Who does clutch-less shifts?

[Mercaholic]

.......and what model of bike is allowing you to do so?

Reason for asking is I broke a clutch cable on my '83 GS1100ES a long way from home and litterally limped along in 1st gear. I tried power shifting into 2 and 3rd and had a real tough time finding that sweet spot where things should have engaged. The bike just hated my efforts

 

[seuadr]

i had to do this once.. roll on a little hard and then cut ALL throttle and peg it up at the same time.

 

[Baatfam]

If all is well it should be real easy....
Just a little up pressure on the lever, (upshifting), close the throttle a little and it should just snick right in...
Down is just the opposite...little presure on the lever, blip the throttle...snick....

 

[bonanzadave]

My 82 E almost falls in and out of gear with just a bit of preassure on the shifter. When I hit the right RPM it pops right in. Up or Down.

 

[Old Colt]

It is rare that I ever use the clutch during a shift on any bike. Generally I will use the clutch on the 1st to 2nd shift but very rarely after that.
I drive a car powered by a Turbo Hayabusa. Things happen so fast on the track that you can not use the clutch.
You used the term power shift, were you applying power at the time you tried to shift?

 

[ironsheik]

I do this all the time after 2nd gear. Upshifting is a piece of cake, downshifting means you really have to match the revs right and time it right. It should happen really smoothly if you do it right. You can usually just apply pressure to the shifter as the revs rise and it will simply drop into the next gear.

 

[tkent02]

Do it gently, it's easy.

Do it hard and do it too often, you might need some trans work some day.
Or not.

 

[maro]

Do it gently, it's easy.

Do it hard and do it too often, you might need some trans work some day.
Or not.

I agree. I go through phases. I generally shift using the clutch because it feels more natural. I'll go through weeks riding clutchless...on the upshift. I almost always use the clutch on the downshift.

I broke my cable once far from home. Got home without stopping and clutchless shifting.

 

[sultan]

Same situation on my '83 GS650. I broke my clutch cable a couple weeks ago. Luckily I was close to home and was able to get a ride back then return to fix the bike enough to get it home. (Also, luckily, it broke just as I was pulling into a parking spot.)

After getting the bike going again, I decided it would be good to know*if* I could clutchless shift, and how I would have dealt with this if I was farther from home. Answer was "yes" I could, and as mentioned by others, upshifting is really easy. Downshifting a bit trickier. It's easier to do while coasting as opposed to decelerating. I also found that I could walk-start the bike by getting it rolling to about the speed of a lazy stroll then popping the clutch and hitting the gas at around the same time. (My starter won't roll over unless the clutch is depressed...don't know how common that is...this is my first bike.) Upshifting only required laying off the throttle for a split-second, shifting up, then hitting the throttle again. Since learning this, I've even started shifting without the clutch from time to time, as I actually find the acceleration to be quicker and smoother if you know where to time it.

Obviously the problem with a broken clutch cable is stopping (and getting going again afterwards). However, I think if I was really careful, timed lights right and did rolling stops at stop signs, I could probably limp home a decent distance without the clutch if I absolutely had to.

In a side note, I broke down right across the street from a hardware store. Nothing that they had enabled me to fix the bike. After going through boxes in my basement, I found I had some _bicycle_ brake cables with similar (if smaller) barrel ends. I took one of these, fed it through the cable housing, used a small bolt and nut (with 'grippy' knurls on the faces) to secure this at the clutch-end and was back in business. Not only did this work for driving the bike home, but I used it for two weeks while waiting for replacement cables to get here, with no problems shifting whatsoever. After replacing the clutch cable a few days ago, the bike cable, bolt, and nut have gone under my seat in my tool/repair kit. I think the cable cost something like $3. ( http://www.bikeparts.com/search_results.asp?id=BPC318586 ) I'd highly recommend it for anyone's emgergency kit, given the small size of it, ease of the repair, and necessity of the clutch to start and stop. (However, I wouldn't recommend driving for 2 weeks using this method...I realize that I was pushing my luck.) Also, after replacing the clutch cable, the clutch lever is incredibly easy to pull compared to what it was before. Feels as smooth as butter instead of like one of those hand-strengthening exercise things. = ) I just got a standard motion-pro cable for around $20.

 

[Guest]

doesnt this tear up the gears???

 

[Guest]

doesnt this tear up the gears???

Negative. IF (and that's a big if) you do it at the right RPM's.

I would do it on my gs550 at the drag strip and it was good for .1 of a second in the 1/4 mile.

 

[ThAzKat]

to use the clutch or not while upshifting?
A major debate on a few sites I have been on.

I have been clutchless shifting for years on many different bikes. No problems with any of them. As for having a lower ET at the dragstrip, YES!

 

[tkent02]

doesnt this tear up the gears???

Can't help them much, but they can take it for a while.

 

[catbed]

if you do it right, almost no wear on the gears and no wear on the clutch. i have done it many times, some more sloppy than others, twice i actually missed and i was in neutral between 3/4 4/5.

 

[geisterfahrer]

Motorcycle transmissions, as far as I know, do not have synchronizers. Ours certainly don't. Clutchless shifting can cause undue wear on the gear dogs, and probably shortens the life of the transmission to some extent. As a rule, I use my clutch. I have, on the other hand, put too much pre-pressure on my gearshift pedal and upshifted before squeezing my clutch lever .

It's good to know that you can shift gears without the clutch, and I think it is good to practice this, in case you snap your clutch cable out on the road.

Just my $.02.

 

[Guest]

(My starter won't roll over unless the clutch is depressed...don't know how common that is...this is my first bike.) http://www.bikeparts.com/search_results.asp?id=BPC318586

There's a switch underneath the clutch handle housing that's identical to the front brake switch. If you follow the clutch switch wire into the headlight bucket, you can disconnect the 2 bullet connectors & simply re-connect them to each other on the harness side - this will bypass the switch & allow the bike to start without depressing the clutch.

However, be mindfull that it will now turn over in gear, so be sure you're in neutral!

mike

 

[cwag459]

I shift either way, depending on my situation and mood at the time. I usually use the clutch on the way up, it just goes a bit easier. On the way back down, mine practically slips itself into gear, nice and smooth. It doesn't seem to cause any problems, so I'm going with it.

 

[Old Colt]

For those that do not do clutchless shifting. A few pointers.

When upshifting, just back off the throttle and do your shift. You need to time the back off just as you time the clutch release. The key thing is to reduce the engine torque since the engine needs to slow a bit during the gear change.
When downshifting, You give a little throttle blip to accelerate the engine. This should be a learned practice in everything you drive that has a manual box whether the clutch is used or not.
Many newer bikes have a slipper clutch, these are neat. In this case the clutch does not engage fully in trailing throttle so when you downshift it relieves load on the driveline and does not lock the rear wheel during the shift. This makes a precise throttle blip less important.
I am going on 40 years of shifting this way so it is second nature to me. I have been doing it in gearboxes that I have been told will just blow up. I guess they have for someone.

Once you learn the technique the bike will not care if you are loafing down the road or riding at full chat, it will shift smooth with less wear on the bike than if bobbling through the gears using the clutch without care of proper technique.
You will know when you have it right when riding two up and your passenger can not detect your shifts.

 

[rphillips]

Air shifters on drag bikes work clutchless, No damage, even at high RPM.

 

[Old Colt]

Just a note for those not knowing,
Air shifters use an ignition cut to allow the torque reduction needed.