what is this "slipper clutch mod" you speak of? I rode my brother's 2004 with a yoyodyne slipper and it was great... I don't have any comparison experience with the 3rd gen aftermarket slippers and the stock though.

 

This is the slipper clutch mod OP is referring too.

OOPS!!!! edit for link:

http://www.r6-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36545

 

subscribed, same issue as OP, :lmao

 

You'll never make the Indian MotoGP team with that issue:lmao

 

lol, how do you ride if you cant brake and throttle blip at the same time?

I blip for every downshift i do, even when coming to a full stop. and that's on the street.

 

I usually just let the clutch out much slower. Every time I try to blip while braking the pressure I am applying changes. Add in that I have to do this in shorter periods of time on track and it is just not working.

 

I understand. At times my braking pressure changes. But it's all in the wrist. Once I got it down, the bike didn't jerk nearly as much

 

with my luck I would finish, start my bike, and it would explode and kill me.

 

Save yourself a ton of money and correct your technique first. Try separating all the actions if you're having trouble doing so much at once (i.e. downshift before you get to braking marker or visa versa). With a slipper clutch you don't really need to blip w/ your downshift - that being said, the stock slipper clutch isn't stellar and isn't the most forgiving if your actions aren't the smoothest, this is where the "mod" comes in. From my understanding, it just makes the action that much looser - allowing more room for "error" I guess.
I don't blip the throttle at the track, if your timing is right you shouldn't need to either.

lol, how do you ride if you cant brake and throttle blip at the same time?

I blip for every downshift i do, even when coming to a full stop. and that's on the street.

And how does that make you feel? :laugh

 

And how does that make you feel? :laugh

GOOD lmao

^ haha. I am right there with ya. Things always seem to go wrong when I work on the bike. Simply trying to take rearsets off today and I find a bolt head is stripped so I can't change out my rearsets.

lol, exactly

All this talk of blipping the throttle on the downshift is getting me confused... When I don't use the clutch lever (up shifting or downshifting) I abruptly CLOSE the throttle, throw it up/down a gear, then get right on it again. :wtf are you all doing?

rev up 1k real fast when downshifting. Makes it smoother'

 

^ haha. I am right there with ya. Things always seem to go wrong when I work on the bike. Simply trying to take rearsets off today and I find a bolt head is stripped so I can't change out my rearsets.

 

All this talk of blipping the throttle on the downshift is getting me confused... When I don't use the clutch lever (up shifting or downshifting) I abruptly CLOSE the throttle, throw it up/down a gear, then get right on it again. :wtf are you all doing?

 

Ok I don't ride the track but in all my years of experience I have to say i like the current slipper clutch. Thought it may not be great it is still effective. I can get through all of my shifts without massive blipping, most of the time not even having to blip the throttle. Probably because I just ride in first everywhere :sing

 

This is a mod I can honestly say I don't need.

 

I am not great at this at all. I jerk the front brake like a fool. I used to be able to do this back in the day..

When I was at the track on my (02), I would just lay on the brake and make my downshifts without blipping the throttle. Dropping 4 gears at the end of the back straight was fine. The rear tire slipping is my slipper clutch. :lmao

And does anyone remember who posted that sweet clutch lever video from his trackday? I think it was Luke Geiss maybe? That dude is pimp as hell on his downshifts.

 

I have seen that video and tried to replicate it on track. Didn't work, haha.

 

:lmao Tell me about it. That dude has SKILLS

It's just something I never really tried to work on much for whatever reason.

 

I have an idea, more practice...:fact

 

Knew that was coming.

 

Unnecessary mod if you are a street rider. I have done the slipper clutch mod and have no issues so far. I suggest you all try to get more riding education prior to purchasing or doing something to your bikes to improve riding performance.

 

Enough said. I completely agree as most riders can utilize engine braking out on the street. A real example would be when you're going downhill, especially up in the canyons. It'd be kinda scary for most riders if they didn't have the engine to help assist with braking. However, doing a mod like this for a dedicated track rider makes a lot more sense. I personally feel that the stock slipper clutch is inadequate for me out at the track because I'd prefer to fully utilize my brakes as opposed to the engine to increase my margin for error and increase my pace(though I'm not fast enough to fully utilize the mod). I've gotten myself into some hairy situations where I miss my braking marker, brake too deep, and misshift causing my rear wheel to lock up and skip around. (btw. I'm proficient at rev matching) Doing the slipper clutch mod or buying an aftermarket slipper clutch would help in such a situation. My understanding is that a lot of the AMA guys actually utilize the slipper clutch mod as opposed to purchasing a new slipper clutch.

 

This is for a track bike.

Edit: Did you do the 3-3-0 mod or -6mm, -12mm?

 

Ive heard the 6/12 is the better method for reliability...

:repost

youre adopted....:fact

 

I've watched both those videos. When I try, I usually either under or overrev and never get a good blip.

Edit: Oh yeah, and I usually end up releasing the brake slightly, which isn't good.

 

Throttle with ring and pinky finger - brake with first finger or first and middle

 

It's gonna take practice. If I can do it so can you. I use 4 fingers most of the time on the brake and I find it easier. It is just something you have to keep doing until you get it. As for the under or over revving, again it takes practice. Eventually you will get it.

 

Luke try getting used to one finger braking, it makes a world of a difference. I used to 4 finger brake and arm pump was terrible while racing. A friend of mine started using his middle finger to brake and he suggested I o the same. It feels weird at first, but once you get used to it, it helps a lot with arm pump. I blip the throttle while downshifting under hard braking on the street. Under lighter braking I don't bother with it.

 

^ Those are some mad skills :fact I know the slipper clutch is so ur tranny can compensate for the faster speed ur tire has while downshifting. What i wanna know is what's so bad about letting the back end kick out a bit and slide? i understand if ur not used to ur back sliding it would be scary but other than confidence how else does this help? does it avoid highsides more since u have more traction (which is what i think)? Please enlighten us lol

 

:laugh how does your tire have a faster speed when you're downshifting? You may have then only bike int the world that defies physics.... Downshifting only slows the bike further, as it is fighting with the compression of the motor and a lack of fuel air mixture to sustain the engine speed necessary to keep the tire spinning at the same rate, which is why the motorcycle slows down. The inertia and gyroscopic forces are what keeps the motor at the higher rpm and retards it's slowing. This compression force can and readily does exceed the coefficient of friction between the rear tire and the road, especially under heavy front braking, increasingly moreso as the weight transfers forward. This necessitates a solution in the form of a slipper clutch to keep the rear from locking, causing lack of traction and unsettling the chassis, neither of which is conducive to lap times. A locked brake is a brake with reduced effectiveness and and much higher penchant for giving you flying lessons. Adding in midcorner or heavily leaned braking can get you a nice low level flight and hard landing as well.

 

I use the middle finger for braking but i'm running Brembo Billet 19x20 mc. Majority of the time my down shifting and is done and late braking along with trail braking to get me deeper and faster into the corner.

 

Does that MC really make that much of a difference when braking? Luke mentioned you can't run them in SS.

 

My experienced track riding friends insisted that I not do any throttle blipping when I got my R6. My old bike was an 80's hunk of junk and required a fairly deliberate throttle blip for downshifts (the motor was slow reving). It became a habit with the old bike so I actually had to force myself not to blip on the track.

That being said, I find the rear stays much more settled with a very small blip for each downshift. If I just drop the clutch, the rear tire will squirm back and forth which was unsettling at first when I was first learning, but becomes something you get used to. I followed my friends advice for a few trackdays and then tried my own thing. Just the smallest bit of momentum put into the motor with a blip seems to make the downshift much more composed and keeps the rear tire from squirming around as much. I want to make it clear that this isn't a rev matching blip, just a tiny little one, maybe a thousand RPM. Keeping yourself from changing your brake pressure while blipping just takes practice.


On topic, I would love to do the slipper clutch mod sometime, but will likely work on my own riding habits for a while longer before I change anything. This bike is still much more capable then I am on it.

Disclaimer: I have an 06 w/ stock slipper clutch. What I said above is what works best for ME to keep my bike settled under hard braking. YMMV. I use my index and second finger on the brakes and third/pinkie on the throttle. This has always felt comfortable to me.

 

I would say blip to be honest. It may not be an issue for you now, but as you get faster and more aggressive you may find that the rear will want to move on you as you change gears. I've had my rear tire bounce several times from just botched downshifts. Unless you have a pretty stellar slipper clutch it's difficult to get away with when you get to faster speeds. When we were at the track together you had a pretty good pace, but still have some more speed to build. I think you will find that at some point as you get faster not blipping may cause issues.

For me it's like this. Being able to do it adds confidence that if I come into a turn hot, I can still get the gears down. Or that if I came into a turn under another rider and took a very early line, that I could still get the downshift in while the bike is partially leaned over and not have an issue. If you try something like that without blipping, you will likely have a rear end slide that is not fun. Not being able to do it will also keep you from making those moves later on.

You have decided on your own hat this is a good thing to do. I agree that you choose the right thing. There is just so much more to riding than most think, in order to be fast. It's the little things that add up. This is one of those very important little things.

 

Good point, Luke, and it's on my list of things to work on. FWIW, I was actually trying to back up what you said with my experience on a 3rd gen. I was trying to say that a blip was still necessary, even though it has a slipper, to keep things smooth. Perhaps the slipper clutch mod loosens up the clutch enough so the blip isn't necessary? As I get more aggressive on the brakes, I'm sure it will become more important as the back tire will have that much less weight/traction and will require more delicate control inputs. The other point was that "blind" advice from friends is not always right (not your advice, my other friends).

Edit: Oops, I thought you had misunderstood what I was saying at first, but after re-reading your post I was wrong. So, uh, yeah, .... nevermind.

 

No problem, it's a habit of mine to post as I see what I'm posting too, instead of in general. I actually read all the way through, but when I respond, I do it in the order that I read it. If you desire read this link, That I have on having a plan. It may help you come up with an idea on how to approach what you want to work on. It's what I do when I feel I need to work on something.

http://www.r6-forum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1888106&postcount=36

 

Thanks for the link! I've read something similar before and that thread. Every time I go to the track I pick one thing to work on. I adopted this learning method many years ago when my brother was teaching me to ski. He would always rattle off about 10 things I needed to work on and I could never remember them all. Once I started picking and choosing the items to work on, I learned much quicker. It's actually pretty amazing how much about track riding I can relate to ski racing in high school.