I get the pikachewer, Remmy,,

runw...you make completely valid points. I too have downshifted my automatic cars in slippery and/or hilly areas....I like how you think.

Manual transmissions were popular in the old muscle cars because you could control the RPMs better. Just choose whatever gear suits you. Nowadays, pretty much any car with a manual is looked down on as being cheap. Auto transmissions are usually a $1000 option. Car makers throw the auto in a vehicle to make a little more profit while unsuspecting buyers don't realize that they're paying for the "upgrade".

Unless youre ready to run down thru the gears quickly, using the gas and ankle, no clutch needed,, or, you Can use the clutch and IF youre riding a HOT machine, you might just be better off, because IF you jam it in a lower gear than youve synched the motor to, you Might just find the rear tire not agreeing with the speed youre moving and high side the thing,,, But, the Savage is mild and I was able to fly up on a turn and start running down thru gears and set up for a corner and be in the gear I needed to start accelerating from the apex. Getting the slack outta the throttle cable was something I did that took some "lag" out of the accelerating. I noticed I was twisting and nothing was happening for a split second,, I didnt like that,, I used the transmission and used it hard. I learned to shift w/o the clutch, from 2nd to 3rd and up, from 5th to 2nd.. The RPM jump between 1st and 2nd is just too much to be consistently smooth between 1st and 2nd. I did it a few times, but I couldnt "Nail it" every time and the lurch that put in the belt and hub rubbers when I didnt, just not worth it..

The spot where youre not accelerating and not decelerating is when the cogs in the tranny arent loaded and a shift can be made, immediately , if youve downshifted, you need to give it a little gas to synch the engine to the tranny, then, let off,, Its a quick, small "goose", Going up in gears, slap the gas off, shift, twist,, PLay between 4th and 5th to get comfortable with it, because thats the least rpm difference and the rear wheel has the advantage in leverage thru the tranny, its just the lightest "work" on the driveline in those gears..

I rode the pants off of it after I ditched the OEM tires at 5,000 miles.
Ive had it laid into a turn so hard my foot was being hurt from the pressure of the peg pinching it against the engine. I sold it at 20,000 miles and it didnt feel like a ragged out, beat up piece of crap. It didnt leak, it didnt use more oil than it should and it ran as hard as it ever did. It shifted and acted like it had been babied, They have a Good transmission, as bikes go. Yea, they can act a little goofy sometimes, but Ive seen other bikes that have a notorious;ly clunky or "Jump outta gear
False neutrals,, all kindsa hassles,, Overall,, these rate pretty high on the transmission and clutch.. You CAN ride it like its a race bike, as far as running at a corner goes, just dont get so goofy as to downshift to a gear at a speed the engine wouldnt want to accelerate to.. Youll either have the rear tire sliding ( which can be a very bad thing at speed,, you get that thing about sideways and pull the clutch inb, the rear tire rolls and gets traction and Whammo,, highside) or, you over rap the motor.. thats a lose lose,,


I missed finishing the thot..


Unless youre ready to run down thru the gears quickly, you cant set up for making the best time thru a corner, because youre not getting in the best gear to accelerate out from the apex, and youre not in the best gear for going in,, The tranny is the TOOL you use for applying the engines torque to the road,, It Does what it Does Best at a relatively narrow RPM range. If you wanna play Ricky Road Racer, you can, these things turn a lot better than the " walk up and look at the frame geometry" would leave a guy believing. I was shocked at how nimble that "Cruiser" steering head geometry could be. This bikes inherent instability in a long sweeper kept me from running hotter thru places that a better bike would have allowed.. Which kept me from getting in over my head.

Find some roads with curves that challenge you, look at your exit speeds, pay attention to what line youre picking, feel of the bike, every time you go thru, pay attention and try yo learn,,
On That NOTE,, You never KNOW if something is spilled in the road, or someone dropped some bricks,, If you cant see THRU,, dont RACE thru,, Ive been known to ride thru a section, look, turn around and play,, and I was rewarded with increases in exit speeds. I was shocked when I discovered I could exit one particular , not a 90, but a sharp bend, almost a 90, but it has a radius that a car is reasonably comfortable doing at 30ish,, I found I could exit faster not dragging a peg,, Still dont really grock that..