Clutchless shifting?

[Oblivion]

AND wear a silly hat

Does this hat say "dunce" per chance?

[hayd3n]

I clutchless shift so i can wave whilst im changing gears

[Slavvy]

Where did you get that advice from? Or can't you say.

A friend with an aprilia rs250. But that's broken down so many times despite our best efforts

[cheshirecat]

A friend with an aprilia rs250. But that's broken down so many times despite our best efforts

Follow your instincts. Clutches are a GOOD thing. Just think of whats happening to your poor engine if the clutch is not being used. As said above, OK for racing to shave a few 10ths and you are not paying for a engine rebuild.

[Slavvy]

Righto, advice taken. Thanks lads.

[FlangMasterJ]

I'm with White Trash on this one. On the road just use your clutch and go easy on the gearbox.

I always clutch on the downshifts but when shifting up the majority of the time I don't. If I'm accelerating hard I'll not use the clutch but when just cruising I'll clutch it.

[pritch]

I can see the attraction on a race bike to gain a tenth of a second per lap and Moto-X because I'm scared to release my grip on the bars lol but reckon for road riding there's no advantage.

I have seen it recommended in magazines for when carrying a pillion because it should be smoother. For that to work as expected presumably some practice would be required?

[scracha]

I have seen it recommended in magazines for when carrying a pillion because it should be smoother. For that to work as expected presumably some practice would be required?

Supposedly stops the pillion headbut thing......but it's much nicer on bike/pillion to just roll off the throttle a bit slower than usual, pull in clutch and then snick it up a gear (or two)

[rastuscat]

The BMW bloke in Mt Wellington reckons that you use the clutch to get the BMW elephant rolling, but only use the first 10 mm or so when shifting on the move.

It's about protecting the clutch from overcoming inertia. When moving off from a stationary position you have to overcome the weight of the bike and rider. When you are up and running, letting the clutch all the way in and out is actually unnecessary, as you aren't overcoming much inertia, given the momentum you already have.

Feathering the clutch is far worse for it than shifting with it still 90% engaged. Feathering is when you rev the guts out of it, and release the clutch far too carefully.

Just my thoughts. Back to my donuts.

[sugilite:Me]

From 3rd up, I'm smoother on upshifts without the clutch. I've never been smoother on down shifts without it, so consequently rarely attempt that. As long as one is smooth, comes down to personal choice me thinks.

[MSTRS:Me]

The purpose of the clutch is to disengage the engine from the gearbox. When shifting gear, this purpose is served by unloading the gears, allowing them to shift into the next meshed position. If judicious use of the throttle can achieve the same effect of unloading the gears, then why not clutchless shift?
Going up is easy, but few if any of us ever achieve a good result when going down.
(Did I just say that?)

[tigertim20]

I can see the attraction on a race bike to gain a tenth of a second per lap and Moto-X because I'm scared to release my grip on the bars lol but reckon for road riding there's no advantage.

+1.
its there, use it. you are just riding onthe road, and not racing? what advantage are you going to get.

the bmws1000rr has a quick shifter, and for upshifts, you do it without the clutch, but its been specifically designed for that. (and a nice bike to ride it was too)

[Metastable]

It won't do any damage if done right, either up or down. Up is easy.... however, for me down is difficult, but it can be done.

It has really nothing to do with racing... it is just a skill set. It can be used at the track or just having a nice relaxing stroll through the country side. I suck at downshifting without the clutch, because I can't practice on another person's bike. I think that is the key issue here no? It isn't that it doesn't make a difference for street riding. It's that we are too scared to screw up our precious bikes by practicing.

But ya, riding fast, riding slow.... up or down shifting can be done very smoothly without the clutch if done correctly. And, it can be done in a standard manual transmission car too.

BTW a couple of videos.... best one I have seen isn't here, on twist of the wrist II movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsz2lM7LsTE&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crZWHEG3N34

[tuska]

using the clutch has to reduce shock loads in the gearset/drive train....but i doubt they would be as bad as clutching up a wheelie....how many of you are guilty of that???

[onearmedbandit]

Honestly, this topic has been covered enough, in fact the links to the many threads are posted in the the 2nd post. So therefore, I'm locking this thread.