Good article. Hopefully it'll help some riders save tehir clutches, too. Downshifting to "help" decelerate actually cost them time and distance. Also, the application of the rear brake first helps as it squats the rear suspension and decreases the frontward load.
I agree, downshifting as a braking aid in an emergency won't shorten stopping distances. When I was an instructor, we taught our students to master their braking first, then on subsequent runs to add in tapping down the shift lever, but leaving the clutch lever pulled in. This wasn't to help with braking, but rather to put them in a lower gear so they can quickly get moving again if they need to, like in a situation where the rider gets stopped, but the driver behind them wasn't paying attention.
I will say, however, that downshifting while decelerating in normal riding situations is a good habit to get into. That way you are already in the proper gear to accelerate should you need to. This doesn't need to cause wear to the clutch disks, if you blip the throttle before engaging the clutch, so that the engine is at the proper speed for the lower gear you have switched into.
I practise my emergency braking every spring, but I can't remember the last time I had to use that skill on the road; it's been years and tens of thousands of kilometres.
**EDIT**
Now I remember. I was deep in thought, at the end of a long day, and I ran a red light, doing about 60km/h. I got stopped with about 10-12 feet to spare, but the driver who I was on a path to hit, said, "
Your life flashed before my eyes!"
