Blip or Not?

[Nate R]

Me and Jennifer noticed a LOT of people esp on I-4s NOT blipping on downshifts at BHF July 20th. There was an 03 ZX-6R in particular that was doing this REAL bad into 1 during a race we were watching. Several times getting pretty far offline coming into the turn, bike squirming, etc. A couple of times I could hear the dogs grinding, etc.

And he's certainly not the only one.

Not blipping seems to work for some, but I cringe when I see someones wheel hopping often, or hear that shudder, or the grinding in the tranny.

So do you blip?   I do. I really enjoy HARD braking, and blipping is part of the fun of it for me. Now if I would only go faster through the turns so I could brake later, and not as much.  :D

[Jeff]

I found myself blipping the throttle on the GL-1800 during a ride yesterday :-)

[MightyDuc Racing]

I'm a blipper, but I still get wheel hop into the chicanes at Moroso sometimes when going deep.  I tried more rear brake and worked on easing the clutch out slower and slower and wound up sort of backing it in there and not only got rid of the hop, but knocked a second a lap off my times.  I think once I get used to it and can afford a slipper clutch, I'll work on getting rid of the blip cuz it seems faster if you can grab all of your downshifts and back it in with the clutch.  Practice, practice, practice...lol.

[MELK-MAN]

both. I blip when going into faster sweeper type turns like the many at JennningsGP or turn 1 and 5 at Moroso. Like MD said,  the chicanes at moroso are very tight, nearly a stop and go..and with multiple downshifts i found it was easier to not do the blipping. I was able to brake harder with my right arm not wringing the throttle but rather grab the brake harder and concentrate on my turn in point. But to avoid the wheel hop i let the clutch out slow and that works well for that circumstance. A slipper clutch would be very cool.
MD has got one up on me though as im not backing it in yet:)

[MightyDuc Racing]

lol...I only did it a few times...scared myelf the first time...LOL.  I also backed it into T7 at the end of the long straight trying to catch Mills that last lap of Lightweight GP, but that was cuz I carried too much speed and probably got lucky not to push the front when it caught up to the rear. ;D  I don't know how the big boys do it into the fast turns like they always seem to do.  Absolutely astonishes me to watch that stuff.  I'm having to adjust to when the back tries to come around cuz when I did it as a kid, I had my foot on the ground...LOL.  Not planning to make any habit of it just yet...that's for damn sure. :)

[THE_D.O.C.]

i will only blip the last downshift on a slower corner. example: fast straightaway and three/four down shifts. the last one at corner entry is blipped, the others i use to help slow down.

[castle228]

I hate to sound ignorant, but can someone explain what it is when a racer "blips"?  ??? :-[ ???

Thanks!

[tigerblade]

I hate to sound ignorant, but can someone explain what it is when a racer "blips"?  ??? :-[ ???
Thanks!

Giving the throttle a quick turn to raise the revs.  It helps match the engine speed to the gears so that the rear doesn't chatter.

[motomadness]

Nate here's a question for you:

Do you use the clutch for upshifts?

If you do, the next time you're at the track, try upshifting without the clutch.  If you don't have a quick shifter, the upshift-no-clutch action is almost like a blip, except the rpm's drop instead of rise.  Similar result in that it will make shifting a lot smoother, besides, it will also shave more time off of your laps.

If you're already doing it, great.  See you at the next BHF round.

[Nate R]

Yes, I use the clutch on upshifts. IIRC, a driveline engineer who works at Harley told me I'd be better off tranny-wise to use the clutch. Doesn't save a ton of time to not use it, and I really prefer using it on the upshifts.

I will give it a shot again at the next BHF for giggles.

Also, Sean, I'm still waiting on some new bolts for the TZ sliders.  >:( :o   I can do them in white or black. You preferred black sliders, IIRC?

[MightyDuc Racing]

You use the clutch going up through the gears Nate?  It's definitely a time saver to skip it and there is very little (almost none) risk to the tranny.  I NEVER use the clutch going up on any of the bikes I've ever owned.  My vote is for you to try and get used to it.  Just my .02.

[MELK-MAN]

Yes, I use the clutch on upshifts. IIRC, a driveline engineer who works at Harley told me I'd be better off tranny-wise to use the clutch. Doesn't save a ton of time to not use it, and I really prefer using it on the upshifts.

I will give it a shot again at the next BHF for giggles.

Also, Sean, I'm still waiting on some new bolts for the TZ sliders.  >:( :o   I can do them in white or black. You preferred black sliders, IIRC?

you have no idea how much time it DOES waste using a clutch..  Harley to a Jap bike-2 different things. You really will unsettle the suspension when you let the clutch out between gears IF your on the gas (everyone around you is..you better be or plan on moving backward alot). I think its HARD on the clutch to do so as well. 1 less thing to think about too.