Funny that this thread is going on now. I was off today and on a ride. Just for the heck of it, I, out of the blue, decided to see how well the slipper clutch worked. As per my dirt bike days, just kicked the gears down, sans clutch, into 1st at over 20MPH. No jerking, no hopping, no tire noise. Just a drop into the next lower gear with no argument from the bike.
Had a Duke 690 also with slipper, and no matter how it was abused, the rear tire and engine never made me regret my actions. Man, I miss that Duke. A Hooligan with a CAPITAL H, for sure. tp
Top of first gear is about 60MPH on our bikes.
If I am setting up for a turn (aka, partly turning already and still slowing down) When engine braking (using clutch and blipping the throttle...) I definitely notice some sliding of the rear wheel if I drop into second above 50 MPH, and 1st above 40 MPH (by the time I'm in first I'm already 1/8 the way into the turn and about to get back on the throttle).
Now that said, I have never once felt wheel hop on this bike, where as on my 650 I most definitely did if I had a sloppy downshift. It was actually quite rare to slide with out hopping... On the connie it just slides a bit and comes right around