Seems counterintuitive
In: Engineering
Aerodynamic and wheel friction slows it down whenever no power is applied, plus when you shift to lower gears and let go of the throttle, engine braking further slows it down.
Blipping the throttle means quickly spin the throttle and let go. During this sequence, only a small amount of air and fuel is given to the engine to rev it up just a little bit. As soon as the throttle is released, the engine is no longer revving. During this time, the clutch is released so that the engine is connected to the wheels. But since the engine is not getting fuel and air, there is no power. Without fuel and air, The piston compression and friction inside the cylinders and engine components create resistance. This resistance is what cause the bike to slow down. It’s called engine braking.
The blipping the throttle in this case is called rev matching. Where you match the engine RPM with the RPM of the clutch. They do this to make shifting smoother.
On the other hand, if they rev the engine without releasing the throttle, that’s just opening the throttle, the RPM is maintained, power is maintained. If the clutch is released with the throttle open, the rear wheel will suddenly get power. The bike will either accelerate, or lose traction.
You don’t *need* to blip the throttle or increase the revs. Not on modernish bikes at least.
When no throttle is applied the engine is just an air compressor which needs energy to pump. When you downshift the engine spins faster compressing more air which uses more kinetic energy and slows you down more.
Works the same for cars and especially semi-trucks. Truckers especially use this to their advantage to save on brake wear and fade going down steep mountain roads.
Have I been riding motorcycles wrong all these years?
Currently own a 06 Aprilia Caponord and 03 Triumph Tiger…
Unless i’m reading something wrong, you’re probably thinking about the engine brake. Some bikes have some pretty crazy compression, and if you downshift you’re going to be high in revs, but that’s just because you’re going fast in a lower gear and the speed itself is turning the engine, and with high compression you’ll slow down a good bit. I would just time my downshifts and not even have to use my brakes often.
I ride a Z400 (Her name’s Charlie and I love her):
If you are maintaining speed and try to clutch in and down shift, your road speed (tyre speed, final drive speed) will force the engine to speed up when the clutch is released. The engine will at the same time, force the final drive to slow, and cause the rear wheel to clatter. It’s uncomfortable and rough, and isn’t great for any of the parts of the bike.
So you blip the throttle to being the engine up to speed, matching it with your road speed in a lower gear.
You don’t hold the throttle, so when the clutch is released the bike begins to engine brake – a vacuum is created by the piston and valves, and that adds resistance to the engine’s motion. The lower the gear and higher the RPM, the stronger the resistance, the stronger the engine braking. This is why the bike slows faster in a lower gear than a higher gear, even when no throttle is applied.
Latest Answers