Downshifting
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 52
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From: Dexter, MO, USA
Downshifting
Ok I realize this is a stupid noob question but I have to face it with still less than 500 miles under my belt that's what I am. Anyway, I took the Rider Safety Training course and in the course they taught us to clutch every time we shifted either up or down, but I've also noticed that I can down shift my bike without using the clutch. So far I've only done it a couple times by accident as I'm afraid of damaging something. So my question is if it is necessary to use the clutch to downshift and does no using it do any damage to the transmission either short or long term?
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 568
Likes: 1
From: New Jersey Somerset
I bet it would only take a couple of days before ruining a bike for good if u never shifted with the clutch, u seriously can't do anything worse to a bike... And thats the fun part anyways, shifting properly
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 56
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From: Hollywood CA
Me also
The first couple of months after getting my 1200c, I shifted without the clutch several times, up not down. Habit from years of riding metrics, dirt and street. Only used the clutch to take off from a stop and down shifting to reduce speed, (street). JF
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Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,346
Likes: 3
From: Dallas, Texas
It'll actually shift down AND up without the clutch - but don't. Now I will say this. If ya have loud pipes and you rev between downshifts just right it sounds so sweet. But please don't sit there and rev at the light or when you're backing into a parking spot - that's just plain loserville dude.
Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 181
Likes: 0
From: Omaha, NE
The reason for the clutch is to disengage the rear wheel when changing gears. It is a safety issue for both your motor and you. If you were to shift gears without engaging the clutch and you were moving faster then your engine speed at the time, then you could hard redline your motor and blow it. The reason to match engine speed with road speed, engaging the clutch effectively disengages the motor from the rear wheel/belt dropping the speed of the engine for safe gear shift once matched up with road speed.