Downshifting, uncertain which gear I am in

[PrivatePilot]

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Arguably the only gear I've tried to memorize speeds at is 6th -- Cuts down on the number of attempts at finding that elusive 7th gear when commuting... lol

I catch myself searching for a 6th gear on my VTX every now and then when at highway speeds. Always seems like the revs are so high.

One of the smarter things HD did on many of their bikes was opt for 6 speed boxes - makes way better use of the inherent torque in a V-Twin in the end.

 

[yodude]

basically, you downshift & feed in clutch lightly until you find a gear with happy RPMs to work with,

feed in clutch is key for noobs, cos, get that wrong, like dumping the clutch in the wrong gear,

well then, you're gonna be in for a surprise..

 

[conundrum]

Likely from driving stick for the last 15+ years, but I still can't find myself to slip the clutch much on the bike even though I know it is a wet clutch vs dry, so I'm pretty digital with it. That said, I do slip it a fair amount at parking lot speeds to maintain stability, but that's about it.

Also harder to make a mishap on a sequential, as you never run into the 'crap can't remember what gear I was in...was it 6th or 4th?' like you potentially can in a car if you have a brain-fart.

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