You can shift up & down all you want without it. If you do it right there is no extra wear on anything. Its all about rpm matching. If its clunky or sounds bad you did not do it right. If you do it right it feels no different than using the clutch. The only possiblity of extra wear is the engagement dogs on the sided of the gear & like I said--whether you cause extra wear or not is up to the abilities of the rider.

Downshifting is more difficult than upshifting but still can be done.

I usually always use the clutch, just out of habit I guess. The only time my clutch lever hits the bar though is sitting at a stop light. Otherwise a slight two finger movement is plenty.

 

DOMNSHIFTING without the clutch is a very bad idea. don't do it. there is absolutely no reason not to use the clutch. say your screaming along at a high rpm then downshift without the clutch. your put the tranny into a smaller gear which causes it to pullMORE rpm's. that sudden change puts a lot of stress on the motor. it can also cause the rear tire to lock up andat speed that can easily lead to a lose of control and a crash. USE THE CLUTCH WHEN DOWNSHIFTING!!!!

klxer i don't mean to contradict you but can it be done? yes should it be done? NO!! there are so many bad things that can go wrong that it's not worth the risk. just my 2 cents

 

If you rpm match right there is none of that because you already matched the engine speed to the rear wheel speed.

The whole thing about shiftign w/o the clutch is to shift right at the split second when there is a "coasting" condition--no tourque being transmitted. You let off the throttle to upshift, blip the throttle to downshift. It takes alot of practice for the downshifting.

I dont do it (the downshifting), never even wanted to try, but it CAN be done. I upshift without the clutch all the time--more just for practice than anything--its not like any of us are out there trying to knock a hundredth off our lap times.

 

Shift without the clutch all you want. Its not like your car's transmission where you can only do it if the RPMs match.

You should just take the load off the engine (let off the throttle) when you do it.

We do it on 2 stroke MX bikes all the time and the trannies are fine. I don't do it on my 4 stroke cause it doesn't feel partricularly comfortable.

 

I have no problem up and down shifting without the clutch, but I mostly use the clutch out of habit. I do pretty much the same thing you do with the clutch and alwaysblip the throttle when downshifting even when I'm using the clutch.

 

so you dont have to use the clutch? interesting......

 

What's this "clutch" you all speak of? [8D]

 

Isn't that when you grab the handlebars so tight that your knuckles turn white?

 

wow this is scary, i am no expert but i was taught to always use the clutch. just think about the physcs of what it does, if you dont use it it would be like grinding the gears on a truck, wouldnt it?? i recommend every shift, either up or down, and once you get used to it it is not a problem at all and comes with out thought.

 

No it isnt. The teeth of motorcycles gears are always meshing together whether you are in tat gear or not, ie "constant mesh transmission".