| Author | Message | ||
     Bott |
bike sure does go snick snick w/o clutch....bad for bike? I'm talking cruising around, not slamming at 10,500. Bike seems to not care about unloaded upshifts without it , but I know on my Tuber it's considered a bad idea.Opinions,experiences?? | ||
| Xl1200r |
I find that the 1-2 shift can be a little hairy if just cruising around, but everything else can be dont fairly smoothly. I don't do it often, but that's mostly just out of habit. These trannys are all synchroed, so as long as you can do it smoothly there won't be much harm. If you get your timing right shifting with a clutch, it really shouldn't slip much anyways. I think the bad news with a tuber is the engine is a lot slower to rev down, so it doens't match up in time for a cluthless shift. | ||
| 1_mike |
I don't know about snick-snick....but as long as it's done carefully..."up" or "down" shifting shouldn't be a problem. Been doing it for years, including my 1125CR. The XB12R doesn't like it though. But it's a slow to slow down flywheel...not a trans. thing. In the higher gears it does it just fine also. Just don't force it. Mike P.s. - for what it's worth...this method also lengthens the life of the clutch. I have two bikes with at and over 100,000 mikes with the original clutch and my current R1 has almost 98 thousand miles with the original clutch pack. (Message edited by 1_mike on May 24, 2009) | ||
| Plumpton |
I often shift up, 3rd gear and above without the clutch. Its unreal how fast the bike goes if you get it right. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
i shifted my honda shadow fro 7 years clutch less up and down with no real issues. brand new i was doing clutch less shifts once i found the sweet spot rev wise. so far as i know done right should help reduce wear on the frictions and steals in the clutch pack the same way it does on a dry clutch like in a big rig. | ||
| Ourdee |
I hardly used the clutch on any of my jap. bikes. I use it all the time on the XT though. It is just not smooth enough to begin with for me. | ||
| Plumpton |
did a 260 mile trip on the R yesterday and really got the hang of quick shifting up through the gears. getting it right makes the bike feel like its got turbine like smooth power as you go up through the gears.. This was my first longer trip on the bike since new and im well impressed with it. managed to get 150 miles out of it before the fuel light came on. Sorry, back on track. Cant say that ive tried down shifting yet though without the clutch. FYI, my old XB9SX didnt like this at all so i cant recommend any XB owners try this.... | ||
| Jaimec |
It may lengthen the life of the clutch, but it puts a lot more stress on the transmission. Me, I'd rather replace a clutch than a transmission any day... Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD. But hey, it's your bike and your wallet so do as you will. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
jaimec- so when floated from one gear to the next with no discernible additional friction or grinding. i am curious how it becomes hard on the trans. of course slammed the shifter around at the wrong point can def bend or break shift forks and even dog ear gears. i am also curious if there are any stories out there that can attribute a dead trans from any bike to floating shifts. | ||
| 1_mike |
Jaimec - If done incorrectly...you are correct. But you may notice in my post...my last two and on my way to my third bike with 100,000 miles or better on them. That's with "no" trans. or shift related problems. It puts NO additional stress on any part of the trans. Most anyone can learn to do it...as you may have noticed here of others that also do it. Funny, I learned to do it with my cars..just carried it over to my bikes. If you think about it for just a second...you may notice that the act of pulling in the clutch lever...AND...letting off the throttle, accomplish the exact same thing. It removes the load from the dogs and gear teeth. Both enabling the act of shifting. Only one of those two things needs to be done to shift. Mike | ||
| Jaimec |
Upshifts are one thing... but someone mentioned clutchless DOWNshifts. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
jaimec- yeah that would be me it's def not easy but yeah it can be done. | ||
| Zac4mac |
If you blip it just right, it's a smooth snick into the next lower gear. If you miss, it's crunchy... | ||
| Bott |
My years on the Tuber got me in the habit of blipping on all downshifts, using the clutch. Doing this on the 11 makes clutchless downshifts easy and smooth... | ||
| 1_mike |
Jaimec - Clutchless down shifts....why not....? Again, just put light pressure on the shifter....lighten the load the the throttle...just a little...see what happens, I'll bet it shifts very smoothly...all by itself. With practice, you can downshift all the way to first, or neutral..which ever you desire. Normal street driving...no clutch use, a normal thing. If I'm being a little heavy with the throttle, no clutch, if I'm being very aggressive with the throttle, I use the clutch. I just love wives tales of why you can do something, or why you can't. Mike | ||
| Duggram |
Mike, On track the only time I've found a false neutral was downshifting clutchless from 3rd to 2nd. Using the clutch with a blip also stops the rear tire from bouncing. I agree with upshifting clutchless and also plan on getting an electronic shifter in the future, more for convenience/smoothness than lowering lap times. On the street things are more relaxed and maybe you can get away with clutchless downshifting without finding false neutrals. Good luck. |
