Clutchless gear changes

Hi, I've been out with a friend today who swears by his clutchless upshifts and he reckons they put less stress on the gearbox. Only reason I've never thought about it is because I wouldn't have thought they'd have a clutch lever if you weren't meant to use it!

So, does it eat gearboxes, or should I do it more from now on?

Thanks.

[rictus01]

Covered to death, do a search it's all there.

Cheers Mark.

[Sid Squid]

If you search, you find:

This!

And This!

And that's just the ones from me.

Funnily, I saw the title & thought "this again?"

Sorry Larry, but as the others said, it's been done a million times over.

Whilst we're on the subject though, I'm one of the few advocates of clutchless downshifting (as well as up). Many many folks will tell you that clutchless downshifts will destroy a gearbox quick sharp, so please, don't try it (that way I only risk my gearbox) Upshifting without a clutch is a matter of course.

What happens if your clutch lever breaks? or the cable...

Anyhow, I'll shush now

Sorry, didn't realise this had been done before! I've been told over and over not to do downshifts without the clutch, but I'm off out on the bike now and I'll have a go at the upshifts.

I did a clutchless downshift at the weekend as I 'forgot' to pull the clutch in.... went in like a glove with no trouble but I don't think I will make a habit of it!

For upshifting I don't touch the clutch unless i'm at the lights stoped.

I downshift quite a bit without the clutch.. I only do it when my revs are right and in my opinion only do it if you feel comfortable with it and NEVER force it into a downshift (it should with up and down just flow into the gear with almost no effort.)

Originally Posted by fullstop102

I downshift quite a bit without the clutch.. I only do it when my revs are right and in my opinion only do it if you feel comfortable with it and NEVER force it into a downshift (it should with up and down just flow into the gear with almost no effort.)

'zactly. Last time I mentioned it I was shot down in flames, loads of folks saying that I'd destroy the gearbox.

I only do it when I'm seriously on it, as it provides a quicker change IMO, don't even need to think about it, and it seems to make cornering better (though I accept that if I change into the same gear using the clutch at the same point before the bend, it should feel the same).

looks like it could just be me and you then.

But hey if you like it you like it, if you dont then just use the clutch. In regard to the clutchless shift being non smooth in some of the forum entries. if you just very slightly pull the throttle off a little bit when you change it shouldn't jolt. At least thats what I do.

Unfortunately it's one of those things that only ever gets proven with miles, like whether to run in a new bike or not. If you are a perfect gear shifter then I'm almost sure there is no detriment to the box, but most of us aren't. I can do clutchless both up and down the box, just choose not to. Tis a handy skill if any part of the clutch mechanism does fail, to get you home.