[Keith Code]

Brake/Down
Changing Gears Like a Pro

Barriers Open Doors

To make real improvement there must first exist a real barrier to overcome or a real result to achieve. These are always based on the rider's own desires: to go faster; be more in control; have fewer panic situations; put it all together into a smooth flow or simply remove doubts and questions they have relating to those goals: when do the tires slide, how hard can I brake, how far can I lean the bike and so on.

When you look at it you'll see that there is very little difference, if any, between a riding barrier and a riding goal; they both have the same stumbling blocks. They both have an end result to achieve. They both have some fear or uncertainty or distraction attached to them. There is always a barrier.

The Braking & Downshifting Barrier

An example of a common barrier would be the complications that arise from the hurried and slightly frantic control operations that stem from not learning to smoothly and simultaneously brake and downshift for traffic lights, obstructions and, of course, corners.

Doesn't sound like a life or death threatening situation but when inspected closely you see what impact it really has on a rider's attention and how they are spending it.

Check it out, if the rider can't do braking and downshifting, simultaneously and smoothly, they are forced into one or more of the following attention draining scenarios:

1. Slowly letting out the clutch to make the downshift smoothly. This requires attention to be spent and is the most common way uneducated riders handle it.

2. Having to change gears once the bike is stopped. When the bike is stopped even the best transmissions can be sticky. Gears change more easily and more positively when the bike is moving. It causes less wear on the gearbox to change the gears while you are moving.

3. Having to change the gears after the braking is completed for a turn. That means doing it in the curve. This is distracting and can upset the bike, to say nothing of the rider.

4. Alternately going from the brake to the gas to match revs for the downshifts. This has the bike pogoing at the front. It does not get the bike slowed down quickly in an efficient manner. This is very busy riding.

5. Downshift before braking. This is fine for very relaxed riding situations at slow speeds but is hazardous to the engine if the rider is in "spirited cornering" mode as it provides the opportunity to over-rev the motor and bypass the rev limiter that protects it. Could be very expensive. In an emergency situation you don't have time to do this because you should be on the brakes right away. Not only that but some emergencies require you to brake and then get on the gas right away for accelerating hard to avoid things like cars running a light on you. In this case the rider would not have the time to get it done.

6. Forget it entirely and just go through the corner. This forces downshift(s) to be done at the corner's exit thus losing the drive out and complicating the whole thing by having to make a gear change when they should be rolling on the throttle. This is distracting and not smooth at all.

Coordination And Concentration

It is true that if a rider was uncoordinated and attempts simultaneous braking and downshifting it could be dangerous. For example having the front brake on along with the power can make your front wheel lock up.

On our panic-stop training bike I have seen it many times: the rider aggressively squeezes the brake and unconsciously rolls the throttle on at the same time. It's spooky to watch. So yes, practice and coordination are necessary, you will have to practice.

More importantly, you have to make a decision. Are the 6 potential distractions above likely to get you into trouble? They do break the rider's concentration even if only slightly. In other words: if you aren't a super hero at multitasking each of the 6 is a negative in comparison with braking and downshifting simultaneously.

In Control = In Communication

Continuous perception of your speed is how you control it. Accurate turn entry speed is critical to good, confident cornering. If you are worried about your speed, you are distracted by it.

Finding the right turn entry speed (for you) is far easier when the braking and downshifting are happening in one continuous flow of change. When compared to one that is chopped up, incomplete or creates anxiety like having to shift in the turn, it's obvious which scenario is better. Your Sense of Speed is a precious resource and is far more accurate when monitored as a steady stream with your awareness.

Maintaining a continuous state of awareness of what the bike itself is doing is another of the true benefits of this technique. You always know where the engine speed is in relation to the road speed and that improves your feel for the bike.

Your communication with the machine improves; no false signals or guess work; no waiting to know how the bike will respond in any of the above scenarios. You ability to maintain communication with the bike is important input.

Naming It

Simultaneous braking and downshifting. I'd like to shorten it to something like brake-down. Car guys call it heel and toe, which is a nice, short and simple way of saying they are simultaneously using the brake pedal with their toe and revving the motor with their heel. In some cars you just put the ball of your foot between the brake and gas pedals and rock your foot side to side to do it, it depends on the pedal arrangement. On a bike, provided the brake lever is comfortably adjusted to fit your hand, they are always in the same position for our maneuver.

Alright, for now it is brake-down. It would be interesting to have a non rider hear about you executing a "breakdown" coming into a curve; sounds pretty dangerous. How about fist and fingers or palm and fingers or B&Ding?

Whatever we call it, it works to simplify corner entries and puts the rider in command of and in communication with his machine to the highest possible degree.

The Sequence

1. Gas goes off.
2. Brake goes on.
3. Bike slows some.
4. Clutch comes in.
Maintain brake lever pressure.
5. Blip the gas rapidly on and off. (Usually no more than a quarter turn).
Maintain brake lever pressure.
6. During the blip make the gear change positively and quickly.
Maintain brake lever pressure.
7. Clutch comes out.
Maintain brake lever pressure until desired turn entry speed is achieved.
8. Release brake smoothly.

Bear this in mind: the quicker you do steps #1 through #7 the better.

Brake Lever Control

Expert use of the brake during this entire cycle means that you can maintain, increase or decrease the pressure as desired, without abruptly stabbing or releasing the brake lever.

Number of Fingers

Some riders let their finger(s) slide over the brake lever as they blip the gas. Others grab the brake lever with the tips of their finger(s) and still get a continuous lever pressure without the bike pogoing up and down.

Whichever way you do it is fine. How many fingers you use for the brake is up to you: one, two, three or four, this is your choice although I recommend you try just two fingers, your index and middle ones.

What's Important?

Braking is important, it is life and death on the street and vital on the track. Changing gears is not. You can still make it through the corner or get the bike stopped without ever touching the gears. But, riders do have the six above scenarios to contend with if they can't do the fist/finger, down-brake, palm/finger, B&Ding technique.

Learning How

The fact that riders have a problem doing this technique led me to a solution. I've built a bike that trains it. We call it the Control Trainer. It takes you through the technique, step by step.

The trainer's computer program talks you through the whole sequence and it points out your problems and how to correct them. The computer is hooked up on a static ZX9, you can't ride it but you do get the coordination/muscle memory necessary to do it for real.

Each of the controls is monitored for: correct sequence; correct timing of the clutch and gear changes; correctly sized throttle blips and consistent brake pressure, throughout the whole process.

With or without my Control Trainer, anyone can learn to do it. Start now.

- Keith Code

Upcoming articles: clutch-less up shifting and clutch-less downshifting.


ⓒ2004, Keith Code, all rights reserved.

[hagus]

G'day Keith,

When I first learned this technique, it was in slavish imitation of what I saw my road racing friends doing. They entered the corners smoothly decelerating but with a pleasant blip-blip-blip down through the gears. I thought "that sounds nice, I'll try to do it." But it wasn't until I started road racing that I realised I had picked up a valuable technique. Like many things good racers do, it's done for a reason! It lets you get your downshifting done in a controlled manner before the real action starts: tackling the upcoming corner.

On the technique itself, one thing I noticed was that on my race bike (Aprilia RS250) it was easier to compress the process down - nail the brakes and go 'bang bang bang' through the gears with quick throttle blips and little flicks of the clutch. On a 4-stroke (the ZX-6R that I ride on the street) I find myself locking the rear wheel with engine braking if I don't stretch the process out a bit.

For learning this procedure, I started by rolling off the throttle and letting the engine braking slow the bike down. I then applied a small amount of pressure on the gear lever, and simultaneously blipped the throttle and the clutch. I'd work my way down the gears like this approaching intersections and the like. Once this process was smooth, I started working on doing the same thing but applying some front brake as well. As my co-ordination improved, I applied more brake each time. The culmination of all this was to apply maximum front brake during the whole process while simultaneously making the process smooth.

A lot of riders may think this stresses the engine, and indeed you can sometimes shoot the revs up a little higher than you like. The answer is to not underestimate how strong the engine and gearbox are in a modern motorcycle. As long as you are smooth, you won't damage your machine.

A final point: until this process is entirely automatic (in TOTW speak, takes up as few attention dollars as possible) it will take a lot of attention. I didn't try to apply it on the race track it until I could do it automatically while my attention was elsewhere (such as on the rider inside of me trying to out-brake me into the turn).

Just a few observations of my own, hope this is helpful!

Best regards,

Luke (www.hagus.net)

[JeF4y]

Keith,

From a racer's perspective only...

This topic lends me to the question on the use/validity/necessity of a slipper clutch.

On corners where I have to go through 2+ downshifts, I feel that I'm losing time because it takes me too long to get through the downshifts. Perhaps it's that I'm not braking aggressively enough to get through multiple downshifts quicker without rear-end chatter, but that's what I'm experiencing and want to resolve.

In these such corners, I end up with the feeling that if I were to push my brake marker further into the corner, I could not get through the 2-3 (or sometimes 4) downshifts quick enough to have the bike settled by the time I execute the turn.

A slipper clutch would provide me the ability to bang down 2,3 or 4 gears in a single manuever, which in my logical thinking would save me some time (hey, we're seeking tenths & hundredths of a second here).

Any thoughts or comments?

[supernouht]

Hi, I'm somewhat of a new rider but am picking it up quickly, downshifting smoothly is my current biggest block to my going fast and smooth. In a car I am very adept at "heel-toe" shifting and figured the answer on a bike must be something similar as this article has taught me, however there is one detail I am unclear about. When in a car for example while heel-toe braking I will shift from 4th to 2nd in one movement and match the rev's as I let the clutch out in 2nd gear and this works extremely well for me and is very smooth. I have heard mention in this conversation that on a bike it may be advantageous to let the clutch out in between each gear to avoid rear skid or over-rev (both of which I have experienced attempting a "finger-palm" shift shifting 2 or 3 gears with only one clutch pull). Letting the clutch out in between each gear seems like a safe solution, but it does seem like it may take a little extra valuable time during racing. I would like to hear anybody's input/experiences on the pros and cons of these 2 methods, and any tips for pulling off either more smoothly/quickly. Thanks -David

[JeF4y]

Slipper clutch or not (my previous post was pre-slipper clutch, and this response is after installing it), you still need to go 1 at a time. More than one is a wheel slide, cut and dry. And that will cost you far more time than you'll ever make up by dropping 2+ at once.

[supernouht]

Thanks for the feedback, though I don't think I'll be satisfied until I prove it to myself on my bike one way or the other. Next time I go for a ride I'm going to play with this a lot, really giving it some extra gas while I let out the clutch to see if I can avoid a skid with 2+ shifts together. I just find it hard to belive that it wouldn't work on a bike when it works so well in my car!? I'll let you know how it goes...though you probably already know heh!

[supernouht]

OK, well I just went for a ride down to the hardware store and back and I practiced the multiple down shifts, after a couple over revs and a few lurches when I let the clutch out I did nail it once cleanly and man was it smooth!(coming up to a stop I was in 4th and then dropped it down into 2nd while braking and rolled on a little thottls while letting out the clutch)...it's just tricky to get the engine revs matched to the gear, it will requite a lot more practice until i can to it without thinking too much, but it does work the same as in a car. I must mention though that my bike is an NSR250 which probably has a slightly more close ratio gearbox than most production 4-strokes, but the difference isn't THAT big. I'm still open to comments/arguments/suggestions!
thanks -David

[supernouht]

A good way to practice this that I used when learning it in a car that I also found works well on the bike is to pick one constant speed like 30-40mph then try shifting between 2 gears while holding the same speed, do this until you can do it smoothly and then try the same thing but shifting 2 gears at once *click click* you'll have to give it a little extra gas on the downshift to match the revs and this can actually be slightly dangerous until you get it right so do it with no traffic, once you can do this just do it while braking and you've got it! I must say though as an afterthought that the 2 gears at once thing is probably for the more daring riders as I belive it is a very useful tool when done right, but if you mess it up it could cause your rear end to slide out in a corner! The one gear at a time brake-down/finger-palm shift is safe though and I think it is a must for every rider!

[Keith Code]

Here is my take on this.

Changing more than one gear at a time is fine on the street but not for track or other spirited riding. The thing about one dowhshift at a time is simple--you know what gear you are in. If you miss a shift while trying to go down more than one it completley blows the corner because you have to think it through on which way to go, up or down to get it back together. In a car you know where the stick is, that is quite different from a bike.

Keith

[CCS#28]

this is my take on two or more gears being shifted...... ( and ive only been racing for 8 months and am 17 years old, but this is my thought). the reasons for downshifting include helping you slow down, and being in the right gear to exit the corner. and i downshift only one gear at a time, and i do that because i see it as getting the maximum engine brake out of every gear. if you skip a gear you skipped an oportunity to stop faster. If you skipped a gear that means there was a period of time where the gear that was skipped could have been used. yes it might be complicated to downshift 4 times in the same corner, but in my eyes if you did make all those downshifts (now this is assuming your to the point where you dont really think about downshifting you just do it) you maximized all/more of your brakeing potential. idk i guess i just see it as if you skip a gear you skip and oportunity to stop faster. because theoretically if your comfident enough to bang through all those gears (meanign not letting the thinking part slow you down) and could do it perfectly. hitting all the gears would slow you down quicker and safer. now all this is just my thoughts, but as i said im only 17 and only have 8 months of experience so i could be wrong. but i understand and practice finger-palm shifting so im gonna through my 2 cents in hahah.

[Hal]

Hiya!

"The thing about one dowhshift at a time is simple--you know what gear you are in."


You mean I'm not the only person who has temporarily misplaced the gear I thought I was in? That's a comfort. (We won't say 'lost'--how can anyone be lost if they can find the same gas station 3 times within an hour? And how could one lose anything in something as small as a gearbox anyway? It's not like we could leave the lid open and have 3rd just wander off somewhere. They're all still in there, aren't they?)

The parallel and contrast with the pattern stick shift is enticing. The up/down box requires that we rely on memory (though mostly tactile, I suppose) while the pattern box gives us a 'you are here' pin on a nifty map. However, I suspect that (like the temporarily misplaced traveler) the moment we resort to that map, we are admitting we have erred. We have interrupted the smooth flow of change with a hesitation which in turn requires an adjustment necessitating an estimation which introduces a chance of further error and so on. So, while the cager has a map, it's only useful after the critical moment has passed, having reached for 3rd and come up with a handful of air because the stick was actually in 4th. Or was it 5th? Hmmm. Maybe I am the only one who has done that.

Should you decide to have a class in unintentionally misplacing gears, I believe I am well qualified to serve as an instructor. I'm a dedicated member of the Eternal Quest for 7th and can shift aimlessly on a whim.

Thanks for the books. They're my #1 gift for my two-wheeled friends. Thanks for this site. Just found it and already learned some more. --Hal


the journey is all

[racer]

A couple thoughts re: "getting the maximum engine brake out of every gear..."

1. Brake pads are way cheaper than engine parts/rebuilds.

2. It's sorta meaningless when I have the rear wheel in the air. Moderate braking/deceleration shifts most of the weight to the front wheel. Heavy braking can move all the weight to the front wheel. In either case, max engine braking will cause the rear wheel to skid.

3. Even under less than max brake conditions, I prefer to keep the bike in the highest gear possible leaving the suspension as free as possible to do its job: absorbing bumps and keeping the tires in contact with the pavement. Using the engine as a brake will bind up the rear shock.

4. Even in a non-racing street situation, such as a slippery intersection, you still maintain far more control by modulating the rear brake rather than trying to modulate the clutch to control engine breaking...I mean braking.

[superdave88]

Ugh like brakes are like ugh .......important right? Sorry couldn't help myself. Couldn't help anyone for that matter but, I love this site!! And I love you too Keith.

[MSGT-R]

The purpose of the "blip" is to raise engine rpm slightly to ease the shock of clutch engagement during downshifting. No ju-ju here. You're downshifting in the first place because you're decelerating for some reason. Downshifting can't do it all, it must be in concert with the braking. Either one can be overdone.

Shifting two gears at once and letting the clutch out will certainly overspeed the engine when decelerating heavily and you will likely break traction. Your local parts man will love you for this.

A slipper clutch has its limitations, and double downshifting will find them quickly. Honda has known this since its V65 production in the early '80s.

[harnois]

Most riders quickly learn to upshift quickly and smoothly. It is interesting to me that so many riders do not in turn learn to downshift smoothly while braking because, if you can upshift smoothly, you're only 2 baby steps away from downshifting smoothly, and then one more baby step away from braking while downshifting smoothly.

To complete a quick and smooth UPSHIFT, a rider does these 3 things at the same moment:

1. Clutch lever is pulled in and immediately released
2. Throttle goes from ON to OFF and immediately ON again
3. Shift lever gets PUSHED DOWN and released (on normal street shift setup)

To quickly and smoothly DOWNSHIFT, a rider needs to do these 3 things at the same moment:

1. Clutch lever is pulled in and immediately released
2. Throttle goes from OFF to ON and immediately OFF again
3. Shift lever gets PULLED UP and released (on normal street shift setup)

So if you can already upshift smoothly, you are 2 steps away from downshifting smoothly:

1. Reverse what you are doing with the throttle.
2. Reverse what you are doing with the shifter.

At first learning how to upshift smoothly felt like rubbing my tummy, patting my head, and shaking my foot at the same time, yeah a little weird. But eventually with practice, the muscle memory is ingrained, and upshifting quickly and smoothly becomes about as difficult as pushing a single button. This learning cycle is repeated for the quick and smooth downshift, but it is not much different. So why do so many riders delay learning this skill?

I'll admit it is a bit more difficult with donwshifting because it won't work slowly. It has to be done quickly in order to be smooth. And secondly, there is the added challenge of learning how far to blip the throttle (more for hard downshifting at high rpms, less for easy downshifting at low rpms). But just first practice while sitting still with the bike turned off, then practice while going in a straight line in an empty parking lot and don't worry if it's a little herky jerky the first few (dozen) times ya try it.

Here's another 2 step way to get to the same place. If you ride a motorcycle, then you must already know how to downshift with no throttle blip (by easing out the clutch). You are just 2 steps away from making it a smooth quick downshift:

1. release the clutch quickly instead of slowly
2. blip the throttle at the same moment you hit the shifter and go in-out with the clutch.

I remember learning this throttle blip downshifting method on my own many years ago. The only thing that is really different about it compared to the easing out the clutch method is the throttle blip itself. I had trouble at first and the only thing I knew I need to experiment with was the timing of the blip. I quickly realized just to do the throttle blip at the same moment that I pump the clutch and hit the shifter.

Now all that learning can be done without worrying about the brakes simultaneously. Just add those at the end. This will also take some practice to avoid changing brake pressure while blipping the throttle but therei is not much more to it other than practice.