What for -------- starting

 

I always clutch.. the bike came with it, why not use it?

Thats like asking who bump starts their bike even though it has an electric start!???

 

uh to race the bike mr. smarty man.

 

Hmm...i thought the pros all had the electronics to cut out the ignition so they dont have to clutch.


ArmyRanger,

That sounds like you might have a major problem developing.I have missed shift into 2nd before at high Rpms and got caught in neutral.Always thought it was my error.Never heard the grind though.

 

its not that it grinds but I think that when i have the bike in neutral my engine speed is very low and after a short period of time of holding it in neutral i go to put it into gear but my transmission is still spinning fast and my engine is spinning slow and it is hard to catch the gears together and i hear them rubbing. does that make more sense?

 

You have a back brake do you use that as well ????????

 

all the time, i love skidding my back side out lol, oh i use it for stoping to, when i come to a light u use both or just my back break, when i panic stop or im at high speeds i use front.

 

I think the clutch is only for getting the bike rolling,lol.

 

great topic, ive been meaning to ask the same thing when downshifting cuz ive been trying to practice but cant seem to get it right.. when ur approaching a corner, unless u time it right most people end up hitting the brakes which then causes u to skip a few gears down to either first or second.. im guessing its a matter of knowing where ur at on the speedometer to tell you what gear you should be downshifting to but even then its kind of hard to keep track at what gear ur currently in unless u shift all the way up then count down or shift all the way down and count up..

as far as not using the clutch, that cant be good in the long run.. ive done it in cars before but couldnt get use to the fact that this would be okay.. especially on a bike, if it werent needed then im sure they wouldnt include it and racers wouldnt have the slip clutches or the clutchless kits installed.. but it would be better without it cause each time u open ur hand to pull the clutch gives an uneasy feeling of instability atleast for me..

so whats the proper way to downshift when approaching a corner?

 

well here is my 2 cents on this. When you go into a corner, u should brake with both brakes, down**** slowly, cuse if u downshift to fast u will make ur tire bounce, but no matter what u do, when ur braking as fast as i was ur tires will bounce, even the motogp racers back tire skips, its almost like the start of doing an endo but not quite. just down down**** under 9-13000 rpms or ur back tire will skip and u might over rev ur engine. you just need to practice, bikes as old as ours run different from each other depeneding on how they have been used over the years. As far as not using the clutch, ive found that all u need to do for downshifting without it is rev ur engine up a little and push down a gear, ur foot should pop right into it when u hit the correct rpms, but i dont like the hope of the bike from doing it so i usualy use clutch to downshift. and as long as u put pressure on shifting up a gear all u do is let the gas go for a split second and u should get ur rpms in line to shift smoothly, this has little wear on ur engine and transmission as long as you do it correctly. if you have to punch it into gear then ur putting sever wear on the transimission which will cause a 1300 dollar repair.