Clutchless up-shifts

[julianop]

So what's the collective opinion on upshifting without use of clutch?

I fully anticipate the gamut to run from "dopey b@st@rd, who would even think of such a thing?" to "yawn, maybe you'll be up there with the rest of us one day, grasshopper".

[scubadoguk]

I have done it on all my bikes on up-shifts only...... downshifts NO 

[Cholla]

Clutch? We don't need no steening clutches!
As long as engine rpm matches gear rpm, no problems.

[Nosmo]

I don't do it regularly but it is a good technique to be good at for that day when your clutch system fails 236 miles from home and you have to get back.  It will work OK as others said as long as you match RPM's.  The problem will be the time you screw up and don't get it right, then you may suffer some transmission damage.  The clutch just allows you to be sloppy with your RPM matching and get away with it forever.  I broke the chain on my Wee-Strom once due to an unco-ordinated upshift, fortunately it didn't wrap around the swing arm and lock the rear wheel until I was down to about 3 MPH or so and in the dirt on the road shoulder.  If that had happened on the freeway at 70 MPH I'd probably be dead.

Edit to say:  I'm not recommending it, just saying you should know how to do it just in case.  I do not and would not do it on a regular basis.

[George R. Young]

. . . As long as engine rpm matches gear rpm, no problems.

So I'm in 2nd gear chuffing along at 4000 RPM and 30 mph and planning to upshift into 3rd. In 3rd at 30 mph, the engine speed will be 3000 RPM. To me, it looks like the engine speeds don't match. There's going to be a pretty abrupt decline in RPM from 4000 to 3000 in the space of a gear snick.

This is another way to say I don't do clutchless shifts.

[timsatx]

That's why you back off the throttle slightly, at least I do. If I am hauling but I still do the same thing.

[bbarrows]

I use the clutch on maybe 15% of my shifts, both up and down.

[timmerz]

If I'm in a seriously accelerating mode, like trying to go from a stop to about 60 or so real suddenly to take advantage of a miniscule window in traffic, power-shifting is the only way to go...a quick snap of the right wrist to ease the pressure momentarily on the drive train and snick up...I have done the acceleration both ways, and power-shifting is MUCH quicker for me..YMMV, of course!

[flaboy]

Ive always done clutchless shifting up & down when I am just putzing around in street traffic. but if I am WOT I will just squeeze the clutch just enough to take full pressure off the plates and shift, have never had a problem or broke a bike yet. But use it at your own risk, I ve had friends that have done it wrong and not gotten the outcome they expected.

[julianop]

Well I prided myself on learning to shift smoothly from the moment I got back on two wheels just over a year go, and have been making every effort to reduce the torque to zero at the point of change to minimize snapping of the drive chain (gears and shaft, not chain literally, of course). I tried clutchless up-shifts last week after reading about them in an article, and found that I make the smoothest changes that way. Downshifting is harder, because you have to blip the throttle just the right amount to get the engine speed to increase just the right amount between the disengage and the re-engage, but I find I can do it if the engine is warm.

Thanks for the experience and opinions; I expected variation, and wasn't disappointed :-)

[turbojoe78]

All my fast acceleration, high RPM up shifts are done without the clutch.

Don't regularly down shift without the clutch but haven't had a problem doing it when I do.

[Pfloydgad]

This is something that I have done all all my bikes. 1st to 2nd get the clutch, but the rest of the way only gets the de-throttle. Now the clutch is always used for downshifting.
It doesn't seem to do any damage, as long as it is a clean shift and timed correctly with the reduction, or release of drive force on the transmission with the de-throttle.
JMHO, ride safe all.
Greg

[TR34]

Just curious, has any of you tried to upshift using the engine stop button?

[RFH87_Connie]

If you grow up riding dirt bikes, you will probably not use the clutch for upshifts except for take-off (IMHO).  Its just too easy.  Down shifting is a little tougher as the rpm window is a little tough to hit.  Doable, but takes more practice.  When I have a passenger, I find I use the clutch on pretty much all shifts so it is smoother and less jerking around.