Another question

[Bayouboy]

So, when riding at highway speeds, and you have to slow and make a turn off the highway, is it okay to downshift manually from 4th or 5th gear down to 1st or 2nd? If I let the bike downshift on it's own, it seems to shift kinda slow, and I find myself making a turn in 3rd gear. Also, I've read that you shouldn't ride your brake or the nanny will shut you down. I don't ride my brake or rest my foot on it, however, I do brake through turns. Does anybody see this as a problem? Being a new owner, I'm trying to make sure I develop good habits early on, I hope my questions aren't too elementary.

Thanks,
Bryan

[Peter Aawen]

You can shift up & down just like you would if you had a manual - in fact, the SE gearbox IS pretty much identical to the manual box, only with a different clutch & computer controlled solenoid activated changing, so you are waaaay less likely to break it!! :clap:

Shift up & down manually as you feel fit, or if you are feeling a bit lazy, you can let it downshift for you when the computer decides that to do otherwise would compromise your engine/trans, control, &/or safety - aren't computers great! :thumbup:

As for the braking, trailing the brake thru a corner can help keep the Nanny from intervening - it'll 'think' that since you are still braking gently that you've got it all under control & leave you to it, even at times when it would otherwise intervene cos you are going too fast/not leaning enough/got too much steering dialed in for that speed or whatever.... The trailing brake thing is just another tool you can use to keep everything under control & the Nanny happy, but if you just do it as a matter of course cos you are lazy instead of ryding 'properly', then one day you might end up in the brown smelly stuff when otherwise the Nanny would've looked after you. :lecturef_smilie:

[Bob Denman]

:agree:
The transmission will do all the work for you: if you let it!
But you always have the final say! :thumbup:
(The computers will prevent you from over-revving or lugging the engine: that's all!)

[4 MARIE]

Never hear about the nanny giving you grief if you ride your brake, although you already should know you just don't do that.
I guess if you are "over cooking" it into a corner, you might have to brake. I guess you can go at it like Nascar if you want to.
Personally I like to roll in, and accelerate out. You can only downshift if that shift will NOT take you into redline. Otherwise it will just refuse. Your SE6 , like ANY automatic (think car) is not designed to rapid downshift. It's harder on the clutch and gearbox, and it will make your already "stellar" mileage even worse (in case you thought that wasn't possible)

Now, I realize some of our other Spyder pilots think they're Johnny Lightning, and I guess if you can afford the citations and nice impressions you leave on the driving public, more power to you. I outgrew that a while ago. When someone approaches me in a parking lot, I'm pretty sure they just want to see/admire the spyder, and they are not there to punch out my lights for cutting them off in traffic. haha. You DO know these eat tires also right?

[Chupaca]

The nanny will give you some brake failure messages if you ride the brakes but not instantly. You can downshift as you see fit with limitations you would not normally exceed anyway. As for braking in a turn it is better to do it going into the turn so you can power out of it without making the transision in the middle of the turn...

[Pirate looks at --]

I almost always down shift my self. The one exception from 2nd to 1st as I come to a light or stop sign. I prefer to have that additional control over what the motorcycle is doing.

[Bayouboy]

Thanks everybody for the replies! I will start practicing less breaking into turns.

[Devious56]

Never hear about the nanny giving you grief if you ride your brake, although you already should know you just don't do that.
I guess if you are "over cooking" it into a corner, you might have to brake. I guess you can go at it like Nascar if you want to.
Personally I like to roll in, and accelerate out. You can only downshift if that shift will NOT take you into redline. Otherwise it will just refuse. Your SE6 , like ANY automatic (think car) is not designed to rapid downshift. It's harder on the clutch and gearbox, and it will make your already "stellar" mileage even worse (in case you thought that wasn't possible)

Now, I realize some of our other Spyder pilots think they're Johnny Lightning, and I guess if you can afford the citations and nice impressions you leave on the driving public, more power to you. I outgrew that a while ago. When someone approaches me in a parking lot, I'm pretty sure they just want to see/admire the spyder, and they are not there to punch out my lights for cutting them off in traffic. haha. You DO know these eat tires also right?

Not to be a smart a**, but would you kindly explain how down shifting (normally done not on the gas) is going to make you gas mileage worse? I believe the owners manual mentions down shifting manually.

David

[ARtraveler]

The SE version of the shift gives you either option for downshifting.

I like to let the ESSIE do its job on about 98% of the downshifts. I like rolling up the ramp and in that last 100 feet or so hearing the downshifts kick in one after another.

The do it yourself option is still there if I need to kick it down to get extra power to pass another vehicle. I don't do that too often these days though. :yes:

[Ex-Rocket]

Well I'm another one that likes to manual downshift when slowing down for traffic or a stop sign. I just think it saves your brakes some. I also like to keep the RPM's higher when on a twisty road. I'm sure the transmission would be in one or two higher gears when doing the curves if I didn't manually downshift. I just like to be under power when in the curves. Just the way I ride.

[4 MARIE]

Not to be a smart a**, but would you kindly explain how down shifting (normally done not on the gas) is going to make you gas mileage worse? I believe the owners manual mentions down shifting manually.

David

sure happy to. Does your car get better mileage in 4th at 2500RPM, or 3rd at 3000rpm ?
explain to me, how higher revs equals BETTER mileage ? Your bike REVS on the downshift without needing any throttle by us.
It's the same reason that unless "forced" your car will UPshift as soon as possible, and will delay the downshift until it has to
to avoid lugging.

[Bob Denman]

I used to manually downshift my 2010 RT about 90% of the time. The ESSIE's downshifting manners were pretty unpolished. :shocked:
But my 2014's manners are so much improved, that I let it handle the gear-pickin' chores about the same percentage. :D

[Ramg66]

I read the Do's and Don'ts twice, learned a ton. I wish I would have read 2 days earlier before I bought my Spyder.

[Motorcycledave]

yes

[Bob Denman]

I read the Do's and Don'ts twice, learned a ton. I wish I would have read 2 days earlier before I bought my Spyder.
I hope that you would still have bought it! :D

[Devious56]

sure happy to. Does your car get better mileage in 4th at 2500RPM, or 3rd at 3000rpm ?
explain to me, how higher revs equals BETTER mileage ? Your bike REVS on the downshift without needing any throttle by us.
It's the same reason that unless "forced" your car will UPshift as soon as possible, and will delay the downshift until it has to
to avoid lugging.

You logic is amazing, I'd sure like to explain it to you over a beer.

David

[rustynail51]

yes

[missouriboy]

sure happy to. Does your car get better mileage in 4th at 2500RPM, or 3rd at 3000rpm ?
explain to me, how higher revs equals BETTER mileage ? Your bike REVS on the downshift without needing any throttle by us.
It's the same reason that unless "forced" your car will UPshift as soon as possible, and will delay the downshift until it has to
to avoid lugging.I agree with this on normally-aspirated engines, because the cylinders are inhaling the gas-vapor many more times per second in lower gears than in higher gears, even with the throttle closed. That is IF the idle-circuit is still open to pass fuel to the engine! It seems to me like it would be possible to have the idle circuit closed also in a computer-managed system like the Spyder... then re-open it just before clutch-disengagement to restart combustion. This would eliminate fuel consumption while decelerating, regardless of downshifting behavior.

Does anyone know if the ECM works this way? I'm only speculating...

I downshift manually only when approaching a stop sign a little too hot, just to save the brakes a bit. Even if it wastes fuel, a lil gasoline is way cheaper than brake-pads. And the labor cost to install them, in my case.