I was just reading a article on clutchless upshifting.  Does anyone do this with thier GS?

http://www.sportrider.com/ride/RSS/0704_sprp_riding_skills_series/index.html

On the track, not on the street

why only on the track? just curious?

Done it for years on all my bikes with no problems at all.

sweet im gonna work on this technique, supposivly it puts less strain on the engine then shifting normally

I do this with my truck sometimes.  My buddy and I were driving along and i noticed he shifted but didn't step on the clutch so I gave it a shot in my truck and there it was.  I found it fascinating..i'll have to try it on my bike!

-Lucas

Not much to it other than getting a feel for your machine and what it likes.  I barely use the clutch except when downshifting and coming to a stop.

Quote from: Jlittle on March 26, 2008, 12:46:59 PM
I was just reading a article on clutchless upshifting.  Does anyone do this with thier GS?

http://www.sportrider.com/ride/RSS/0704_sprp_riding_skills_series/index.html

It's such fun when you're doing it right. Smooth, effortless, the machine likes it, it sounds sooooo good. No need in rushing or racing through the gears. Think of it as slipping from one room to another in a big fun party.

Ya, that's how it works most times.

Don't do it much myself, I'd rather use the clutch and not hit a false neutral. Once you hit a couple, you'll understand what I mean. While the clutch doesn't eliminate missed shifts, it seems to keep -me- from rushing the shift.

How do I like to do it ?

Easy take off in 1st, roll some throttle, toe up gentle on the selector, roll off the throttle quickly (but not fast) a little, SLIP, there it goes, right into 2nd, rolling more throttle again as it slipped in... ahhh, 2nd always does have a nice pullllllll time for 3rd, toe up a little (it knows when by now), light lift of the throttle, SLIP and rolling it back on again (that was smooooth that time), use up 3rd, and drop into 4th.... ya, right there @ 5200 rpm... the sweet spot.... V&H exhaust sings a little here... you get the idea.

Just take it easy and don't rush it. You're ROLLING easy on the throttle, all it takes is a little lift from the toe, and a slight relax of the throttle. Your muscles will learn the motion and then it sounds so good.

From my experience it only shifts smoothly if you are accelerating aggressively at higher RPMS. On the street I usually don't try to ride that hard on the street

My CX is eager to do it at any speed...but she doesn't like it as much when decelerating.  Keep in mind, though, that it's a bit harder on the dogs unless you are crazy machine-like in your precision. 

Hah, the advice I was given?  Preload the shifter, and let the rev limiter bump it up a gear.

Quote from: coll0412 on March 26, 2008, 06:17:29 PM
From my experience it only shifts smoothly if you are accelerating aggressively at higher RPMS. On the street I usually don't try to ride that hard on the street

what he said. 

I only clutch when starting and stopping most of the time unless i'm keeping my rpms below 5,000.  Otherwise, I just preload the shifter and roll off the throttle to upshift, or preload and blip the throttle to down shift.  I don't have to 'accelerate agressively' to do it.  It just takes a little practice. 

Downshifting you'll get as many different opinions as you would with an oil question.  Some claim that it stresses the shift forks and can cause failure after time.

Quote from: spcterry on March 26, 2008, 09:22:53 PM
Downshifting you'll get as many different opinions as you would with an oil question.  Some claim that it stresses the shift forks and can cause failure after time.

Yeah, but a motorcycling book I read suggested it, and I haven't had any problems after two years doing it on my '99.  In fact, I don't get the 'false neutrals' I sometimes get when clutching.     I don't know the best answer, I only know what works for me.   

I'm not really leaning either way on the subject, I tend to clutch when downshifting as I'm usually doing it to get back into powerband  don't want all the jerkiness of an unclutched downshift .

I hope it's not too hard on the bike since I've accidentally upshifted a few times sans clutch.  I still don't quite have the coordination to shift smoothly yet.

Quote from: spcterry on March 26, 2008, 09:22:53 PM
Downshifting you'll get as many different opinions as you would with an oil question.  Some claim that it stresses the shift forks and can cause failure after time.

'xactly !

Quote from: SeqArtMark on March 26, 2008, 10:24:26 PM
I hope it's not too hard on the bike since I've accidentally upshifted a few times sans clutch.  I still don't quite have the coordination to shift smoothly yet.

SeqArtMark- mmm, and accidental upshift ? That's pretty scary considering the limited torque the gs produces. I'd look into your body position if you're getting accidental upshifts. Don't want that little bit of power to disappear when you need it thanks to an upshift.

Quote from: ohgood on March 27, 2008, 04:47:46 AM

Quote from: spcterry on March 26, 2008, 09:22:53 PM
Downshifting you'll get as many different opinions as you would with an oil question.  Some claim that it stresses the shift forks and can cause failure after time.

'xactly !

Quote from: SeqArtMark on March 26, 2008, 10:24:26 PM
I hope it's not too hard on the bike since I've accidentally upshifted a few times sans clutch.  I still don't quite have the coordination to shift smoothly yet.

SeqArtMark- mmm, and accidental upshift ? That's pretty scary considering the limited torque the gs produces. I'd look into your body position if you're getting accidental upshifts. Don't want that little bit of power to disappear when you need it thanks to an upshift.

Whoops, I think I may not have been clear there.  Not that it's any better but by "accidental," I mean that I was intending to shift but forgot to pull in the clutch.  I let off the throttle a bit, forgot to clutch, kicked up a gear, and then got back on the throttle.  Also, I was on my wife's Ninja 250 and was revving it pretty high when it happened so it didn't protest when I did it.

Dude, no problem with upshifting at all.  Downshifting clutchless is the only debated topic really.