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Ask MO Anything: Is Clutchless Shifting Bad For My Transmission?

17K views 28 replies 20 participants last post by  starbucks107 
#1 ·


Yes, it’s all true. Well, it kind of depends on your bike. Some motorcycles with great big flywheels and big gears, like many Harleys and some BMW Boxers, need the clutch – or at least a little clutch – for nearly every shift. Most sportbikes only need you to use the clutch to pull away from stops and for the shift from first to second gear.

At slow, around-town speeds, we mostly use at least a little clutch to shift anyway; you don’t need to pull the lever all the way in every time you use it. But if you’re steadily accelerating, and especially at WOT (wide open throttle), you’ll find that after second gear, if you roll the throttle closed just enough to unload the driveline, for just a split second, with your toe pressing on the lever, then third gear will slip right in without using the clutch at all. Fourth, 5th and 6th will slip in even easier since the gaps between them are increasingly smaller. Done smoothly, it’s no harder on your gearbox than using the clutch.
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#2 ·
Great to know!!!!

I actually noticed this on my 17" FZ09. It was never done intentionally but I noticed a few times, when my foot would accidentally nudge the shifter it would pop up a gear. And it would happen smoothly as though it was designed like that. Always made me worried/scratch my head if I broke anything. Great to know. So does this mean that it acts as a quick shifter (minus 1-N-2)?
 
#4 ·
I hardly use the clutch for up and down. For sure, 1st to 2nd then the rest no clutch... too wide a throw. The foot has to be under the lever but no load. The chain has to be loose but too loose and the shift won't be clean. Too many miss-shifts the chain is too loose. Blip for downshifts. The main word here is 'timing.' No timing, you clan the gears and once you hear it bang gears, pull the clutch in and let it drop into gear, don't chase it, don't rev it. This is an old style formula 1 gearbox that hasn't changed since inception. Seamless has an updated 'syncro-mesh' kind of helper gear.
 
#5 ·
I blip the throttle on downshifts without the clutch most of the time, if timing is right it is much smoother than using the clutch. Usually partial clutch pull on upshifts. I miss the old 2smoke dirtbike days of just holding her WFO and pulling up on the shifter...Woohoo!
 
#6 ·
If you go to the link it will show the entire picture with the text at the bottom.

Auto part Motorcycle accessories Vehicle Engine Muffler


The barrel-shaped sensor on this BMW S1000RR’s shift linkage tells its ECU when to cut the spark for a split second and allows superquick clutchless shifts – the same thing you do by rolling off the gas.

Sure a quick shift might be handy if you are racing, but even then it's better if it allows up and down shifting. For the street, once you get the hang of it, you can easily do clutchless shifts. So save your money and just learn how to shift properly. Plus I would hate to see what happens when the quick shift fails during hard acceleration and a wide open throttle....ouch!
 
#7 ·
3/4 clutch lever

I also found the 3/4 clutch levers, instead of the full-size clever that come stock from the manufacturer, help tremendously in refining that fine point between a little clutch and full clutch. A cheap performance upgrade since you can adjust the point the clutch grabs to your hand size.
 
#16 ·
Fast acceleration...quick shifter. Lazy riding...clutch.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk
 
#17 ·
Wow, I must be really weird, I always put the bike in first gear, pull in clutch lever, rock the bike backward some to free the clutch all BEFORE I start the bike to avoid the "Jam it into first and get the loud clunk and jerk" and then I always use the clutch upshifting or downshifting and I never try to shift when totally stopped. I also never put it in neutral at a long stop light. Had lots of bikes (36) but never had clutch or transmission problems (or starter problems).

Oh, I guess the couple of times when I broke a clutch cable I shifted without a clutch. Starting from a standstill with no clutch cable is a bitch (I get it rolling first). I once borrowed a vice grip and clamped it on the engine lever and clutched with my leg.




Make all the comments you want, I will ignore them. At almost 70 years old I am not changing my habits.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I agree^ manufacturers wouldnt bother fitting stuff not needed...like a clutch.....and before some jump on and say its just for taking off I dont think so...the recent bike jumping out of 2nd would probably be the result of clutchless shifting...the dogs will have chewed the windows by still being powered....IMO
 
#24 ·
my 2 cents;

quick shifters and clutches work differently (as has been said) but both reduce load on the transmission so dogs can slide to disengage and engage. Without using a clutch and absence of a quick shifter then it requires throttle reduction to unload the transmission. Damage occurs when loading is not reduced adequately for the dogs to disengage the old gear then re-engage the new gear. I think the OP's bike jumping out of gear is a result of this. I think this has already been said in various ways.
 
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#27 ·
Damage occurs when loading is not reduced adequately for the dogs to disengage the old gear then re-engage the new gear.

100% correct...so do it right or dont do it......and just so you know, bad timing on the clutch release can cause damage also..so I guess the moral is, if you cant ride, you may damage your bike....:)
 
#29 ·
When you take your hand off the throttle while accelerating your clutch automatically engages somewhat not all the way. So shifting if you time it right without a clutch is quite all right. You can upshift and downshift if you get the synchrony together. What can happen is if you forget what gear you’re in and you shift it down too fast or up to slow you’ll either over or under rev the engine which is bad for it! originally manual transmissions the driver had to match the road speed versus the engine speed to shift into gear‘s. If this doesn’t happen it does not matter because the transmission will not allow you to shift into that gear. Synchromesh or constant mesh eliminated that variable so that you could shift into fifth gear and be going 10 miles an hour or first gear and hopefully not going 50 mph!
 
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