Should I be able to switch gears w/o engaging clutch

[cmattina1]

When i was first intalling the engine, and noticed i could change gears while not having the clutch engaged. I never really even tried to do this before, so I am not sure if it's normal.

I know i can engage my clutch, say, at a stop sign, or i know i can shift more smoothly (normally) by engaging it while driving. but yesterday i tried pownshifting without engaging it, and it worked, was a tiny bit rough, but barely scraped...

seems like my clutch is a tiny bit engaged constantly...?

 

[BigJimmyW13]

You can "speed shift" while moving. Which is shifting at the right RPM's w/o the clutch. Also when the engine isn't running.

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[Hairyblackdude]

When racing quads, we used to shift clutchless.. Only UP shift & we were trying to squeeze every little bit of power out of them..

I wouldnt recommend it for daily use- unneccessary wear & tear.

 

[cstafford]

My sportbike riding friend does it all the time. Only clutches downshifts.

 

[gggGary]

With time and skill most shifts can be done smoothly without a clutch both up and down. 3-4 and 4-5 are the easiest to do smoothly up shifting is easier than downshifting. Some bikes are easier than others to shift without the clutch.

 

[retiredgentleman]

Oh you can do that...................and then your next job will be splitting the cases to replace broken tranny parts

 

[oldbiker]

hi ,,,i,ve changed gears without using the clutch mainly up changing on my 1980 gs1000e,,,, down changing i use clutch... regards oldbiker

 

[Travis]

On a lot of modern sport bikes you can clutchless shift up through the upper gears super smoothly at high rpms. You just let off the throttle a little bit when you shift.

I was riding with a friend and his clutch lever flew off the bike at about 110 mph. He drove home shifting both up and down without a clutch no problem. When you shift down you have give it a little gas to get it to click into gear.

On an XS650, I say use the clutch.

Google 'motorcycle clutchless shifting' and you'll come up a ton of results.

 

[hooktool]

It won't hurt the gears at all, you just have to let off the gas a bit. Its hard to be real smooth in the lower gears. Full throttle slamming of the gears, with or without the clutch, will eventually take its toll, but the xs transmission is pretty robust. The gears just need to be unloaded, and that can be with the clutch, just rolling off the throttle, or a momentary kill switch. The kill switch is used on several modern sport bikes-its attached to the shifter and kills the motor just long enough to make the shift.

When the motor's not running, like when you were installing it, the clutch has nothing to do with whether it shifts or not. All the clutch does in regards to shifting is to take the load off the gears when its running so the sliding gears will move.

John

 

[mrriggs]

I have been clutchless shifting my bike pretty much daily for five years now. When I switched to the PWK carbs it became more difficult to do it smoothly. When I stepped up to the quick pull throttle it was near impossible.

Since the new throttle did not have a kill switch, I wired up the horn button for that function. Well, one day I was thinking about how an air shifter works on a drag bike. It cuts the the ignition for a fraction of a second while the air cylinder shifts the bike. So I tried tapping the horn [kill] button while shifting. What I got are the smoothest shifts EVER! And I don't just mean the smoothest clutchless shifts, the smoothest shifts period. Full throttle blasts are a riot but it works just as well when putting around town. Of course, this only works with up-shifting. You still need to blip the throttle to down-shift.

Just a word of advice. If you are concerned about transmission damage then you should become proficient at clutchless shifting. Even when you choose to use the clutch, you need to match the rpm like you do when not using the clutch. I cringe whenever I see a guy pull in the clutch, come to a stop, then thwack thwack thwack the shift lever to get back to first.

 

[AceofSpades]

my 75 has about 18,000 miles on it, and I really only use the clutch at stops and some downshifting (mainly the 3-2 and 2-1). I almost always let off the throttle for a split second as I shift. I have good clutch wear and no gear grinding. I have riden this machine like this for 2 years, and my uncle (PO) rode it the same way for the 1 season he rode it... maybe mine is a freak of nature, but (knock on wood) it seems to actually like that style of riding