Does your GS shift without the clutch?

[nickxedge]

Long story short I've had some self inflicted clutch problems recently. It seems I've got it squared away to the point that the bike is usable. The bike will shift however without pulling in the clutch and I don't believe it did that before but I can't be sure. It's a '97 and been through the ringer before I got ahold of it, not that I've made it much better.

Is it normal or semi normal for it to shift without having to pull the clutch? I pull it anyway to stop power to the back wheel but I'm curious of others experiences.

Thanks.

[1018cc]

I sometimes clutchless shift on mine. I only do it on the upshifts though and not the down if I'm in a particularly racy mood.

[ShowBizWolf]

I hardly ever do it but I have upshifted on my GS a few times without the clutch. Pretty sure it was just to test it and see how it felt after reading a thread on here once about how it can be done.

[J_Walker]

Long story short I've had some self inflicted clutch problems recently. It seems I've got it squared away to the point that the bike is usable. The bike will shift however without pulling in the clutch and I don't believe it did that before but I can't be sure. It's a '97 and been through the ringer before I got ahold of it, not that I've made it much better.

Is it normal or semi normal for it to shift without having to pull the clutch? I pull it anyway to stop power to the back wheel but I'm curious of others experiences.

Thanks.

upshifting without clutch lever, yeah. all the time.

[Joolstacho]

Virtually all bikes shift up and down without the clutch as long as you match the revs right. Just the slightest throttle momentary roll-off (at the right revs) will get you up a gear.
But there's absolutely no point doing it on the road unless you're on a fang-session or you stole it.
It'll hasten gearbox wear because you won't get it right all the time and the dogs will suffer.

[Watcher]

I actually find downshifting sans clutch easier than upshifting the same way.

You have to really run your RPMs up to get a smooth upshift, and it helps to have momentum to keep your speed increasing while you are shifting.  Basically you have to be riding aggressively, too low and it jerks you.
On the other hand, a smooth downshift can be done at basically any speed with a well timed throttle blip.

That all being said, I only ever do it when I'm being lazy and just don't have my left hand on the grip, and even then it's usually just downshifting.

Unless you have a quick-shifter making a habit out of clutch-less shifting could damage your transmission, but a practiced hand can be nearly as fast with the clutch so for every conceivable street scenario you should just clutch every time.

The only reason you should need to do it is if you're racing and a tenth of a second can make or break a 1st place finish.
Or, you have a broken clutch cable and are attempting to ride home...

[nickxedge]

Thank you all for the feedback. I've only been riding for 3 years and this is all new to me. I don't plan on shifting without the clutch in the foreseeable future but it's good to know everything is essentially as it should be.

Thanks again everyone.

[Suzi Q]

Been riding since I was a small child and the concept of using a clutch for anything other than starting out from a dead stop was completely foreign to me until about 6 months ago. (I'm in my mid thirties.)

[Jim Moore]

All bikes will do it, but why do it? I'll tell you why. It's fun and it feels cool, kinda like motorcycling itself.

[qcbaker]

I have done clutchless upshifts, but I don't make a habit out of it. Haven't been brave enough to try clutchless downshifts. I still don't always get my throttle blip right to keep the bike smooth when downshifting quickly (I would say I do it smoothly like 75% of the time, and the other 25% I give it a little too much gas and the bike surges forward a bit when I clutch out). So, until I'm getting that right 90% of the time I don't know that I want to try downshifting without the clutch.

[rscottlow]

Of the seven vehicles I've owned, only two have been automatics. I've shifted without the clutch on all of the MT cars I've owned, but have never made a habit out of it. I've never tried it on the GS, but I'm sure I will at some point.

[Darkstar]

upshifting works well for me, especially at gears 3 and 4 coming up out of a tight turn. pop it right after the bike starts leaning back up, it alleviates a bit of lash because it's faster without touching clutch lever. i still dont have good control of the downshifting trick, but im working on it

[gregjet]

Suzukis have have smooth shifting gearboxes for a long time. Most japanese bikes will shift up and down ( Hondas don't like down as much) without the clutch so long as you have a good technique.
Things that will stuff up shifting are oil that the gearbox doesn't like, stuffed clutch , poor shift lever(s) geometry, poor distance position of the shift lever ( all footpegs, feet and boots are not created equal), problems with any bearings in shift lever mechanisms, worn shift detents, selector forks problems or worn gearbox dogs ( pretty rare in jap motors).
I suspect Suzuki perfected it's gearboxes in the 2 stroke days and stuck with their design philosophy. I remember being able to only have to use the clutch to start and stop on X7's and RGV's, the rest was just click up or down and match the throttle. Even the old T250 was like that.