Hey guys I was sittin around the other nite with some buddies and we were talking about power shifting. At what RPM does the bike need to be to shift without pulling in the clutch? I have heard some people say its fine if you know what you are doing and have heard others say they missed up the engine.

 

Well, the bike never "needs" to be power shifted... it's just something you can do if you really want to... note that it will increase wear on your transmission gears, but generally speaking, it won't hurt the bike.

Again, GENERALLY speaking, in the mid to upper powerband, during acceleration, very briefly let off the gas and simultaneously upshift, then immediately get back on the gas. The process should take like 0.2 seconds...

I used to do this on my SV-650 all the time. Never really had any problems. I even used to do clutchless down-shifting, but that took quite a bit more concentration / coordination.

I havent done any clutchless shifting on my F4i, mostly because it's my commuter bike, and I need it to last me as long as possible.

 

Oh, I should also mention... it's much easier to clutchless shift in the upper gear range. i.e. 5-6, 4-5, 3-4... those gear ratios are much closer to one another. Don't practice this during your 1-2 shift, as the ratio difference is much greater relatively speaking, and the power will smack you upside your backside. And don't do this in the lower rev range... you'll get spanked. Again, this only works during acceleration... and I mean 1/2-WOT, not just tootling around town.

afterthought... did you try the search function? There MUST be other posts about clutchless shifting.

 

You just get on the throttle, and as your letting off your pushing the shifter down, then hit the gas again.

 

I can see why you would want to do this, but as I see your a new member. How much experience do you have riding? An experienced rider can shift faster using the clutch that powershifting and causing potential damage to the clutch, transmission or engine itself. Besides that, you can ride up to 70 mph in first gear before you hit your full redline. And it only takes a tenth of a second to shift gears. Think a little bit before you rip your bike apart being wreckless. Experience is the one thing you can't buy.

 

I get lazy sometimes and shift without the clutch. I'm sure it's better for the trans using the clutch, but these are sport bikes and I don't see it harming much.

 

Not using the clutch on the road sounds really stupid to me. If you track the bike andwant faster changes (1 tenth of a second faster!), get a quick shifter. Clutchless downshifts are even worse since you need the clutch to blip the throttle to avoid locking the rear wheel. My 0.02.

 

powershifting is different than clutchless shifting. Powershifting uses the clutch without letting off the gas, clutchless is the exact opposite. I wouldn't powershift a bike, unless that bike was a 60s musclecar.

 

Good point, I assumed that the original post was about clutchless shifting.

Why? Is it because the bikes rev much easier than the car? Does powershifting cause more wear on the engine / transmission etc?

 

Well I assumed, new member, 5 posts, he must be talking about clutchless shifting... with power shifting, why would you do that on a bike, under any circumstance?

For those of you who have never done any clutchless shifting, or claim that using the clutch is actually faster (?!?) well... I hate to say it, but you're not riding fast enough! : P

No, there isn't much point to it on city streets. Fun to do out in the canyons. Just be safe out there and ride within your limits.

the blonde weasel