Clutchless shifting

[Les]

Does any know of any definite pros or cons of this gear changing technique? My bike seems to quite like it and it makes for a nice quick and usually smooth change especially when under harder accelleration. Do you think that it increses wear? Opinions..?

[wkid_one]

Nah it doesn't. So long as you roll off the throttle when up shifting the gear should just slot in to place piece of piss.

[Antallica]

Yeah it doesn't seem to matter on my Fixxer when I do the odd clutchless either. But I like to use the clutch anyway as to not get into any sort of habit of it.

[Two Smoker]

The only time i notice a problem is going from second to third because it is a large gap in the ratio meaning too bigger jump in the revs....

[Jackrat]

I have personaly seen boxes in the shop that have been damaged by it.This may of course have something to do with the skill of the owner.I still do it myself but just not a lot an then carefully.All the gearboxes with rounded dogs I have seen have been from the same brand of bike so that may also have something to do with it.

[Les]

Yeah I really notice the difference going thru neutral into 2nd. It seems to be sooo much smoother and no clunk like when I clutch it. My gearbox is still new (only 3000k's) so is still a bit tight. I can notice it loosening up as the k's build. I was curious as I don't want to stuff anything just yet...

Previous bikes of mine (mostly trail bikes) didn't seem to like it but the SV is fine.

[FROSTY:Me]

Ive been clutchless upshifting for years--never had a problem

[madandy]

Never used the clutch for upshifts on the dirt bikes I've ridden AG200;175Enduro; XL 185; XR250; KDX 250; CR250. All shifted faultlessly.
The RF is smooth as silk once the oil is warm and down shifts, in low speed traffic, on part throttle are smooth too.

[Cajun]

our bandit 600 is far better going up gears with out clutch than with the clutch.

But i pretty much do clutchless upchanges most of the time

[Motu]

Never use the clutch off road - just a flick of the wrist...mind you my XR200 used to jump out of 2 gears,obviously a manufacturing fault.The XS1 has a man sized clutch pull,so not being man sized I will clutchless shift when tiered.

[jrandom]

From memory I believe I've heard that 'zook gearboxes tend to be happy with clutchless upshifts. Certainly my FXR eats them up no problem, the clutch seems to be an optional extra really. In fact it downshifts with nothing but a wrist-flick quite nicely too - a few times I've sort of been half-asleep, missed grabbing the clutch lever and hit the gearshift anyway while engine-braking and it hasn't complained.

Don't know about any other manufacturer reputations, though. Which brand were you thinking of there Jack?

[kerryg]

Here's a useful link:

http://www.vf750d.com/blurbs/shifting.html

[marty]

the RS downshifted sweet as, especially from high speed, with the tiniest flick of the wrist. it wasn't that happy up shifting, but it really only took thinking about pulling the clutch in to change up. there is a big diff from 1st to 2nd, so had to make that a really positive move, or it would hook fresh air....2 stroke at 12000rpm

[Deano]

I often upshift at Manfeild Open days without the clutch, but generally use it on the road. I never downshift without the clutch.

[Hoon]

I took almost half a sec off my 1/4 mile time using clutchless shifting. Also worth about half a sec a lap on the track too.
Clutchless shifting is just another part of racing and everyone does it. You can even buy quickshifter kits for your bike which will sense when you are applying pressure to the gear lever and cut the ignition for a split second so the gear can slip in without you having to blip the throttle.

Other than the time benefits its also means less work for the clutch hand. If you are racing around a track and changing gears 15 times a minute, you will have a very tired hand by the end of the day. Also it doesn't upset the bike as much and you are more likely to get away with it when leaned over.