Braking technique advice

[Chippertheripper]

I'm no technical wizard of motorcycling technique, but go with what works for ya and make small changes to your style.

[The Snowman]

I'm no technical wizard of motorcycling technique, but go with what works for ya and make small changes to your style.

Well, if what Degsy is correct, I'm giving my transmission a lot more of a workout than it needs to have. I blip and use my engine to do probably 50-60% of my braking.

[SVRACER01]

turn the idle up to about 3k.

[The Snowman]

turn the idle up to about 3k.

Is this a serious statement?

[Rambunctous]

Yes

[BMFR6]

Is this a serious statement?

yup. if it idles faster you will get less engine braking.


i think an important thing to bring up regarding blipping and dropping gears is how fast you down shift. the guys that depend a lot on engine braking are probably slower between downshifts where as the guys that depend on their brakes probably drop gears quicker. if you depend upon the engine to slow you down, its going to be much tougher to move your brake markers as you improve.

[OreoGaborio]

Well, if what Degsy is correct, I'm giving my transmission a lot more of a workout than it needs to have. I blip and use my engine to do probably 50-60% of my braking.

There's nothing wrong with blipping or using engine braking to slow the bike, it's just that it's not the fast way around.

And I think you misread Degsy's comment about abusing the transmission.... either that I'm misreading your post.

Raising the idle will make the engine behave as if the throttle is partially open, so the engine braking will be less. It's not a widely common practice as far as I know, but it does change the behavior of the bike a little bit and can be helpful to some people on a bike with a lot of engine braking or if you're having trouble making smooth downshifts.

[The Snowman]

turn the idle up to about 3k.

yup. if it idles faster you will get less engine braking.


i think an important thing to bring up regarding blipping and dropping gears is how fast you down shift. the guys that depend a lot on engine braking are probably slower between downshifts where as the guys that depend on their brakes probably drop gears quicker. if you depend upon the engine to slow you down, its going to be much tougher to move your brake markers as you improve.

There's nothing wrong with blipping or using engine braking to slow the bike, it's just that it's not the fast way around.

And I think you misread Degsy's comment about abusing the transmission.... either that I'm misreading your post.

Raising the idle will make the engine behave as if the throttle is partially open, so the engine braking will be less. It's not a widely common practice as far as I know, but it does change the behavior of the bike a little bit and can be helpful to some people on a bike with a lot of engine braking or if you're having trouble making smooth downshifts.

OK then, 3K seems a bit hit to me. When I was at the track in July, I had the idle set to about 1500. Stock is 1200.

I think that when I got the bike from Dan, the idle was set at something like 1800-2000. (Dan, please chime in here.) I thought it seemed a bit high.

[OreoGaborio]

Well, feel free to mess around with it, see how it affects the bike & adjust to fit your riding style.

I didn't bother changing mine from stock so I can't really comment on it much but I might try it out sometime though, see how I like it.

[The Snowman]

Well, feel free to mess around with it, see how it affects the bike & adjust to fit your riding style.

I didn't bother changing mine from stock so I can't really comment on it much but I might try it out sometime though, see how I like it.

I didn't see any posts in this thread about you having a slipper. Are you using your lever as a slipper like others?

[OreoGaborio]

Yup. Fingah Slippah for me. Sometimes I blip, sometimes I don't, sometimes I clutchless.

[The Snowman]

Anyone have a line on a sub-$700 slipper for a 1st gen?

[OreoGaborio]

Chuck, just go with the 4 finger discount. Spend the money on track time, it'll help a lot more than a slipper. I'd be surprised if a quarter of the SV's at Loudon are equipped with a slipper clutch.

[GixerJockey]

Chuck, just go with the 4 finger discount. Spend the money on track time, it'll help a lot more than a slipper.

You actually use all 4 fingers?

[OreoGaborio]

Oh yeah, baby... it takes all four fingers. Loose lever, lotta slop.

[The Snowman]

Chuck, just go with the 4 finger discount. Spend the money on track time, it'll help a lot more than a slipper. I'd be surprised if a quarter of the SV's at Loudon are equipped with a slipper clutch.

Already have a 6-pack of TTD at NHMS set up this season.

Can't wait.

[OreoGaborio]

Nice, dude. We'll definitely get some ridin in together, then.

[CBR929RE]

Well, if what Degsy is correct, I'm giving my transmission a lot more of a workout than it needs to have. I blip and use my engine to do probably 50-60% of my braking.

no no no, blipping the throttle is less abuse for your entire bike in general. what your doing is making the engine speed match the speed at which it will be at when in the next gear down. if you don't blip and just dump the clutch then you send a sudden surge of power to your transmission making the gears and especially the clutch have to work harder to make the input and output shaft speeds equal. people who don't blip are gradually letting the clutch out after they make the shift. this lets the clutch plates slip against each other so that all the engines power isn't instantly trying to get to the output shaft and consequently to your back wheel.

[The Snowman]

no no no, blipping the throttle is less abuse for your entire bike in general. what your doing is making the engine speed match the speed at which it will be at when in the next gear down. if you don't blip and just dump the clutch then you send a sudden surge of power to your transmission making the gears and especially the clutch have to work harder to make the input and output shaft speeds equal. people who don't blip are gradually letting the clutch out after they make the shift. this lets the clutch plates slip against each other so that all the engines power isn't instantly trying to get to the output shaft and consequently to your back wheel.

Well, I am blipping as I downshift.

I'm trying to get Annalisa to start as well, as it's an advanced technique that she hasn't tried yet. She says that she runs the RPMs down low enough to where she doesn't get the surge when she drops a gear.

(She also hates the clutch, since the plates are Barnett and it takes a lot of force to squeeze the lever.)

[CBR929RE]

Well, I am blipping as I downshift.

I'm trying to get Annalisa to start as well, as it's an advanced technique that she hasn't tried yet. She says that she runs the RPMs down low enough to where she doesn't get the surge when she drops a gear.

(She also hates the clutch, since the plates are Barnett and it takes a lot of force to squeeze the lever.)

yeah if you're going slow as on the street it doesn't really matter. but its a good place to practice blipping.

and plates don't make for a harder clutch pull at the lever. she probably has the HD Barnett clutch springs. I put them in my bike too and the lever was pretty hard at first but either they got more springy or I just got used to it.

[The Snowman]

yeah if you're going slow as on the street it doesn't really matter. but its a good place to practice blipping.

I've been blipping the throttle for years. I'm newer to the track scene, but all of the talk about not blipping got me to thinking.

It works for me (so far), but I will try to work with the idle to see of I can engine brake less than I currently am. I have a few days to work on it this season.

[Paul_E_D]

It's fine. It's just more than most people can manage whil riding at the limit. It can take a 10 year racing career to reach the limit for an excellent rider. The rest will never get there. So, I wouldn't worry about it. If you get there, you'll likely go through what everyone else did and drop the technique. Until then, blip away.

[strgt]

I blip. Ive learned to squeeze the lever and I kind of roll the throttle with my thumb moving forward. This allows me to rotate it without adding input to the lever when im on the brakes 100%.

[bdawkins20]

I also turn up my idle routinely to 2400 and def. noticed a difference when I feed out the clutch. For whatever reason I had trouble squeezing the brake and keeping the pressure constant and blipping an sv throttle. I also got an r6 throttle tube which def. shortend the twist and made it better but still.....

On my 900rr it def. felt a lot better when you apply the brake and then squeeze the hell out of it and blip and shift.... Maybe its just me but the blip on my sv just doesn't get the revs up like it does on my 900rr. I asked bill tansey to do a lap or two on my sv to see if I was just being a retard and understandably he didn't want to just in case something happenend. What I did was move the brake lever a 1/4 of an inch up and i was able to turn my wrist more on the blip.
Still not 100% but again it was an improvement.

Bottom line- When I blip.....I gotta really exaggerate the blip to rev match.

All in all its just an uncomfortable feeling leaned over on 1 and 11 and trying to shift and blip.

[The Snowman]

I also turn up my idle routinely to 2400 and def. noticed a difference when I feed out the clutch. For whatever reason I had trouble squeezing the brake and keeping the pressure constant and blipping an sv throttle. I also got an r6 throttle tube which def. shortend the twist and made it better but still.....

On my 900rr it def. felt a lot better when you apply the brake and then squeeze the hell out of it and blip and shift.... Maybe its just me but the blip on my sv just doesn't get the revs up like it does on my 900rr. I asked bill tansey to do a lap or two on my sv to see if I was just being a retard and understandably he didn't want to just in case something happenend. What I did was move the brake lever a 1/4 of an inch up and i was able to turn my wrist more on the blip.
Still not 100% but again it was an improvement.

Bottom line- When I blip.....I gotta really exaggerate the blip to rev match.

All in all its just an uncomfortable feeling leaned over on 1 and 11 and trying to shift and blip.

Did you do the R6 throttle tube mod to your SV? May make a difference in how much you have to twist to blip.