Been researching clutch adjustment info on the forum - because I am a bit worried about my 95 GS.
Read a thread about upshifting without the clutch lever, and that it is actually better for your clutch (less wear). However, I am able to upshift and downshift my GS without even touching the clutch lever - from 1st to 6th and all the way back down.
Does that mean my clutch lever needs adjustment? The bike (K&N, re-jet, and V&h exhaust) seems to have less power than my '93 - or at least feels to accelerate slower, but revs much smoother than the STOCK '93. Could that mean that the clutch is slipping? I recently replaced the handlebars and did mess around with the clutch lever tension adjustment - maybe I caused my own problem.
Either way, feeling a bit weary knowing that such a light tap to my shift lever will throw me easily into a different gear, higher OR lower. Need some Clutch advice
It's normal to be able to shift without the clutch, and it dosn't take very much pressure on the gearshift lever so long as there is no load on the transmission there is only a little pressure from the springs in the transmission. If it's still easy to shift while on the throttle, then you could have a clutch issue, but you should notice the clutch slipping under acceleration too if that's the case.
If your clutch is slipping and you try to accelerate quickly, your RPM will increase much faster than your MPH. For instance, if you're going 40MPH at about 4,000 RPM then give it full throttle, you may get 8,000 RPM by the time you're going 45MPH but if you let off the throttle, the RPM would come back down to 4,500rpm or so while still going 45MPH. That's an example of a slipping clutch.