Standing on the pegs

[ian6760]

Really - you change down without the clutch.....?

+1 I only use the clutch to pull off and stop, I do the same in the car as well.

A little blip on the throttle as you press of the gear lever and my 1150 changes down smooth as butter.

 

[Giles]

Why wouldn't you use the clutch for every gear change?

1 or 2 fingers should be on the lever all the time, so no time isn't an excuse... And I always assumed that it has to be better on the engine/gearbox, right?

Well I'm sort of with you there ...

I may occasionally ditch the clutch on the way up the box if I'm having play (short shifting on the WR in particular), and when it's very gnarly off road, yes I sometimes come down the odd gear without, but mostly ... ? ... my mechanical sympathy kicks in and I use it.

Why wouldnt you use a clutch in a car ????

I won't be buying your second hand motor ian ....




(And schtum .... before you bang on about Lidl, pants, or covering the clutch .. Yes, I do cover my levers off road ... )

 

[Schtum]

Yes unless a sudden down change is needed. Why don't you think that should be done? You do need timing, road planing and dare I say skill......

Mind you it's not a GS its a thumper with a good gear box.

Are you going to tell me I'm damaging something? Would love your input if you know better.

Thanks Ian

I think there's a couple of issues. A) the possibility of rounding off the dogs and B) the shock loading of transmission parts is going to result in increased wear throughout the whole of the drivetrain. Ok, it's a thumper rather than a GS but for a long and less trouble-free life, I'd use the clutch.

 

[tuftywhite]

I think there's a couple of issues. A) the possibility of rounding off the dogs and B) the shock loading of transmission parts is going to result in increased wear throughout the whole of the drivetrain. Ok, it's a thumper rather than a GS but for a long and less trouble-free life, I'd use the clutch.

There are dogs in the big metal thing under the seat? I'm off to the RSPCA!

 

[ian6760]

I won't be buying your second hand motor ian ....

+1 I wouldn't buy a car off me either.

I don't doubt everyone's views on mechanical sympathy, but in all the years I've been driving / riding I've only ever had one gearbox / clutch failure, and that was fixed by changing a ball bearing on the gear selector. Admittedly I usually buy cars that most people would consider to be near the end of their natural life and they just keep plodding along.

 

[digga]

ummmm....

wonder if Marquez et al use the clutch on the way up??

and just what do those 'quickshifters' actually do?

i have had to recover two cars for my daughter when she's had clutch problems. 1 was from a multi storey car park where the clutch fluid pipe had snapped at the joint, and 1 was where the clutch had worn enough to slip like Billy Ho if much more than tickover was applied. Planning and cunning got me back 12 miles or so through city traffic on a saturday afternoon ... the second insident took much longer due to having to avoid ALL uphill gradients

 

[WindyChuffer]

Slacken off the bolts of your clutch and front brake levers so you can adjust the angle, but without them being so loose they don't stay put. You'll quickly find a good position that works for standing up and sitting down. Although when in the right place for standing up levers will feel weird when sitting.

Use two fingers only on levers - this lets you keep the other fingers on the bars to aid your stability and stop hands from being bounced off the bars.

Covering levers with fingers is not needed at all times. Depends on the terrain / speed / obstacles / hazards etc.

Changing gear without the clutch will come in time. Try it on the road on your bike / car. Read up on matching gearbox revs with road speed.