on their brakes afterwards...
Not a single one of those 300 posts is me asking people how to stop a motorcycle. Good one bro.
Clutch??!! 
....hmmm downshifting manually - oh yeah...i DO remember that. 
Seems you have it correct OP
So far Im gonna listen to this guy
You should always down-shift as you are slowing down
and oddly that's the just the way the sports automatic on the Burgman and others work.....strange that. I do however think the gears should always be engaged.
The computer agrees....can't be wrong.
seriously - you want to be in the correct gear and rowing down through them and back up smoothly and properly will serve you very well in the twisties where it's vital to do so and once in a while you'll be right down to first depending on the road and the bike gearing.
- missing a shift there or being the wrong gear due to laziness can be deadly.
Shifting up anf down smoothly will become second nature - take the time to practice it now.
There are lots of good local roads here
http://wingnutty.ca/
that are interesting and will give you lots of practice both at stops and in down and up shifting for curves and corners at various speeds
Don't coast with the clutch in ....period ....it changes all the dynamics of riding and the handling of your machine.
••••
BTW slow speed handling in the correct gear not coasting is a critical skill...
....hmmm downshifting manually - oh yeah...i DO remember that. Seems you have it correct OP
So far Im gonna listen to this guy
Re: Proper way to stop at stop signs/red lights?
Originally Posted by adv_round
You should always down-shift as you are slowing down, so gear is appropriate for the speed even though you are clutch-in.
First: if there's some kind of emergency and you need to get moving/out of the way quick, you just release the clutch and go.
Second: transmission doesn't like shifting into too-low of a gear while moving (you can always hear it whine if you drop into 2nd/1st at speed)... and there's simply no need for it.
.
You should always down-shift as you are slowing down
and oddly that's the just the way the sports automatic on the Burgman and others work.....strange that. I do however think the gears should always be engaged.
The computer agrees....can't be wrong.
seriously - you want to be in the correct gear and rowing down through them and back up smoothly and properly will serve you very well in the twisties where it's vital to do so and once in a while you'll be right down to first depending on the road and the bike gearing.
- missing a shift there or being the wrong gear due to laziness can be deadly.
Shifting up anf down smoothly will become second nature - take the time to practice it now.
There are lots of good local roads here
http://wingnutty.ca/
that are interesting and will give you lots of practice both at stops and in down and up shifting for curves and corners at various speeds
Don't coast with the clutch in ....period ....it changes all the dynamics of riding and the handling of your machine.
••••
BTW slow speed handling in the correct gear not coasting is a critical skill...
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Mistero2009
Active member
I just remembered another one: Approaching (red) traffic lights I'll slow down and downshift early (both in the car and on the bike). If you leave yourself enough time and space, you can often avoid stopping. We did this several times coming down Yonge street on the way home last night.
(I also laugh at the people who madly accelerate up to a red light, only to slam on their brakes afterwards...
Just as long as you're reasonably close to the intersection with an active red light or else it's a annoyance as well as traffic impediment.
... I do however think the gears should always be engaged.[/B]
The computer agrees....can't be wrong.
Don't coast with the clutch in ....period ....it changes all the dynamics of riding and the handling of your machine.
••••
BTW slow speed handling in the correct gear not coasting is a critical skill...
Do you have references for this opinion, or is it based upon anecdotal evidence from when you had a bike with gears?
If you are trying to stop, then disengaging the gears is the fastest and most efficient way to do so. If you are just slowing down then you are correct for some bikes.
Some riders buy way more engine than anyone should ever need, so that they don't have to shift up or down, and can just leave the bike in second gear most of the time.
VicRR
Banned
If i had 300 posts since April i too would not retain anything worth learning from the internet.
There's alot of wrong advice but the majority usually has the right advice. Best learning i get online is watching video's of people crashing/saving crashes/owning corners and replay untill you learn what is in harmony or violation of twist of the wrist and other accepted schools of thought on riding. And yes lots of safe practice build up yo skillz slowly.
OP- I always clutch down and rev match every gear on ever stop sign, stop light, slowing down or what ever other kind of stoping and slowing... it dosen't matter, i use the bike in its optimum operational and proper manner, also matching the front and rear breaking with the down shifthing. everyone has their own style, and depending on what type of bike, one may be comfortable using either one of the techniques, but from experience, the "proper" format for down shifting is rev-matching every gear down with moving :mass" speed vs transmission "gear" speed & engine "piston" speed. you don't see gp1 bikes pulling the clutch in slowing down to a corner or turn. Not saying you must operate a bike this way, just telling you what is the absolute optimal way to operate a bike or even a car or anything mechanical in that matter.
advantage of downshifting every gear, like others mentioned:
.you will be able to move of the way for an emergency
.your brain will memorize so well to rev match, and subconsiously automatically recognize transmission speed vs engine and moving speeds and down shifting every gear, the noises and overall make you a very confident, cool headed and calm rider.
. When your brain is so realaxed and the body is doing all this as second nature your mind has more time and space to think of and react to other things.
. i bet riders who clutch in and just roll to a stop or try to fidle with the gear after, either, must come to their slowing speed before their habbit of downshifting or selecting proper gear or releasing the clutch to match speed, while sometimes have trouble with the flow of traffic, delaying cars behind leaving gaps infront of them, getting of a green light too slow that turn green when their actually slowing down when their still rolling clutch in too fast to engage in 1 or 2, or too slow for engaging in 2 etc.
what would you do if you're slowing down, clutch in till you stop or engage it in 1st or 2nd but before that your breaks fail? downshifting every gear makes your right foot and figers keep tabs on the working/functioning of the breaks at every stopping second from start of its life, no surprises, and theres so much more benificial to useing this style of downshifting then not.
to me not down shifting and rev matching every gear is risky, and leaving more chances for things to happen that need not be like the question "should i or should i shift this way or not" the best and safest rider is one who is confident in the control of his/her machine at ALL times and has no doubt about it.
I wouldn't take chances me or my machine.
advantage of downshifting every gear, like others mentioned:
.you will be able to move of the way for an emergency
.your brain will memorize so well to rev match, and subconsiously automatically recognize transmission speed vs engine and moving speeds and down shifting every gear, the noises and overall make you a very confident, cool headed and calm rider.
. When your brain is so realaxed and the body is doing all this as second nature your mind has more time and space to think of and react to other things.
. i bet riders who clutch in and just roll to a stop or try to fidle with the gear after, either, must come to their slowing speed before their habbit of downshifting or selecting proper gear or releasing the clutch to match speed, while sometimes have trouble with the flow of traffic, delaying cars behind leaving gaps infront of them, getting of a green light too slow that turn green when their actually slowing down when their still rolling clutch in too fast to engage in 1 or 2, or too slow for engaging in 2 etc.
what would you do if you're slowing down, clutch in till you stop or engage it in 1st or 2nd but before that your breaks fail? downshifting every gear makes your right foot and figers keep tabs on the working/functioning of the breaks at every stopping second from start of its life, no surprises, and theres so much more benificial to useing this style of downshifting then not.
to me not down shifting and rev matching every gear is risky, and leaving more chances for things to happen that need not be like the question "should i or should i shift this way or not" the best and safest rider is one who is confident in the control of his/her machine at ALL times and has no doubt about it.
I wouldn't take chances me or my machine.
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