Shifting with the clutch... why?

[manbearpig]

I see so many gopro videos of guys tearing down the street in a straight line using the clutch every time they change gears. wondering if this is the norm for everyone or if these guys are just doing it a different way.

I use the clutch lever to start, come to a stop, and to feather and gain RPMs when needed. I just unload the trans with a momentary break in acceleration/deceleration leverage and just shift. I have been riding this way as long as i can remember, taught to ride this way by my father. i have never, ever had a transmission component failure.

i see no point in letting go of the bars to grab that lever more often than you have to.

and dont tell me that its because its harder on internal components than using the lever. By using the lever, youre wearing your fibers faster...

[tri again]

We'd drive heavy trucks without the clutch as you describe.
70,000 lbs?
Safer than having everything slow down and mismesh.
Back in the day when the jake brake would kill the engine if you hit the clutch.
The theory was to match rpms with road speed etc and shift PERFECTLY in time.

as far as bike engines?
My thought is that we have more 'slop' because of the multi plate clutch
so timing to shift doesn't need to be as perfect.
They'll slip in when they line up.
Not real usable info but just a thought.

[6speedthumper]

I power shift all the time. There are occasions when I'm I do use the clutch. Usually low speed driving. I have found my 350x has a great shifting trans and I don't use it much at low speeds. My Warrior on the other hand, is a bit notchy and using the clutch makes is easier at low speeds. Power shifting causes less wear on the clutch because it stays continuously engaged because you are not disengaging it then re-engaging it. Especially under heavy throttle and the clutch has a lot of "shock" applied to it when you let go of the lever.

I think a lot of people do it because they were taught to. They may have been told that you absolutely have to use it every time you change gears (which I think has a lot to do with people's experiences driving cars). Depending on the car or truck, I don't use the clutch. Some vehicles are easy to shift without using it. Others either grind, or you have to wind them out that little bit so they'll slide into gear when everything relaxes/lines up. The NV4500 behind a Cummins power shifts very well.

[hatc200x1]

On our 1986 Freightliner Semi with a 10 speed we never use the clutch except for taking off. Get the RPM's and speed right for the next gear and she will slip right in. Sometimes it will grind a little bit but if you try using the clutch it doesn't stop the small amount of grinding.

[El Camexican]

I always use them on cars and light trucks, but bikes and trikes not much, only hard up and down shifts, say at over 3/4 of max RPM and usually because I'm on the gas when I do it. Now in saying that my magnetic drain plugs are pretty fuzzy when I pull them. That may be part of it.

Bracket drag bikes don't use the clutch after launch, they just kill the ignition for .020 of a second and an air cylinder moves the shifter up with the press of a button.

[nstyle73]

You are comparing synchronized and un-synchronized transmissions with different types of clutches. "Powershifting" is far different than your Freightliner and the technique that some use to "power-shift" is hard on transmission components when the gears are not meshing with the next gear already traveling at approximately the same speed. Powershifting a street bike transmission will wear the dogs on the gears depending on the tranny design and the rider. These are far greater power levels than a trike, but the same is true. I'm not an expert rider by any stretch, but at the dragstrip, I have more luck with just an ever-so-slight squeeze of the clutch to unload the plates and provide a seamless transition to the next gear.

[nstyle73]

El, you were all over that I see

[Ol Deuce]

That's what I do also....never broke a trans!!!!!

I see so many gopro videos of guys tearing down the street in a straight line using the clutch every time they change gears. wondering if this is the norm for everyone or if these guys are just doing it a different way.

I use the clutch lever to start, come to a stop, and to feather and gain RPMs when needed. I just unload the trans with a momentary break in acceleration/deceleration leverage and just shift. I have been riding this way as long as i can remember, taught to ride this way by my father. i have never, ever had a transmission component failure.

i see no point in letting go of the bars to grab that lever more often than you have to.

and dont tell me that its because its harder on internal components than using the lever. By using the lever, youre wearing your fibers faster...

[Dirtcrasher]

Maybe it's faster for racing (def when drag racing) but I just let off the throttle and it clicks right in. Fast corner, TOO hot?, I just jam it down.

Knock on wood, never crashed a tranny yet......

[manbearpig]

Yeah on a hot run at the dunes alot of times theres no time for a cluch especially when your loosing altitude on a vertical climb.....also great to dump the cluch down hill to start or if you stall mid-flight ! You`re talkin water pumper 250r right ?

yes.. also to bumpstart. That 2nd corner at Cahuilla Creek gets me often. and ya... while hitting the buggy whoops at the bottom of every sand hill is not the time to have to worry about grabbing another lever every couple seconds.

and im talkin every bike and trike ive ridden thats had a manual clutch.

[bkm]

My bike has been in the family since 89 and this is how my old man taught me how to ride and my lower end is still factory sealed.

[6speedthumper]

I generally use the clutch for downshifts. Especially when I'm coming into a turn too hot on a trail and I need to "jump" down two gears. I'm already on the brakes to slow down, just click, click, let out the clutch, mash the throttle, and slide around that turn.

[czac]

I never use a clutch, in fact my trike doesn't even have one on it!

Well, I admit,its a semi automatic but hey, its not to say that if it weren't, id be using the clutch!!! lol

[jakep53]

I was taught to use a clutch and I think i'll keep using it!!

[Louis Mielke]

My attitude has always been what feels right at the moment. If it feels like I need to clutch, I do, if it feels like I don't, I don't.

If your not "GOOD" at riding a manual vehicle then I say ALWAYS clutch. Just to be on the safe side.