Gearing and shifting question

I downshift through the gears, letting out the clutch, when approaching a stop. May not hit every gear depending on speed, conditions etc.

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That's what I do also. Usually don't hit every gear. At least two of them usually. Maybe it comes from having grown up driving standard cars and riding bikes forever.

bob

Gear up, jump on a dirt bike and beat around a farm paddock for a few hours. Days maybe!
This will give you a feel for how a motorcycle gearbox likes to be treated.

Motorcycles have sequential gearboxes which means in general you should clutch with every gear change. Changing from second into first should be done once the bike has come to a stop, or very close to it. I must admit, I do crash change from time to time but it needs good timing of throttle and revs.

Effectively, if it feels klunky or snatchy you're doing it wrong and although infrequently this wont be an issue, it will be if done regularly.

When my boys were getting their motorcycle licence a few years back, they were taking a motorcycle safety course designed by the provincial safety counsel. The way it was explained was quite simple. When riding you always want to be in the correct gear for the speed you are travelling. The reasoning was in that if for some reason you had to accelerate quickly...you notice that the person behind you wasn’t slowing down, you would be in the proper gear to accelerate.

When they taught an emergency stop ( from 3rd, parking lot was only so big) it was to stop as hard as you could without locking up the wheels, downshift rapidly to get the he bike into first, check your rear to ensure someone wasn’t going to rear end you and if needed you are in first to accelerate away... hope this all makes sense.

All that said, they taught both methods which were dependent on the situation.

I always down shift through the gears when I slow to a stop. I believe to opposite is true, you don’t want to be bogging the engine from being in a gear that is too high for the speed or having the engine race because the gear is too low for the speed. Just my 2 cents.

I like the dirt bike advice. I had a small one and learned shifting on that.
If you drop it on dirt, you also have a better chance of not getting hurt too bad.

I will add that I find it very hard to downshift the Rocket rapidly through all the gears, as the trans is so d@mn clunky.

Best thing so far...be in the correct gear for the speed you're going. Don't pull in the clutch in 5th, then coast forever till you stop, then shift into 1st. Something happens when you're coasting and you need to get on it to get around something or get out of the way of something and you may not have the power/response you need, when you need it. But in the same breath don't have to hit every gear when slowing down either. If you're gradually slowing down over a long distance then you may hit every gear, if you're slowing down rapidly, nothing wrong w/ going from 5th to 3rd, etc...

As for taking off in second from a slow roll, don't lug the engine, learn how to bring the revs up and slip the clutch through the friction zone till you're at the right speed/rpm. I almost never use first unless I'm either at a dead stop or barely, and I mean barely moving. I also try and plan my stops in traffic so I don't have to come to a complete stop (as much as possible anyway) although there is one area in particular where you may only move 1-2' at a time. in that area, I just keep it in Neutral and either walk it forward or coast it if I can (slight downhill slope to the road).

Engine braking, yeah...I grew up in the dirt so that's a habit I don't think I'll ever fully brake (get it?).