Clutchless up-shifting, give me the skinny..

Hey Gang,

what are you thoughts on clutchless up shifting? I have read a few places that it reduces wear to the clutch plates and is not bad for the motor. Now I have been practicing my clutchless upshifting lately and find that when going hard in 1st gear it seems to be tricky, but after that its just a matter of timming to make a smooth transfer.

Let me know what your thoughts are, I would like to hear the Geeks opinion as well.

Cheers  

Most sportbikes today need the clutch to takeoff and downshift, but if done right you can upshift without even winding it out too much and get a smooth result. Timing shouldn't be an issue though. I think your talking about rolling off the throttle and then timing the stab of the shift lever so you get a smooth shift. It's much easier to just stay in the gas and preload the shift lever. By preload I mean pulling up on the lever while in the throttle. then it's just a matter of rolling off the throttle at the desired RPM to get the shift. Should slip right in at that point. Of course your probably already doing this and I just wasted my time typeing this so if that's the case, sorry. Anyway, I know that my Goldwing also upshifts nice clutchlessly with a passanger but the track bike really is made to do it.  As far as the first gear transition to second, that can be tricky. I rarely use first on the track to avoid this problem and usually only shift without the clutch on the street from 2nd on up also. Just a few thoughts from here.  

I see what you mean, after 2nd its fairly smooth unless Im on full throttle. If I am really on it it doesnt want to jump in gear without the clutch.  

First time posting.

After reading a few posts on this, I tried it on my GS500f (new rider, small bike) and found that by the end of the ride I begin to have problems getting into neutral. I never had a problem before, and after running for a while using the clutch it goes back to normal. I tried it on another ride, and it happened again. What's the deal???  

That is odd..I dont know what could be wrong..Since I posted this topic, I have been practicing my clutchless up-shifting and can do flawlessly in any gear and at any RPM.  

Lance Holst has an excellent write up on clutchless upshifting in the April '07 issue of Sport Rider.  I rarely use my clutch to upshift except from 1-2 and that is only when in traffic or around town.  My shifts are much smoother without the clutch, especially when riding two up.  With a little practice it becomes second nature.  

Practice makes it better... And more practice makes it flawless!  

The reason why 1st-Gear to 2nd-Gear is a bit trickier is because neutral is on the middle.

I also use GP shifting by turning the shift rod to the opposite side of the gear shaft. This way you have 1st-Gear up and the rest are all down. No need to pre load!

It is a lot easier to push the lever down that to pull it up... It makes so much more sence... Makes me think why dont they make them stock like that?

Luis  

Depends on your bike...

Mine was taking off a 10mm bolt... Pulling out the spline lever turn in it 180-degrees... Putting the 10mm bolt back on...  Adjusting the shifter rod to bring the shift lever to my desired possition...

Done!

From there ride easy for about a week until you remember not to down shift when you mean to up shift at high rpm!!!

Rewards are faster full shifts. None of those you think you shifted But are still on the same gear... Luis.  

how hard (or easy) is it to switch the rod to the opposite side?