Street Triple R – Riding in the Zone

June 25, 2018April 5, 2023

What you need to know about Throttle Blipping

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What is Throttle Blipping?

To execute smooth downshifts, it is important to match the engine speed with the road speed. You can do this by slowly easing out the clutch (after you slow).

But sometimes a rapid downshift is necessary. The problem is that releasing the clutch at the wrong time and too abruptly can lead to lurching re-engagement and a rear tire skid or “chirp”. This is where throttle blipping comes in.

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Throttle Blipping is the term used to describe the rev-matching technique where the rider momentarily “blips” the throttle to increase engine rpm to better match the revs to the road speed when downshifting.

You’ve probably heard riders blip their throttle as they downshift while rolling to a stoplight. But, throttle blipping is best heard when a sport bike is decelerating and downshifting (and usually braking) from high RPM and high speed.

Listen to my friend Aaron as he demonstrates some of the quickest and smoothest throttle blipping I’ve heard (or is it the magic of modern sport bike electronics?). Listen at the end of the straight starting at 0:15:

Here’s another video showing my throttle hand as I blip the throttle. See 2:20. For comparison, I enter the same corner, but without blipping at 4:08.

Here’s another video showing me smoothly execute three non-blipping downshifts at around 4:15:

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How to Blip a Throttle

The throttle blipping technique is done by quickly cracking the throttle open then closed (blip) while you simultaneously squeeze the clutch and click the gearshift lever. The point is to get engine RPM matched to the lower gear ratio before you release the clutch. The rapid blipping technique occurs within the span of about one-half second. The clutch is quickly squeezed and released as the transmission is shifted down and the right hand blips the throttle. This is repeated with every downshift, one gear at a time.

You can blip the throttle rapidly to reduce the time between gears, or you can be leisurely. High-performance riders blip the throttle very quickly when downshifting between gears as they set up for a corner. Street riders may choose to blip the throttle when downshifting. This is done more slowly when coming to a stop.

Blipping and braking smoothly takes practice.

Brake and Blip

Oftentimes, you need to brake while downshifting, but trying to simultaneously brake while blipping is a difficult skill to master. The problem is that moving the right hand to blip also causes the braking fingers to move, which invariably changes brake pressure. Combining braking and throttle blipping can be done with less difficulty if you apply the front brake with your index and middle fingers while you close and open the throttle with your thumb and two outside fingers. Arching your brake fingers is also helpful in isolating throttle movements.

The point is to blip the throttle while keeping consistent brake lever pressure. This is most easily done when using very firm braking pressure , like when braking hard from high speeds where brake lever movements translate into relatively minor brake force changes.

Technology

Nowadays, you can get a motorcycle that will allow you to shift up and down without using the clutch. When downshifting, the bike’s electronics automatically blips the throttle perfectly as you downshift. Pretty slick.

Is Blipping Necessary?

Some motorcycles benefit from throttle blipping more than others. A big V-twin or single cylinder engine with a lot of engine braking can more easily lock the rear tire if the clutch isn’t released carefully, so blipping makes sense. But, for many bikes, especially ones with in-line 4 cylinder engines, it’s easy enough to quickly but gradually release the clutch between downshifts. It’s what I do when I ride my Triumph Street Triple on the street or track (see video below). With the introduction of slipper clutches on many sportbikes these days, it’s even less necessary to blip the throttle.

Still, a lot of riders swear by throttle blipping. That’s fine, if you do it skillfully. I find that it just adds another thing to do while I’m screaming into turn 1 at over 100mph. Listen to my downshifts at the end of the long straightaway in this video from a recent track day, starting at 2:06 and then throughout the video. You can hear how I simply downshift and then ease out the clutch. It’s done quickly, but smoothly:

Engine Braking

One problem with throttle blipping is that it minimizes the stabilizing effect that comes from engine braking. Let me explain.

Engine braking (or rear brake force) causes the rear tire contact patch to drag behind the front tire’s contact patch. Think bungie cord. This pulls the rear of the bike in line with the front.

Blipping the throttle during downshifts minimizes engine braking compared to simply easing out the clutch. A little bit of engine braking still happens, it’s just not as much.

Practice

Throttle blipping can be a challenge to learn. But, here’s how.

Sit on your stationary bike with the engine idling and in neutral. Blip the throttle quickly (like a spasm) so the engine revs 600 to 1,000 RPM.

Next, simultaneously squeeze the clutch just as quickly as the throttle. Only squeeze the clutch in about half way. That’s enough to get the transmission smoothly into the next lowest gear.

The next part can’t be done while the bike is running, so shut it off and repeat what you just practiced, but this time press the shift lever down simultaneously with the throttle and clutch. All three controls are engaged at the same time, within the span of less than a half second.

Now go try it in a parking lot. I won’t be pretty at first, but stick with it. Good luck.

Do you blip your throttle? If so, or if not, tell us why?

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December 2, 2013January 23, 2018

New Bike, New Track

It’s hard enough to get accustomed to a new-to-you bike, but throw in a new-to-you racetrack, and things can get interesting. It’s kinda like patting your head while rubbing your tummy in a circular manner (I’m pretty good at that, BTW). Normally, I get up to speed fairly quickly when I ride a new track, evaluating each corner for its character: radius, camber, and whether it is an “entry” turn or an “exit” turn. But, it took me longer than normal to sort out the Barber track, mostly because the track consists of blind corners and a layout that is somewhat complex.

This means that it took a few sessions to not feel lost. I would be asking myself, “Wait, is this that tight turn or is it that turn that opens up?”.

Add to that the need to acclimate to a new-to-me motorcycle and the first day at Barber had me not exactly feeling Stig-like. The second day was much better.

Which way do I go? Notice the fogging face shield.
Copyright Raul Jerez / Highside Photo

Learning the Barber Motorsports Rollercoaster

I could tell you all the super-secrets I use to learn new tricks, but I would be repeating myself, because I already wrote a lengthy article on tips for learning new tracks on the Tony’s Track Days website. Read it HERE. Share any other tips you have in the comments below.

Even with my book of tricks in mind, I had a harder than normal time figuring out Barber. Now, to be fair to myself and to put things into perspective (lest you thought for one minute that I wasn’t awesome from the start), I was going respectably fast in the Advanced group after the first session. However, my standards for pacing with the fast guys made me rather discouraged. I know many of you slowpokes are used to being passed by half of whatever group you ride in, but I am not (just kidding). But, even after the third session, I was feeling a bit too much like I should be in the Intermediate group.

This would not do, so I consulted with Tony and my faster peers from New England and discovered that I was slowing too much for a few corners and not getting on the gas nearly early or hard enough. The last two sessions were better, as I started identifying the problem corners and applying some of the reference points Tony and the others were using.

Mother Nature's Tire Warmers — Mother Nature’s Tire Warmers

Sunday morning was 25 degrees F, so we substituted the frozen on-track festivities for a walk around and some bench racing around the tire warmers. Tony and I didn’t bring tire warmers, so we opted for Mother Nature’s warmers, which worked surprisingly well (at least on one side of the tires). After lunch, the temps got up to a whopping 35 degrees, so we pulled on our leathers and hit the track.

Nippy fingers and a fogging face shield told me to take it slow, but after a few laps, it became apparent that the track itself had some grip. Since it was 70 degrees only a few days before we arrived, the ground wasn’t nearly as cold as the air and the asphalt was well over 50 degrees…not great but acceptable.

Let the fun begin. The rest of Sunday was a blast. I started getting up to speed hooking up with Keith, Woody, and Rich. Tony, Adam and Aaron were too fast for me. See the videos HERE.

But, wait! There is more to this story, so read on.

The ZX6R owenstrackdayphotos.com — The ZX6R
owenstrackdayphotos.com

A New Bike

If you’ve been reading the RITZ blog at all you probably know that I sold my most-awesome ZX6R for a Triumph Street Triple R. I really didn’t want to sell the ZX, but a medical issue required me to make the switch from a crouched racer posture to an upright naked posture (oh, grow up).

The differences between the ZX6 and the Street Triple’s spanned only a few areas: handling, gearing, power characteristics, body position, throttle response, drive timing, front tire grip, footpeg feel, shifting ease, wind noise, and color (I wonder how the Striple would look painted Kawi Green).

With all these things to adjust to, it took me most of the first day to get a good session in.

Is this bike twerking? Copyright Raul Jerez / Highside Photo — The new bike.
Copyright Raul Jerez / Highside Photo

Where’s the Power?

In a nutshell, I wished the 675 had more power. I know, I know power just masks poor riding. But, it also is very useful when trying to pace with the big boys.

The Triple doesn’t drive nearly as hard as the ZX636, so I needed to learn to ride the bike more like a small displacement bike, like a SV. To get the bike out of corners and reach acceptable speed on the straights, I needed to go from cracking the throttle to Wide Open Throttle (WOT) immediately to get the drive I wanted. I found myself using full throttle a lot. The 1050 throttle tube helped make full throttle a bit quicker compared to the stock tube, but a MotinPro unit may find its way onto the Triple’s handlebar end fairly soon.

Why is my Bike Twerking?

OK, so power was down, but that is something I found to be rather fun to manage. Full throttle is never boring. I even think I could have kept with Tony if the bike had better manners in the handling department. Don’t get me wrong, for most riders, the Street Triple R’s fully adjustable fork and shock would be awesome, especially for street duty. The bike never scared me, but I was pushing the bike fairly hard and found the bike wanting to wiggle like Miley Cyrus when cresting the turn 3 hill at full honk. I never felt as if I could drag a knee over that hill with the way the Striple was Twerking beneath me.

Perhaps there was some more adjustments that could have tamed the beast, but the temperatures were so low and the oil so thick that any adjustments would probably not net any real benefit, so I left the adjusters at the Loudon settings and dealt with it. Peter at Computrack Boston will be receiving my forks and order for a new shock by the end of the year so I can have more range of adjustment to suit my style.

Chilly. See the fogging faceshield. Copyright Raul Jerez / Highside Photo

Turn 2 on Sunday. Copyright Raul Jerez / Highside Photo

Museum Corner resembles a mini-corkscrew. Copyright Raul Jerez / Highside Photo

In a future post, I will talk about my experience as a track day customer, as opposed to an administrator/instructor. I made note of several areas that helped me better relate to track day customers I work with. Stay Tuned.

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October 29, 2013January 23, 2018

Triumph Street Triple R gets accessorized

The Street Triple is serving duty as both a track bike and a street bike. It's great on gas. — The Street Triple is serving duty as both a track bike and a street bike. It’s great on gas.

The Street Triple R has been getting the track day treatment with protection, top shelf suspension, and race tires. You can read about the track makeover HERE.

But, since I’ll be riding the Striple both on the track and the street, I’m also adding some street goodies to help make it a bit more street-able. It’s a great street bike to begin with, but a few select accessories make the Street Triple R a nice road companion.

R&G Tail Tidy keeps the turn signals out of the way and save a ton of weight.

R&G Tail Tidy Fender Eliminator

The R&G Tail Tidy allows my bike to be ready for both track or street. The fender eliminator save a lot of weight and keeps the turn signals tucked in in case of a fall.

Click the link below to view the Twisted Throttle product page for the Tail Tidy.

Seattime

Here she is with all her track protection and street goodies.

The Triple R came with a Sargent seat as well as the stock seat. The Sargent is very firm, like I know Corbins to be. The shape is much flatter than the stock two-toned seat, which unlike the stocker, keeps my gentlemen from getting “tanked” when braking. The Sargent isn’t perfect. The forward edges are a bit sharp and it kinda keeps me on a single position. The Sargent makes most sense on the highway where I am angled forward into the wind, which scoots my butt back into the “pocket”of the seat’s shape.

On the track, I found the Sargent to be too restrictive when hanging off the bike all the way.

This is where the stock seat is superior with a crowned shape that allows for easy side-to-side movements. It’s really easy to change the seats, so I’ll use both for their respective purposes.

The stock seat looks great, but it’s too narrow and slides me too far forward.

The Sargent seat makes street riding nicer.

Lord of the Tankring

I’ve used the SW-MOTECH/Bags-Connection Quick-lock tankbags for a while now. The bags are very nice, but the real advantage of these bags is the tankring mounting system. The bag clicks on and off the tank so easily that I will never go back to straps or magnet tankbags.

The heart of the system is the tankring that mounts tot he gas filler ring around the gas cap and the mating ring screwed on the bottom of the tankbag. With this tankring, I can switch my Bags-Connection Sport tankbag on both of my bikes; the Sprint RS and the Striple within only a few seconds.

Here is the Triple with the tankbag, flyscreen and stock seat.

The SW-MOTECH/Bags-Connection Quick-Lock Tankbag system is awesome.

Lord of the Flyscreen

Naked bikes are, well, naked. As as such, expose the rider to a wall of wind. This isn’t bad for most street riding situation, but once it gets chilly and you hit the highway, that wind blast becomes a bit much.

I knew the Triumph OEM flyscreen would not give a heck of a lot of protection, and it doesn’t. But, I hope that it will give me a place to tuck when I’m flying down the racetrack at over 100 mph. We shall see when I head to Barber at the end of November.

Update: I added the Sport version of the MRA X-creen from my street bike (Sprint RS) just before leaving for Barberrrrr…it worked great. From twistedthrottle.com

The Triumph OEM flyscreen is sexy, but provides almost zero wind protection.

MRA X-creen clamped to the flyscreen. It worked great.

Phone Mount

I’m installed a RAM ball to the Triple’s handlebar mount so I can have my phone within sight distance for those times I use my iPhone’s GPS function. The phone itself will be attached using the spring-loaded RAM X-Grip device. It’s proven to be a secure mount during off road adventures with the guys and gals at Twisted Throttle. I mounted the RAM ball on the forward right handlebar mount so that the phone would not block the more pertinent information on the LCD screen (speedo, time, etc.) As it sits, it is tucked close to the master cylinder and only blocks the tach past 14,000 rpm. Not a problem on the street.

The RAM GoPro ball makes mounting the camera a breeze. No need for sticking mounts on the bodywork. Just be sure to tether the camera housing to the handlebars in case things get loose.

I can listen to the GPS navigation through my Interphone Bluetooth Intercom. I also listen to music when I feel like it. This is the system I use when I do one-on-one instruction on the track and on the street when I travel with my family.

GoPro mounted using the special GoPro RAM ball.

The Interphone Bluetooth Intercom allows me to listen to my phone’s GPS or music, or even answer the phone.

Update: The Striple has not seen much street time since track day season has begun. It’s slowly but surely turning into a track day-only bike. Take a look at how it’s become outfitted for the track.

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