holding the clutch well before will result in increased clutch wear and reduce in FE.

Clutch should be used only to change gears and nothing else!

Ok, but I keep holding the clutch when slowing in 1st and 2nd gears, otherwise its a rapid slowdown and if there's a pillion I get a bump from behind. Is that normal?

It may not be spot on to say as to the reason by just description . I suspect you downshift when the engine speed is high. i.e., suppose you are in 3rd gear at say 5-6000 rpm, downshifting to 2nd from here will be similar to what you are saying. Try complementing downshifts with engine speed, it should be fine

Need advice on clutch use.

While slowing down in traffic, is it a good habit to hold the clutch in until you stop, or is it better to release the clutch and let the engine braking happen?
Can anyone give a little detail about the advantage/disadvantage of both?

How will the people behind you know that you have slowed down? What if someone is distracted and doesn't notice the distance between you and them is reducing until it's too late? Imagine driving behind someone who has no tail lights.

Bullshit! Don't go for it, what they basically use is an abrasive polish, it's not protective and also, swirl marks.
@bloodseeker- Not really. :P

I never had any problems before first service for them to be rectified, but I have pushed my bike, went on a 600 km trip around mumbai with my brother, we both weigh more than 70kgs, about 15kg luggage tied with bungee cords and his camera bag and tripod, definitely more than 15kg, so we had approximately 180kg on bike all the time. We stayed at lighthouse at Uttan and Korlai, had some contacts (Don't ask for me to help you though, they are not really that strong contacts, sorry folks), bike returned a mileage of 35kmpl, a bit disappointing, but if you consider that at Uttan I had to travel a steep uphill about ten times with pillion and luggage, and also 1km pure off roading to reach Korlai lighthouse, and 30 kms of pathetic roads from Alibaug to Korlai, I think the bike returned a decent mileage.

Also, now that I have redlined it many times, the bike builds up revvs quicker and is smoother, before the trip, it was smooth till 8k rpm, after that, the engine used to howl and vibrate a bit, now, it still howls, but vibrates less and goes up quicker.

So new riders, don't drive Cbr150r like splendor, read the manual, even before first service it says to avoid only full throttle starts and sudden bursts of acceleration, no speed or rpm restriction.

Will post photos when I get them from my brother. :P

Also, new high speed record for me, before this I did 121 about which I posted, now, I did 124 with pillion and all the luggage, the bike could have done more but my brother was pissed off sitting behind. :P

Loving it!

Also, bike doesn't have low end torque, rev it 5k rpm before pulling from first, and observe your pillion cursing at you to drive slow. :P

It may not be spot on to say as to the reason by just description . I suspect you downshift when the engine speed is high. i.e., suppose you are in 3rd gear at say 5-6000 rpm, downshifting to 2nd from here will be similar to what you are saying. Try complementing downshifts with engine speed, it should be fine

dude the max weight capacity of cbr is 130kg so i guess you should rev it easy while exceeding the weight limit with a good margin! :P

During my last road trip i took the bike to 130kmph with a pillion (total weight around 140) easily, i had rev range left but the crosswind was bad ass crazy!!. This was on the nice ring road, bangalore...amazing road!

I didn't have any problems with cross winds, which were quite strong at Vashi bridge, but I was only at 100. About the maximum weight potential, I know it affects handling, suspensions, endurance of tires, etc. I could feel that difference, but I doubt the engine will be affected if kept in the appropriate rpm range. And as Cbr150 is a high revving machine with maximum power at 10.5k rpm, you need to rev it more to make sure engine is not struggling to provide power. Please correct me if I am wrong. :P

even me confused about this thing :P :P lol
So what i do is rev it maybe max 10~10.5 n generally 8 avg coz churning out max power aint the issue of conc when excess weight i guess.... idk :P haha

wouldnt using engine braking wear off your sprockets too much as in it would rub it hard ...right?

and say when you wanna slow down say slowly for a distant speedbreaker, rather than using engine braking wouldnt it be better to press in the clutch get it to the appropriate gear and rev match and release the clutch after the speed breaker??....this would neither heat the clutch nor put high pressure on the sprockets......right??

wouldnt using engine braking wear off your sprockets too much as in it would rub it hard ...right?

and say when you wanna slow down say slowly for a distant speedbreaker, rather than using engine braking wouldnt it be better to press in the clutch get it to the appropriate gear and rev match and release the clutch after the speed breaker??....this would neither heat the clutch nor put high pressure on the sprockets......right??

Hi friends,
Hope all r doing good its been 8 months I bought by baby blade, did 3 long trips chennai <=>trivandrum each 900 odd kms.
Recently I noticed a small hole in my exhaust I can see its spraying some liquid (might be water). Does that hole affect my bike, please advise.

Can u please tell me more about engine breaking? Y is it provided?

Meek riding doesn't need engine braking .