04-28-2014, 09:00 AM
(04-28-2014, 07:28 AM)The Spaceman_imp Wrote: ferret is right; the clutch plates aren't acting like a brake pad and disk. They snap together and then the engine does the work of slowing the bike as it pumps air. If you bother to blip the throttle properly as you downshift, you will have virtually no friction on the plates. And even if you don't, you'll still never wear out a clutch unless you simply don't know how to use it.
I've been hearing that old saw about "brakes jobs are cheaper than clutch repairs" since I started driving, and it's just wrong. Ask any professional driver or mechanic and they'll advise downshifting to slow your vehicle; either going down a mountain or coming to a stop sign.
The issue of clutch and brake wear aside, I guess I don't quite see the point in doing what you're talking about for every stop. (And maybe you don't mean every single time, but that's what it sounds like.)
It definitely makes sense in certain situations. For example, unless I need to stop quickly, I almost always let engine braking help with initial deceleration (by simply releasing the throttle and leaving it in the gear I was already using); and I'll always drop a gear or two for engine braking when coming down a steep hill; and sometimes if it's a long, slow stop I'll downshift through the gears just because there's plenty of time and it's less boring that way.
But in other common braking situations--like, for example, coming to a stop from 50 mph in 4th gear when a traffic light goes red and I need to stop relatively quickly (not a panic stop, but not a long, leisurely process either)--it just seems impractical to busy myself with repeated clutching and shifting and blipping. I might leave it in 4th for a bit to help with initial deceleration, but I'm not going to bother with actually shifting into third. At that point I just grab the clutch and keep the gear selector moving down to the appropriate spot for whatever my current speed is.
So I guess what I'm saying is that in some (though certainly not all) situations it seems like an unnecessary distraction from the primary task of braking.