Powershifting 82gs1100gl

[eddiev]

With a clutch cable about to snap while on the road the other day I looped back towards home and figured there's no better time than now to learn how to power shift this bike. Once I got the shift rpms down it actually was very smooth shifting.
My question is.... Is this damaging at all if done correctly or is it better to always clutch and not take the chance of bashing a gear?

Thanks and I hope everyone is enjoying a great summer riding season.

Eddie V

[GS1100G]

well they put a clutch on a bike for a reason and it is not asthetics

[seuadr]

With a clutch cable about to snap while on the road the other day I looped back towards home and figured there's no better time than now to learn how to power shift this bike. Once I got the shift rpms down it actually was very smooth shifting.
My question is.... Is this damaging at all if done correctly or is it better to always clutch and not take the chance of bashing a gear?

Thanks and I hope everyone is enjoying a great summer riding season.

Eddie V

i think this subject, like oil, will have alot of opinions. i know it's been said before that done properly it's ok, and it's also been said that needless wear on the transmission is.. well.. needless.

personally, in some situations, i do power shift but generally i try not to.

[eddiev]

Well thanks for that enlightenment. Before your reply I was considering removing the clutch all together.

[GS1100G]

you need to use the clutch to downshift b/c that is really unnecesary wear if not detrimental to the tranny

[seuadr]

Well thanks for that enlightenment. Before your reply I was considering removing the clutch all together.

not to mention, for safety, it's better to sit at a light in first, foot on the rear brake and clutched than sitting in neutral. All you have to do in the first scenario is pop the clutch and roll the throttle to get out of dodge should something go wrong, in the second, you spend precious seconds getting back into gear, etc etc. not to mention it's just a good habit to have your brake light lit.. cagers tend to be blind, no reason to help them along!

[eddiev]

I would have thought the same regarding downshifting. But since I was so worried about snapping this cable I power shifted down also, even into first quite smoothly. Of course I needed the clutch beyond that. I'd approach a red light, hope it would turn green before I had to dead stop and only downshift at the last moment going just below idle. It worked out. I made it home and only had to pull in the clutch a couple of times.
Anyway, thanks for the replies. I tend to agree.
Eddie V

[GS1100G]

well i strongly disagree about removing the clutch cable for safety reasons and excess wear on the enging and transmission but if you want to then by all means to each his own...

[Killer2600]

i know it's been said before that done properly it's ok

Others will say otherwise but a clutchless powershift can't be done on sequential ratchet shift trannies. To actually rev match the gears you'd have to do it in the very moment when the previous gear disengages but before the next gear engages during the up or downshift. You can reduce the torque put on the gears during a clutchless shift but your still putting added stress on the gears if you don't relieve torque with the clutch.

[rapidray]

You can "blip" shift the bike with little or no affect on the trans. The key is backing off the throttle to unload the trans engagement when you lift up on the shifter. I would NOT recommend this for down shifting but for up shifting, if done CORRECTLY, it is fine. Before the invent of electric shifters this was how road racers ALL did it! Even WITH the electric shifter it is the same principle in that the clutch is NOT used. Also, the term "power shifting" referrs to fanning the clutch & making the shift while never letting off the throttle. This way the bike sort of leaps forward when the clutch re-engages from the rpm going up. Ray.

[Killer2600]

You can "blip" shift the bike with little or no affect on the trans. The key is backing off the throttle to unload the trans engagement when you lift up on the shifter. I would NOT recommend this for down shifting but for up shifting, if done CORRECTLY, it is fine. Before the invent of electric shifters this was how road racers ALL did it! Even WITH the electric shifter it is the same principle in that the clutch is NOT used. Also, the term "power shifting" referrs to fanning the clutch & making the shift while never letting off the throttle. This way the bike sort of leaps forward when the clutch re-engages from the rpm going up. Ray.

True true but IMHO it always has an effect on the life of the trans because getting it just right just doesn't happen on every shift. Clutchless is best left to racers and others who don't expect their trans to last long before rebuild or replacement.

[TheCafeKid]

What you are doing is not called powershifting. A clutchless shift, or "hotshift" is safe for the motor going up. I would NEVER recommend it going down. As said you cant gatematch on these trannys like a car or semi truck or something. Its possible, but its more damaging than anything else. And frankly, I dont see a need, other than you particular emergency situtation, to down shift without the clutch. Down shifting usually happens at times when you want MAXIMUM control of the bike IE starting into a turn to raise your revs, or stopping, or threading traffic. I want the RPMs there when I want them, and not have to fiddle with trying to time a shift.

[Steve]

I agree with the majority of the posters above and will only add ...
it's nice to know that it can be done and how to do it, but I would not do it all the time.

[eddiev]

Thanks for all the info. I changed the cable this weekend and I had only two strands remaining. No doubt one more clutch pull would have snapped it. I tend to agree though, it's good to know we can shift these bikes without clutching if we have to but it's probably best to clutch overall.
Thanks again.
Eddie V

[eddiev]

By the way, if anyone has any insight on this. The new cable may be a bit longer. Both the adjuster on the clutch end and the lever end are almost all the way out to get a proper adjustment. There's not much left to adjust if the cable stretches at all which I'm sure it will. Any ideas on what I can do with that?