help shifting?

[steppenwolf]

Well by now you should know what ya are doing. I use the clutch between first and second,long hard throw on my 1100 then upshifting it is a guess your best,always changes,what ever floats my boat.Down shift I do use the clutch.Original clutch and no tranny work 79000 miles.It is a "feel" thing..ya just know and then it is second nature.

[buildit]

someone tell me how im supposed to shift on a streetbike? its my first bike and i cant afford to fix it if i break it... bike is a 97 vmax if that matters at all

Good news is that you can shift the V-max without the clutch just like a dirt bike. Bad news is you have a V-max with a lot of torque and the clutch will most likely go in time reguardless. If you continue to shift w/out clutch do it in higher gears and only up shifting. A bad down shift could cause your rear to break lose on you. Hell Mine would break lose on me in 5th if I droped the gas at 95mph.

[jporter12]

I've found that the ole Interceptor shifts great without the clutch (as long as I'm not an idiot and do it wrong going into 5th or 6th...) and even downshifts well. I don't do the downshifts often, more as a proof that it will do it, and somtimes when slowing down gradually.

[JaysonL]

This is all really helpful as I'm trying to read up on riding before I actually start the journey.

Great posts!

[Uncle Punk]

Confused yet? You are going to get a ton of different answers and none of them are wrong for the person giving them to you. If you are shifting wrong with or without the clutch you should know it the bike will tell you. I use the clutch as little as possible for up and down shifting. I have done this while putting over 40K miles on bikes in just recent years without any clutch or Trans issues. I sometimes can't downshift from 2nd to 1st using this method but if the bike won't let me do it I just use the clutch. Spend a long day riding twisty roads where you are constantly shifting and you will teach yourself to use this method or not ride as long or become fatigued. Maybe I'm just old and lazy and need every trick I can come up with to hang with the kids.

[blake1221]

I would reccomend using the clutch esp since you are new to streetbikes and you have a yammy (shitty gearboxes). If you take that thing to the dragstrip you can get better times by not using the clutch, but street riding isn't the dragstrip. Recon is right the Honda "clunk" doesn't count

FTMFW!!

[Likwid]

Co2 shifter ftw.... that's right, you're all jealous

[Uncle Punk]

How do you keep the rear tire from skipping if you don't rev-match your down shift? Not being a dick.. for real' date=' this time.[/quote']

I don't know how to answer that. I guess I shift at the appropriate time, sometimes it's just pulling up to a light and sometimes just to grab more RPMs going into a corner. I understand why you ask but it's hard to explain, kind of like asking "When should I shift?". It just depends on the task at hand.

[Uncle Punk]

I understand "why"' date=' I just don't understand "how"

If I come to a corner in 4th gear and want to hit it at 3rd, or even 2nd, I need to grab the clutch, blip the throttle and down shift in order to keep the suspension settled. If I just bang on the shifter I'm going to really piss off my bike and it'll make funny noises and try to toss me in the ditch.

I guess I'm saying I know how the bike slips into the gears without the clutch. That's easy. The tricky part is how to keep the back tire from bouncing all over the place without a slipper clutch installed. How do you match engine speed and rear wheel speed without snapping the throttle on a down shift?[/quote']

Unload the trans and shift, apply throttle if needed. I have shifted like this on bikes with and without slippers without issue. Are you going to make me give you riding lessons? (Insert smiley face.)

[vectorvictor]

I have history on both cruisers and sport bikes and a sport bike gear box is much closer on the ratio from one gear to the next. The cruiser needed alot more throttle increase or decrease because the lack of two gears. going from a four speed gearbox on the cruiser to the six speed on the sport bike seems like a small change but it seemed huge at first. The difference in torque helps as the sport doesent want to break loose as easy but the cruiser would only do that in 2nd to first gear if i didnt time it right. the sport will do it in 3rd to 2nd and especially 2nd to 1st. the only way to find out what it will do is to try and do it before the corner for a while and DONT shift in the corners for at least your first 1000 miles. if you arent sure or dont want to end up in the ditch then shift into the gear you want early and if you dont get there in time coast rather than drop the clutch until you are sure 2nd gear( or whatever gear you are going to) is the right one. if you are still not sure then let out the clutch slowly and feel if you need more or less throttle until you have the right rpm. a little practice will make gains early and soon you will have it down.

The biggest difference between the transmissions in a car versus a motorcycle is the syncronizers. on a car they are almost like gear teeth and dont mesh easily if they are not aligned but the syncs on a motorcycle trans are usually three small pegs that grab the gears spokes and they almost never miss aligning correctly. the higher the rpm on a bike the better it shifts. Racing transmisions (road racing mostly) have been similar to this for a long while.

When u get on a new bike always use the clutch to start with and then gradually use it less and less till u only use it at stop signs and red lights. it takes only a small blip of the throttle on upshifts and about twice the movement on downshifts depending on the bike. knowing your bike is the key.

[rick37]

I use my clutch about 90 percent of the time but I would say get the feel of the bike and before u go clutchless

[Radio Flyer]

I've been going without a clutch since I first saw this thread on CR. I like it much more and it's just become a bit of a habit. If it doesn't cause any problems I just see it as a time and energy saver.