No ... just a rider choice.

Doc

Don't know what has happened here in Ca. lately but there are now signs posted that say--" Easy on the engine brake" used to say "Truckers, easy on the Jake Brake". Wonder if it offended someone named Jake? You know with all this political correctness crap these day's.

Chaplain Charlie wrote:
javawave wrote:
I believe it states in the manual to never use the engine as a brake. If you are going to be slowing down more than a couple of miles per hour you should be pulling in the clutch which should stop the "Jake Brake" effect. As what speeds are you experiencing it? It may be just adjusting your riding style.

I need to get the manual out - I rarely use the brakes unless I'm coming to a complete stop or someone pulls out in front of me. I've been doing this for 35 years. It will be hard to re-learn.

Same here. I have been downshifting and using the engine to slow down the bike for 40 years. In fact, I do it it in every vehicle that has a manual transmission. I drove 18 wheelers for many years, can you imagine throwing the clutch in in one of those and free wheeling with just the brakes to slow down? Would be putting brakes on every week. BTW, my owners manual says nothing about not using the engine to slow the bike. I have always associated people who disengage the clutch and exclusively use the brakes to stop with inexperienced drivers/riders.

engines are designed to accelerate not break or slow a vehicle when using an engine to slow a vehicle it causes excessive wear on not only the engine but standard trans missions and will lead to more maintenance and repairs. this is why automatics are designed to slip when decelerating so you don't have to disengage the clutch.

you all drive the way you want I know i would rather change break pads,rotors and tires then have to rebuild engines and transmissions.

a lot of old school mechanics I'm sure will agree ask some of the veteran hd owners, riders and mechanics.

I to love the sound of decelerating the bike with out disengaging the clutch but i only do it for a couple of seconds here and there if coasting through a turn or to maintain speed. if i am coming up to a stop sign or light i try to let off the throttle as early as possible disengage the clutch and coast to slow down then i lightly use the breaks and coming upon the stop i use more front break to save the rear. this is just my educated humble opinion.

ride it like you like and maintain it how you have to... just be safe and enjoy

There is less control of the vehicle when you disengage the clutch. Imagine making turns and pulling in the clutch and using the brake going into a turn.

Same thing on the highway, I nver give up the control of having the engine working as well as any breaking.

Just wonder why Yamaha states that. I am going to ask them and see if a get a response

i agree with you but for breaking and slowing down you shouldnt use the engine its one thing to slow some leaning into a corner but when you have to slow to say 15 mph or less let the brakes do their job

i always use engine braking, and always will.

there are more stresses placed on the engine, transmission, and clutch if you pull the clutch in and coast, then let it out again to accelerate.

using the engine braking means there is less of a belt to they system when you hit the loud lever again.

`slipper´ clutches, as used on the 650 savage, are used to prevent lock-up of the rear wheel on fast downshifts because it´s a big single and very light. but you have to be pretty ham-fisted to lock-up on downshift normally.

the roadie transmission is pretty bloody strong, so there is no problem with using engine braking done properly.

another minus point to relying only on the brakes is, for example, on a long and very winding stretch of road. constant application of the brakes as opposed to combining engine braking and brakes can cause the rotors to overheat causing brake fade. this i´ll admit is rare, but more of a possibility than damage caused by engine braking.

How did I miss this thread?

It sounds to me like it's just reverberation of the empty pipes that is the cause. Nothing in the pipes to break up the sound waves.

As far as engine braking... (my opinion) It's just the opposite forces from accelleration. We accelerate a large part of the time that we ride (even a minor amount when on the highway cruising) so I don't think the minor bit of engine braking we do would be damaging in any way.

Wow I was just tring to find out what was causeing the noise didnt know i was going to start a debate on how to stop a bike and what a jake brake is lol i do think your right bigboyms about the reverb in the empty pipes makes sense anyway. think im going to change pipes soon anyway how do the roadhouse pipes sound?

re the non-using of engine-braking........a lot of modern clutch settups are designed with back torque limiters! which are designed to let the clutch slip [to a finite and 'tunable' degree in order to stop the back wheel locking up [in relation to road speed].....this in itself tells me manufacturers engineer the transmisions to deal with engine breaking.....ive always used engine breaking and brakes combined, never pull the clutch-in and 'coast'......besides which a lot of car/truck settups rely on the vacume created to power the "power assisted brakes".....