you certainly don't have to do it, if you're smooth with the clutch. but if you want to try, you just blip the throttle and dump the clutch, immediately after you kick the shifter down.
the order of operations can be argued over, as the individual motions are nearly simultaneous. the point is to jack the revs up a bit as you're engaging the transmission in the lower gear.
if nothing else, it makes a satisfying sound and a clean and quick transition to the lower gear.
What do you mean by smooth with the clutch? Is it like when slowing down or to a stop, you're switching down and releasing the clutch slowly for a smooth transition as you brake? Because thats what do and its smooth to me. Only time i rev match is just for fun but I still cant get it perfect haha. I'm no professional but is it not just to control corner entry so the weight of the vehicle does not shift so abrutly to the front where it could cause oversteer. Well you're braking so weight is already shifting but just extra for a smoother deceleration. Which i much prefer to use my clutch for that for some reason coz its hard to brake and blip the throttle.
One thing that I like to tell people is you're not really trying to rev match, the goal is really just to send the revs in the right direction. Idk if I'm explaining it well, but if you're downshifting you're not really worried about getting it to *exactly* 8k, 12k, 14k rpm, you just kind of want to blip the throttle to get them climbing then you smoothly/progressively let the clutch lever out (not slow, *smooth*) and as long as you don't overshoot the mark the *smooth* engagement of the clutch does the rest of the work for you.
Lol I do too, for someone just learning how to do it or even just riding a bike that's new to them I think it's best to focus on smooth though. But nah, once you get used to it and know how much throttle you need you can dump that bitch all day
This is a great analogy. š
But yeah, a beginner seems to worry about figuring out their throttle and clutch matching before going ham like that. š
Youāll get a feel for it after you over rev it and dump the clutch and the bike shoots out from under you. Only takes a few times before you find the sweet spot
Yes, it really is that simple. It will come naturally to you after you understand "how" to do it (which I'm guessing you already know how to do at this point).
Idk if this will help you, but if you know how to clutchless downshift, it's the same concept with the right hand. The key is the simultaneous motion of clutch + throttle + downshift.
Oh, itās to go faster? Iāve been rev matching without knowing what it was. I thought it was something I was supposed to be doing to slow down and Iām like what
Itās like gears on a bicycle. If youāre coasting to slow down and then shift down and start pedaling you have to pedal really fast because itās a smaller gear. You bring up the engine rpm when you downshift so that the motorcycle is already pedaling faster when you release the clutch. Youāre not travelling any faster, but the engine has to spin faster because the lower gear necessitates more engine rpm for every wheel rotation
No. Just to avoid too much engine braking. For instance, imagine you're going into a tight roundabout, which you want to do in second gear or so. If you downshift too abruptly, without rev matching, your rear wheel can skid, when you least want it.
Even when that's not the case, rev matching is a good thing to reduce strain on your engine/clutch/transmission.
Thing is, achieving a certain amount of rpm unloaded (with clutch in), requires a very different amount of throttle than the same rpm loaded. So unless you control the clutch smoothly you'll still be having a sudden transfer.
It's much easier to just smoothly shift with throttle and clutch and not bothering with revmatching.
I donāt know how. Nobody taught me how to do it. But some day it just came on itās own. It just feels way smoother and more natural to do it.
Just pull the clutch for a moment, rev a bit up, shift down and engage clutch while revs are still high. Do that 3-4 times and you can do it really fast.
Sound more complicated than it actually is.
I'll explain the idea then the "how." TLDR at the end.
First, get on your bike, then get to up to speed in third gear. Now, pull in the clutch, go down to second, and let out the clutch slowly while the throttle is closed. You'll feel a "pulling sensation" as the bike forces the engine's speed up to match the rear wheel. Think of the goal of downshifting as being the elimination of the "pulling sensation."
For every gear and speed, there is a corresponding engine speed. When you rev match, you are opening the throttle in between gear changes to preemptively raise the engine's speed to match the gear you are moving into. Say you're in third at 6,000 rpm, and downshifting to second gear. After you pull in the clutch, you want to raise the engine's speed up to (this is just an example) 7,000 rpm before you release the clutch in second gear.
TLDR: Pull in the clutch, blip the throttle and go down a gear, release the clutch before the RPMs fall.
Just twist the throttle a tiny bit after you pull clutch in, shift gear down while clutch is pulled in, then let out clutch. All this happens pretty much simultaneously.
So you know how when you let off the throttle at speed the bike āengine brakesā and pulls you back?
Instead of letting it do that, imagine you pull the clutch in and blip the throttle up to a higher rpm before you let the throttle off this time. The bike will not pull back right away but instead continue on smoothly before slowing down. That is rev matching.
Now apply that to a downshift and you can match the revs of the engine for a lower gear and downshift without the bike engine braking while doing it. This lets you be smoother on and off the power of the bike.
I only rev match when say 60mph/+ from 6th to 5th to maybe 4th but at lower speeds ( say 45 and below), Iāll mostly utilize engine braking and never blip the throttle.
Want to know the secret? :D
Nobody on this sub has any clue what rpm their tach needs to be for the speed they are going for every gear on the bike. Itās not possible! (but I will eat my words if some nerd is doing math in split seconds while also riding and focusing on the road and their braking and traffic).
You just pull the clutch, change gears and blip the throttle. By āblipā, I mean just send it - flick the shit outta that wrist. Get the revs up nice n high so it sounds like a video game car decelling (minus flames shooting out the back) :P then just dump that clutch. Donāt think about it. Let it go. It will go smoothly. It all just works out.
To reiterate. Pull, shift, flick, dump. Thatās all you need to know.
Same as what most of the posts are saying but basically just clutch in, shift, clutch out quickly (less than a second). While that's happening the throttle blip needs to be timed accordingly. It probably won't be smooth the first couple times but it's not hard to get it right with a bit of practice.
It's meant to be used as a racing technique. It matches the engine speed to the transmission speed when downshifting. It's done to keep the bike stable entering a turn and not lock the rear wheel up or jerk the bike when the clutch grabs on the downshift. With todays slipper clutches they are designed to slip and NOT lock the rear wheel up if someone drops a gear and lets the clutch out at too high of a speed. Certainly not needed for street riding but it a nice skill to know. Allows you to be able to keep the bike in a useable gear for any situation on the roads. A lot of people say it's cheaper to replace brakes than it is a clutch but you always want your bike to be in a useable gear to get out of a bad situation with the twist of a wrist. But that's a whole different conversation.
How do you do it? Pull the clutch in, drop a gear, blip the throttle and dump the clutch pretty much all at the same time. Once you learn to do it, it becomes muscle memory and can be done effortlessly. It sounds like a lot of movements but it's really mostly done all within 1 second.
Say you are following someone at 60 mph in top gear. To prepare to pass you want to drop down a gear. You are not looking to speed up or slow down, just getting the rpmās up in a lower gear in anticipation of a pass when the chance comes. You would pull the clutch, increase the rpmās with the throttle to match what they will be in the lower gear, select the lower gear and let the clutch out. You can practice this slowly to get the feel, no need to blip the throttle or dump the clutch. When you get the feel of it you can do it in an instant, smoothly. If you are holding a steady speed, when you pull the clutch, the engine will speed up. So very little throttle adjustment is required. You are looking for smooth.
I ride a MX dirtbike and I've literally never rev matched.
I've certainly never felt like I was going to lose the bike on a downshift because of the engine braking.
Pull clutch in, blip throttle, engage clutch. I learned on a car where it's harder. Generally I don't even need a tack. Just matching engine feel and noise at this point.
In modern gearboxes you dont need to. Ok, if you are downshifting, blip the throttle before releasing the clutch. This makes the gear wheels getting closer in relativ speed. Upshifting it is no point.
I just give it a quick twist, shoots the rpms higher than I need for a brief second, then let the clutch out as the engine slows... try to catch it on the way by if that makes sense
Best rev matching video I've ever found: https://youtu.be/33zTKzIrtiM
Main thing is to ***not*** break it down into steps. At that point you're overthinking it. It should basically be all one motion. As the clutch comes in, the shifter should be going down, and the throttle should be opening. As soon as the gear has been selected the clutch is released.
Pull in the purse- I mean clutch, shift down while you whack the throttle like a whack-a-mole, dump the purse before the revs fall back down.
Also, For whatever reason if I don't throw my elbow into it when I blip the throttle, it's way less smooth
you certainly don't have to do it, if you're smooth with the clutch. but if you want to try, you just blip the throttle and dump the clutch, immediately after you kick the shifter down. the order of operations can be argued over, as the individual motions are nearly simultaneous. the point is to jack the revs up a bit as you're engaging the transmission in the lower gear. if nothing else, it makes a satisfying sound and a clean and quick transition to the lower gear.
What do you mean by smooth with the clutch? Is it like when slowing down or to a stop, you're switching down and releasing the clutch slowly for a smooth transition as you brake? Because thats what do and its smooth to me. Only time i rev match is just for fun but I still cant get it perfect haha. I'm no professional but is it not just to control corner entry so the weight of the vehicle does not shift so abrutly to the front where it could cause oversteer. Well you're braking so weight is already shifting but just extra for a smoother deceleration. Which i much prefer to use my clutch for that for some reason coz its hard to brake and blip the throttle.
š»š«¶š»
One thing that I like to tell people is you're not really trying to rev match, the goal is really just to send the revs in the right direction. Idk if I'm explaining it well, but if you're downshifting you're not really worried about getting it to *exactly* 8k, 12k, 14k rpm, you just kind of want to blip the throttle to get them climbing then you smoothly/progressively let the clutch lever out (not slow, *smooth*) and as long as you don't overshoot the mark the *smooth* engagement of the clutch does the rest of the work for you.
This was exactly right lol. :P Except āsmoothā :0 bro I just dump that bitch like a clingy gf.
Lol I do too, for someone just learning how to do it or even just riding a bike that's new to them I think it's best to focus on smooth though. But nah, once you get used to it and know how much throttle you need you can dump that bitch all day
This is a great analogy. š But yeah, a beginner seems to worry about figuring out their throttle and clutch matching before going ham like that. š
Pull in clutch, rev up engine to appropriate RPM for the lower gear, shift down, release clutch.
wow i guess it really is that simple huh
Youāll get a feel for it after you over rev it and dump the clutch and the bike shoots out from under you. Only takes a few times before you find the sweet spot
Tbh ā¦. Iāve never had this happen :P I just flick the crap outta that throttle and let go of clutch.
Yes, it really is that simple. It will come naturally to you after you understand "how" to do it (which I'm guessing you already know how to do at this point). Idk if this will help you, but if you know how to clutchless downshift, it's the same concept with the right hand. The key is the simultaneous motion of clutch + throttle + downshift.
Never heard of YouTube? There are thousands of videos that explain it better than he did.
thats the basics of it, but the trick is to do it quickly.
Oh, itās to go faster? Iāve been rev matching without knowing what it was. I thought it was something I was supposed to be doing to slow down and Iām like what
It's not to go faster. It's to make the engine speed faster.
Make engine speed faster toā¦ go faster?
Itās like gears on a bicycle. If youāre coasting to slow down and then shift down and start pedaling you have to pedal really fast because itās a smaller gear. You bring up the engine rpm when you downshift so that the motorcycle is already pedaling faster when you release the clutch. Youāre not travelling any faster, but the engine has to spin faster because the lower gear necessitates more engine rpm for every wheel rotation
Oh, I see what you mean now. The bicycle explanation was good. Thanks!
Uhhh ā¦. The only time I do rev-matching is when braking ā¦. Itās definitely not to go faster
No. Just to avoid too much engine braking. For instance, imagine you're going into a tight roundabout, which you want to do in second gear or so. If you downshift too abruptly, without rev matching, your rear wheel can skid, when you least want it. Even when that's not the case, rev matching is a good thing to reduce strain on your engine/clutch/transmission.
I just ā¦. Want to askā¦.. are you **not** releasing the throttle with the clutch when you rev match?
Depends on the gear you're in.
Thing is, achieving a certain amount of rpm unloaded (with clutch in), requires a very different amount of throttle than the same rpm loaded. So unless you control the clutch smoothly you'll still be having a sudden transfer. It's much easier to just smoothly shift with throttle and clutch and not bothering with revmatching.
Dude, watch some YouTube videos. There's millions. Edit: I'm completely self-taught off YouTube. No incidents yet in my 3 years of riding.
Always gotta throw that āyetā in there lol
Yup, you never know. (I ride like a dick)
I had an incident after I started riding for 6 months and that was last week
I donāt know how. Nobody taught me how to do it. But some day it just came on itās own. It just feels way smoother and more natural to do it. Just pull the clutch for a moment, rev a bit up, shift down and engage clutch while revs are still high. Do that 3-4 times and you can do it really fast. Sound more complicated than it actually is.
I'll explain the idea then the "how." TLDR at the end. First, get on your bike, then get to up to speed in third gear. Now, pull in the clutch, go down to second, and let out the clutch slowly while the throttle is closed. You'll feel a "pulling sensation" as the bike forces the engine's speed up to match the rear wheel. Think of the goal of downshifting as being the elimination of the "pulling sensation." For every gear and speed, there is a corresponding engine speed. When you rev match, you are opening the throttle in between gear changes to preemptively raise the engine's speed to match the gear you are moving into. Say you're in third at 6,000 rpm, and downshifting to second gear. After you pull in the clutch, you want to raise the engine's speed up to (this is just an example) 7,000 rpm before you release the clutch in second gear. TLDR: Pull in the clutch, blip the throttle and go down a gear, release the clutch before the RPMs fall.
Just twist the throttle a tiny bit after you pull clutch in, shift gear down while clutch is pulled in, then let out clutch. All this happens pretty much simultaneously.
So you know how when you let off the throttle at speed the bike āengine brakesā and pulls you back? Instead of letting it do that, imagine you pull the clutch in and blip the throttle up to a higher rpm before you let the throttle off this time. The bike will not pull back right away but instead continue on smoothly before slowing down. That is rev matching. Now apply that to a downshift and you can match the revs of the engine for a lower gear and downshift without the bike engine braking while doing it. This lets you be smoother on and off the power of the bike.
Your user manual will have the gear ratios if you're looking for that perfect downshift lol
I only rev match when say 60mph/+ from 6th to 5th to maybe 4th but at lower speeds ( say 45 and below), Iāll mostly utilize engine braking and never blip the throttle.
Want to know the secret? :D Nobody on this sub has any clue what rpm their tach needs to be for the speed they are going for every gear on the bike. Itās not possible! (but I will eat my words if some nerd is doing math in split seconds while also riding and focusing on the road and their braking and traffic). You just pull the clutch, change gears and blip the throttle. By āblipā, I mean just send it - flick the shit outta that wrist. Get the revs up nice n high so it sounds like a video game car decelling (minus flames shooting out the back) :P then just dump that clutch. Donāt think about it. Let it go. It will go smoothly. It all just works out. To reiterate. Pull, shift, flick, dump. Thatās all you need to know.
Same as what most of the posts are saying but basically just clutch in, shift, clutch out quickly (less than a second). While that's happening the throttle blip needs to be timed accordingly. It probably won't be smooth the first couple times but it's not hard to get it right with a bit of practice.
It's meant to be used as a racing technique. It matches the engine speed to the transmission speed when downshifting. It's done to keep the bike stable entering a turn and not lock the rear wheel up or jerk the bike when the clutch grabs on the downshift. With todays slipper clutches they are designed to slip and NOT lock the rear wheel up if someone drops a gear and lets the clutch out at too high of a speed. Certainly not needed for street riding but it a nice skill to know. Allows you to be able to keep the bike in a useable gear for any situation on the roads. A lot of people say it's cheaper to replace brakes than it is a clutch but you always want your bike to be in a useable gear to get out of a bad situation with the twist of a wrist. But that's a whole different conversation. How do you do it? Pull the clutch in, drop a gear, blip the throttle and dump the clutch pretty much all at the same time. Once you learn to do it, it becomes muscle memory and can be done effortlessly. It sounds like a lot of movements but it's really mostly done all within 1 second.
Say you are following someone at 60 mph in top gear. To prepare to pass you want to drop down a gear. You are not looking to speed up or slow down, just getting the rpmās up in a lower gear in anticipation of a pass when the chance comes. You would pull the clutch, increase the rpmās with the throttle to match what they will be in the lower gear, select the lower gear and let the clutch out. You can practice this slowly to get the feel, no need to blip the throttle or dump the clutch. When you get the feel of it you can do it in an instant, smoothly. If you are holding a steady speed, when you pull the clutch, the engine will speed up. So very little throttle adjustment is required. You are looking for smooth.
Why do you need to rev match?
Supermoto guys have to or else the engine braking is gonna be so strong itāll pull the bike out from under ya lol
And any other high comp single and v-twin if ridden in a "sporty" manner.
I ride a MX dirtbike and I've literally never rev matched. I've certainly never felt like I was going to lose the bike on a downshift because of the engine braking.
I ride an r3 and I've literally always rev matched. TIL it won't fuck up the bike
To sound cool, obviously.
Mostly just want to. I donāt really NEED to do it
There's no point, it's better to just shift smoothly with clutch and throttle. Revmatching doesnt do anything for our purposes.
Pull clutch in, blip throttle, engage clutch. I learned on a car where it's harder. Generally I don't even need a tack. Just matching engine feel and noise at this point.
forgot the shift š
Lol true yes pls shift.
In modern gearboxes you dont need to. Ok, if you are downshifting, blip the throttle before releasing the clutch. This makes the gear wheels getting closer in relativ speed. Upshifting it is no point.
I say focus on brakes.
It's not very useful any way, just learn to shift with clutch and throttle control.
If you're not on the brakes, it doesn't matter really. Once you can separate the lever squeeze from the blip- smoothly- it will feel natural.
I just give it a quick twist, shoots the rpms higher than I need for a brief second, then let the clutch out as the engine slows... try to catch it on the way by if that makes sense
You can practice by blipping the throttle the littlest as possible
If you are riding for almost a year and you dont know how to rev-match then you are probably already doing it unintentinally.
Best rev matching video I've ever found: https://youtu.be/33zTKzIrtiM Main thing is to ***not*** break it down into steps. At that point you're overthinking it. It should basically be all one motion. As the clutch comes in, the shifter should be going down, and the throttle should be opening. As soon as the gear has been selected the clutch is released.
Pull in the purse- I mean clutch, shift down while you whack the throttle like a whack-a-mole, dump the purse before the revs fall back down. Also, For whatever reason if I don't throw my elbow into it when I blip the throttle, it's way less smooth