Question regarding riding bike in bumper to bumper traffic? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Question regarding riding bike in bumper to bumper traffic?

R

rashidme

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Ok, so when you guys ride your bike in bumper to bumper traffic on 401 or dvp, do you have to keep you clutch pulled in all the time because you are going at like between 20-25 km/h. Is it bad for the clutch?
 
Not if you lane-split like a boss. :p

Ok, just kidding... I do not enjoy the idea of lane-splitting, even if I was pretty much forced to in traffic last night.. I'm no mechanic but my understanding is that many bikes have a wet clutch, so using it frequently won't necessarily harm it. I'd be more worried about the clutch cable than the clutch itself, if it's not properly lubricated for example, but as I said, I'm not a mechanic.

I've ridden over 22,000km on my 250R and have not had any issues relating to clutch usage other than the cable needing to be lubricated, so I wouldn't worry much.

Something I'd be more concerned about in the coming warmer weather, would be the bike overheating when stuck in traffic... especially if you have a larger-displacement bike. I see some riders shut the bike right off and walk it when it's that bad...
 
You dont have to keep the clutch pulled in all the time, when its going slowly just ride slower... But yeah you wont hurt the clutch if you have to keep it pulled in a lot. I think people who say that riding a clutch is bad are people who grew up driving old *** american built cars, where the throwout bearing would go pretty easily if you rode the clutch a lot... Ive never had a throwout bearing go in a car or a bike and i ride the clutch all the time.
 
I've been told that bikes can handle it, cars not so much. That being said I try to keep moving at all times. I'm one of those people with a couple car lengths in front of me that I use to maintain a little bit of speed.

What I hate it how hot my bike gets - not for the bike but for me! It's at like 100 and I'm roasting. It's supposed to be fine until like 130-140 area though, so we're good.
 
I'm on the clutch a lot in bumper to bumper just because I don't find first to be very smooth on my bike, way too jittery below 20. Like a few above, always been told it's fine on motorcycles, not so much for cars.
 
just push your bike then if you worry too much about the clutch :)
 
I generally try to find a gear that I can idle along at. Of course you need to have a bike with a sufficient size engine to that. I find a 1000cc bike can idle along in 2nd and 3rd gear quite happily.
 
You shouldn't have to be pulling in the clutch much. Go to an empty road or parking lot and realize that if the road is level, you don't even have to give the bike any gas and you don't have to be pulling in the clutch. The bike will move really slowly just like an automatic... at least all the bikes and cars I have owned were like this.
 
Like previously mentioned, it's best to maintain a decent distance that way you can ride very slowly rather than constantly stop and go. The thing is that if you maintain too much a distance someone is going to pull in front of you.
 
I just let out the clutch half way just enough for the bike to move and if i go too fast, i just use my rear brakes to slow me down. Isn't this what we were taught in the Motorcycle Safety Course?
 
Metastable said:
You shouldn't have to be pulling in the clutch much. Go to an empty road or parking lot and realize that if the road is level, you don't even have to give the bike any gas and you don't have to be pulling in the clutch. The bike will move really slowly just like an automatic... at least all the bikes and cars I have owned were like this.
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Many people don't have the ability to go that slowly on a motorcycle.
 
But it isn't super slow... it is I'd say at least a brisk walking pace. I just don't know if people realize they can do this.... give it a shot sometime. I'm not sure how a 125 would do.... if you have a bit of an incline then most bikes won't do it either.... but on a level ground, most will. If you want to make it a little easier just turn up the idle screw a touch. :)
 
Speedv1 said:
I've been told that bikes can handle it, cars not so much. That being said I try to keep moving at all times. I'm one of those people with a couple car lengths in front of me that I use to maintain a little bit of speed.

What I hate it how hot my bike gets - not for the bike but for me! It's at like 100 and I'm roasting. It's supposed to be fine until like 130-140 area though, so we're good.
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130-140? what bike are you talking about?
 
I guess it depends on power and how much bite you have, but even under 5km you can do no clutch. Practice super slow riding.
 
daytona675 said:
seriously. that's some awesome balance you've got if you're going that slow...i'm talking consistently under 5...maybe around 3km/h
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Do they not teach that at the motorcycle course here?

Fry the clutch and drag the rear brake and you can go at an absolute crawl very easily. Bike clutches are wet and multi plate so they will absorb a ton of heat without doing any real damage, not to mention that clutch plates are so cheap to replace who really cares.

The OP seemed to be asking about just pulling the clutch in. Having the clutch all the way in seperates the motor from everything else, thats what it's designed for. Hell on your road test you HAVE to keep the clutch in bike in gear if you want to pass, thats just how a clutch works.
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