engine braking force

[seb421]

wondered for a while now does it cause any damage using the bikes engine as a brake, say coming up to a junction knocking it down a gear or two and shutting the throttle using the engine as well as the front brakes to slow down

on the blade engine braking is non existent compared to the storm and you have to work the brakes a lot harder than you would on the storm, but just wondering if using that engine as a partial brake does it do any damage?

[lloydie]

on a two stroke it would as it wont get any oil to the piston (pre mix).
but on the storm its fine i think

[StormingHonda]

wondered for a while now does it cause any damage using the bikes engine as a brake, say coming up to a junction knocking it down a gear or two and shutting the throttle using the engine as well as the front brakes to slow down

on the blade engine braking is non existent compared to the storm and you have to work the brakes a lot harder than you would on the storm, but just wondering if using that engine as a partial brake does it do any damage?

Probably stressfull to the gear box that way, seen bike blow up the gear box when knocked down a couple of gears.

Engine breaking should compliment the brakes and not be used to soley slow down, leave in the gear your using and leave the throttle open, use brakes and only knock down gears as the bike slows down and revs die.

[turbo_billy]

I`ve been riding for 35 years and have always used the engine braking on all the bikes I`ve ridden with no ill effect. Simply blip the throttle before each downshift to bring the engine revs up closer to where they will be when you dump the clutch and you get the benefit of the engine braking without putting to much strain on any of the components.

[Vtrkidda]

I alway blip the throttle on the down shift it's a habit that I can't get out of don't now why I do it

[seb421]

I alway blip the throttle on the down shift it's a habit that I can't get out of don't now why I do it

Same somthing I've allways done too

[StormingHonda]

I`ve been riding for 35 years and have always used the engine braking on all the bikes I`ve ridden with no ill effect. Simply blip the throttle before each downshift to bring the engine revs up closer to where they will be when you dump the clutch and you get the benefit of the engine braking without putting to much strain on any of the components.

Depends on how your doing it, ive been riding 20 years and have always used engine breaking and V twins are brilliant at this, however I have known and know someone who blew their gear box up by dumping down gears, imagine the stress your putting on the gearbox.

I usually use both the brakes and engine breaking together, as the revs die down I go down gear.

As Seb said his blade was weedy, I4s usually are weedy with engine breaking.

Don't know what blipping the throttle does, for some reason I do that putting the bike into neutral

[turbo_billy]

Don't know what blipping the throttle does, for some reason I do that putting the bike into neutral

As I said, it brings the revs up closer to where they would be if you just changed down a gear. Also has the added benefit of not giving the rear wheel such a chance to lock up on the downshift.

[Rob]

Remember reading about this years ago and apparently it's the vacuum that's created on the 2 big cylinders when the throttle is shut thats causes it to slow down quickly.

In theory it could pull oil past the piston rings, will still be pulling in fuel so will run rich when throttle opened again (or pops and bangs) and in extreme cases at very high revs the vacuum could apparently pull the valves open and they could hit the pistons. Not sure about that as surely the vacuum is only created when the piston is moving away from the valve?

Had the bike since new, done 21K miles and still on the original front brake pads. I use engine braking a lot one of the things I love about twins.

Bang it down too quick without using the clutch and you can lock the back wheel up easily!

[tony.mon]

Clutchless downchanges can damage gearboxes, and dumping the clutch out on downshifts can cause rear wheel skipping, but if you feed the clutch out with a bit of care it won't do it except in slippery conditions, or if your tyre is shagged.

Personally I use engine braking all the time, you can do this while leant right over a lot more controllably than using brakes, especially if hung right off.

But I've also heard it said that it's simpler to replace brake pads than clutch plates.....

But for me the main positive is the lovely engine note when using the box. A bit of popping and banging on the overrun sounds great.

[agentpineapple]

i use 70% engine 30% brakes, as tony said i love the popping and banging on overrun. as for blipping the throttle on down changes, its about balance and smoothness, done correctly in can greatly improve your cornering, with the bike being nicely balanced as you approach a corner. i think the skill is more useful on a track tbh.
checkout and watch twist of the wrist 2, its keith code from the css.
its an interesting film about riding technicques.......
its got some funny acting but it describes lots of different riding technicques in detail, well worth a watch..

[freakdazzer]

plus one on( keith code twist of the wrist 2 ) good informative dvd,crappy acting.plus i do use both braking and downshift and love the sound

[Animal]

I always use engine braking, especially on the storm. The stress on the gearbox is no different to accelerating hard.
I always blip the throttle on down changes, and hardly ever use the clutch for the ups, just throttle off slightly and in it goes.
If you do it right there is also no jerk on the changes.
My storm now has over 76K miles on the clock and I have had it from new with no problems with the gearbox.
On a lot of my rides I actually try not to use the brakes, it makes for an interesting ride.
Give it a try on your favourite piece of road you'll be surprised at how much it makes you think, and it makes you a smoother rider.

[scott02464]

Just another view to add,

Going down through the gears instead of using brakes will be wearing the clutch out quicker....

A new clutch will be more expensive than a set of pads!

However I too use the awesome engine braking, and love the burbley/popping noises that come out the ends of my Blue Flames!! To hell with clutch wear lol