Ever ride without a clutch?

[jeffcoslacker]

I had to last night. Well I didn't HAVE to, but my friend's clutch cable broke and he left the bike at a gas station in a less than nice part of town. He was just going to leave it until he could round up a truck or trailer, but I told him he should just ride it home...

He wasn't real wild about the idea, having struggled just to get it off the road that way. I tried to explain the finer points of rpm matching and floated shifts, but he wasn't buying what I was selling. In fact I think he thought I was nuts.

So I told him I'd ride it home for him. Had to do it before with my own bikes/cars, no biggie.

The most challenging part was getting started, there was a slight downhill slope to the lot going to the street, perfect as I would have to get on and start the bike in gear and go...the other thing was this lot is right on the corner of a busy intersection, and I'd have to time it just right to be able to pull out and go through the light on green without traffic interfering with me.

The bike hacked and gagged forward as the starter reluctantly spun the loaded motor, finally lit and off we go, through that light without incident. The next light was a bit hairy...it was uphill and the bike probably didn't have enough "oomph" in the starter for a restart uphill with my fat ass on it..

So I downshifted real early, bringing it down to a crawl long before reaching the last cars at the light waiting...I thought I might be able to burn up enough time creeping and weaving in my lane so that the light would change, but it was a long one...so I decided I'd keep crawling up the shoulder so I could keep moving, and if it didn't change before I got there, I'd make a rolling right on red and try a different route...

But the light changed just as I got to the front, and I blasted the throttle and left everybody behind, and probably pissed...lane splitting/filtering isn't allowed here...

The rest of the way I was able to anticipate the lights and traffic well enough that stopping was not necessary...shut it off and lurched to a stop in his driveway. He had been behind me in his car to give me some cover, but I'd lost him after that first episode when I passed traffic...so he showed up a minute or two later.

Funny thing was just earlier this week I'd been practicing the floated shifts on my own bike, went for a long ride and never used the clutch except for stopping...everybody has upshifted without a clutch, but doing it in a way that you match gear speeds and break the torque on the driveline as you do it requires some finesse, downshifts are even more challenging...raising the rpms to slow down seems counter-intuitive and takes time to get the feel of...

I think it's a skill every rider should have (rpm matching), it not only gets you home when the clutch takes a dump on you, but also teaches you how to ride WITH a clutch in a way that's less destrctive to the bike and allows you greater control and safety. It's very rewarding too, when you can shift up/down without a hint of a crunch from the gearbox or shift-shock, being completely in tune with the sound and feel of the machine...

[Steel]

well i wouldnt call clutchless shifting on a bike RPM matching so to speak, since they're sequential boxes and you don't have a neutral point in between. It's more of a skill of throttle control, quickly finding that spot where the engine is not providing power or engine braking so that the transmission will be more or less unloaded and you can tap that shifter without molesting the gears. Still a good skill to know though.

[stone_mound_camaro]

Ive always been under the impression that clutchless down shifts are not such a hot idea

[speediva]

Clutchless downshifting is usually not recommended - but it's a good skill to have in case of a broken cable... you never do know when you'll have to ride in less than stellar circumstances.

[Torch]

I have a 1984 Honda Shadow VT700C with a six speed tranny, it is pretty good about up and down shifting without using the clutch, down shifting is harder to do but you do have to rev the engine just a little bit to get the engine and tranny spinning at the same speed then the shifter slips right into the next gear.

My last stick shift car had a five speed manual that was really good about being able to do that too, its a nice skill to have.