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I have read in other forums and blogs that you should not downshift the early K-bikes to take advantage of the great engine braking due to the fact that the drive splines are fragile. Anyone else hear this or subscribe to this notion? I like downshifting!!!
Downshift. Match engine speed to gear selection and go for it.
[QUOTE=dsword;824992]I have read in other forums and blogs that you should not downshift the early K-bikes to take advantage of the great engine braking due to the fact that the drive splines are fragile. Anyone else hear this or subscribe to this notion? I like downshifting!!![/QUOTE]
Where ever you read that, they were WRONG! If the consensus on that forum was that that was true, I'd pick a different forum. I hear the MOA has a pretty good early K-bike forum.
By the way, I thought you were going to call me and REALLY learn about your bike.:dunno
:dance:dance:dance
Lee,
I have been too busy to ride, much less get together talk about how much we like our bikes. I look forward to getting together in what I hope is the not too distant future.
Until it died in an accident I had an '86 K75 which is pretty close to early. I rode it, upshifting and downshifting using engine braking for 370,000 miles. Other than normal driveshaft spline wear - it went through a couple of driveshafts - I had no issues with splines or U joints. The transmission was never opened up.
So, whoever thinks that is bad for these bikes seems to have been badly misinformed in my opinion.
If you think about your engine braking needs at the time of application or situation, brake pads are a lot cheaper and easier to replace. Verses unnessasary wear and tear on the drive train. There's some food for thought.
Try riding your brakes all the way down the east side of bear tooth pass!
:nono[QUOTE=hhshort;827946]Try riding your brakes all the way down the east side of bear tooth pass![/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=PLUTOSK75RTA;827913]If you think about your engine braking needs at the time of application or situation, brake pads are a lot cheaper and easier to replace. Verses unnessasary wear and tear on the drive train. There's some food for thought.[/QUOTE]
Hmmmm, thought about that statement.......:scratch
Nope, barely excited a single salivary gland........:dunno
Next course.........:eat
Interact with your motorcycle, you'll have more fun!
Replacing brake pads and rotors will run more than proper drive line maintenance.
Even my Camry 6-speed automatic actively downshifts on deceleration.
[QUOTE=PLUTOSK75RTA;827913](snip) brake pads are a lot cheaper.[/QUOTE]
Rotors however are another story :)
One of the true joys of riding a classic K bike is the flat torque curve. A K75 makes 90% of its peak torque at 2,000 rpm. It is possible and reasonable to ride twisty roads and seldom shift, using the power band from 3,000 to 6,000 rpm simply rolling on and rolling off as needed to ride the road. On a K75 even the Dragon at Deals Gap can be smoothly ridden with only a few shifts by using the broad torque band.
All those roll-offs would be considered engine braking, but using the engine in this way is far more benign on the clutch, the clutch splines, and the drive shaft than frequent shifting would be.
This does not rule out the use of light braking approaching corners, of course, and riding aggressively requires some braking in-lieu of downshifting for the smoothest way through the corners.
[QUOTE]!!!If you think about your engine braking needs at the time of application or situation!!! [/QUOTE]35 mph speed zone and slowing down for the stop sign and banging down the gears to slow down and the unattentive bike muncher behind never sees a brake light, or doing so just to hear the noise in the pipes (like those foolish loud pipes save lives guys).
[QUOTE]"Try riding your brakes all the way down the east side of bear tooth pass!"[/QUOTE] Brakes, don't need no stinking brakes. I live 35 miles from the east side of the Beartooth Pass.
Go with what Paul said.
[QUOTE]All those roll-offs would be considered engine braking, but using the engine in this way is far more benign on the clutch, the clutch splines, and the drive shaft than frequent shifting would be.[/QUOTE]