Do you downshift to first???

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Different bikes have different gear ratios and different power curves. Peoples answers here will depend on their bike as much as anything.
 
Interestingly, last week I had my shift lever on my rearsets let go, leaving me in first coming off a light in a corner. I had to travel the last 3-4 kms home in first gear. Fortunately, I don't redline until about 130 kph in first so it wasn't toooooo annoying.

I do think Dirty has a point, many bikes are very twitchy in first.

The issue is the same with manual cars. I never downshift into 1st in a car while slowing, either.
 
I commute mostly inside the city, so for me I try to slow down in a way that matches people's expectations. If I downshifted into first while slowing down, I am slowing down faster than people expect me to, and increasing the risk they're going to plow into me since the stoplight is everybody's favourite time to pull out their ****ing phones and resume texting. Most of the time I clutch in from third.
 
wearelopey said:
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Is this 2nd gear thing common practise? Are there any benefits one over the other? If it's convincing enough maybe I'll start doing it myself

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Short answer is it depends; both methods are okay in different situations and different bikes.

There's a reason that neutral was moved to the space between first and second (a lot of older bikes had Neutral on the opposite side of first from second.) The spacing on the gears is widest from first to second so a greater "blip" on the throttle will be required to match the revs, and the back pressure he referred to relates to the higher likelihood of causing the back wheel to (almost) lock up on a poorly executed downshift.

If you know for sure you will be stopping and are in a situation where there is no chance of anyone rear-ending you then there is nothing wrong with going directly to neutral. If you are going to go into first then it is a matter of choice on you as to when it's appropriate to do so. You certainly want to make sure you have the skill to properly shift into first when moving. There are times you may need to do so (say when coming to a stop or crawling up a realy steep grade. )

..TOm
 
Thanks Everyone,

So in the end it depends on the bike, situation, and to a great degree the actual rider in question.

I tried it, didn't really like it, but then as I continued doing it a second day, I kind of like it.

It makes me feel a lot smoother when coming to a stop, I can match downshifts but theres still the odd twitchy one that upsets my suspension a bit.

Anyways, appreciate it, you really do learn something new everyday!
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