Do you blip the throttle when downshifting?

[Highly-Dangerous]

Originally Posted by Tomcatt

Are we still beating this dead horse?

You blip the throttle to MATCH REVS (RPMS) TO THE ROAD SPEED IN THE LOWER GEAR.

It makes for a smoother shift.

It has nothing to do with double clutching a non-synchro transmission. We have dog type sequential transmissions that will shift just fine (but not smoothly) without rev matching.

Ride with a passenger. If you don't rev match you'll be banging helmets every time you down shift. It will be a learning experience.

Exactly! thats why I taught my wife to blip the throttle on downshifting, she got the hung of it pretty quick and now she loves it.

Smooth is good!!! I've been blipping the throttle always on all my bikes... its second nature on me.

[boomerguy]

Google the Nissan 350Z manual transmission with the automatic rev-matching throttle which is controlled by the ECU. It does it better than a human driver and gives perfect manual shifts.
Blipping is not mandatory but it sure improves the shifting in a car, truck or motorcycle.
Why is this so confusing?
While you're at it, google how people used to shift gears - up and down - without synchronizers. The transmissions were called "crash boxes" for a reason. My first two cars had non-synchro first gear and it was a right of passage to smoothly downshift into first while moving.

[iNSaNeSHaNe]

Blip! Blip! Blip! Blip!
THE Bike Goes Blip! Blip! Blip!
Now We're going a Hundred and Ten
Blip! Blip! Blip Blip! Blip!
. . . . . . . . .

I Just Bang it and slide the back around
It'll match the revs at some point ...

[Proteus]

Originally Posted by Maxeffort

I had a BMW R75/5 as a teenager, long before I learned how to drive trucks.
That bike taught me to blip the throttle when downshifting. It had a very clunky four speed transmission. If you didn’t blip the throttle when downshifting, it sounded as the trans would fall out. It would also make the the tire squeal on the 2-1 downshift.

I own currently a R 75/5, I do not blip the throttle, as I never blip the throttle on the Sportster.

I just use the clutch handle very slowly, in and out.

My Sportster has 125 000 kilometers, and still the factory clutch with its grenade plate.

I'm a "smooth" motorcyclist, I guess, I never race my bikes.

Just call me grand-pa

I also own a 1982 class-5 Mercedes truck, and funnily, I do blip the throttle when gearing up, the synchro-meshed gearbox is really slow on those vehicles.

[cal43]

as riding bikes from the fifties, im mostly blip the throttle when downshifting.

[Steve9]

blip
blip

[boomerguy]

I do this all the time when I am downshifting for going up or down a hill. If you gently press on the shifter, it will drop automatically when the rpm's increase the correct amount -- it doesn't have to be much. I make a game of trying to do the smoothest blips.

When I am coming to a complete stop, there is no need to blip. I just hold the clutch lever in while slowly and gently downshifting just before stopping. There is no need to involve the engine in this.

Of course there are those who like to sit at a stop light on Main Street with their out-of-tune Big Twin's and super-low idle, and blip the throttle to try to keep the engine from stalling. I saw a guy do it yesterday while holding onto his super-high ape-hangers and showing his armpit hair. He wanted attention and he got it.

[Ireeman]

Hill climbs professionally, one never blips...more of a point and shoot.