Shifting without using clutch?

[JohnnyP636]

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A friend of mine was telling me that he shifts without using his clutch, so I tried it a few times and it works without any issues.

I was just wondering, does this cause any damage to the engine? It's a nice option when you're pushing the limits a bit, not having to pull in the clutch. However, for what little I gain in convenience I don't want to cause any long term engine damage.

Any input is appreciated?

If you get your timing right and do it smoothly then it will cause no damage. However if you do it wrong and hear any kind of clunk or grinding then you are wearing your cogs/dogs and can also bend shift forks in the trans....

 

[ETR]

I don't know if it causes any damage, but after years of experience im able to up shift the bike like its a paddle shift F1 car, down shifting is still very risky, at first i used to lock up the rear tires, the only way i found you can down shift while moving at speeds is to know what is the optimal engine and tranmission speed for down shifting for that bike in each gear, like you have figured out for up shifting, but the down is more complecated because no one has the balls to shift down as fast or slowdown as fast as they do when they clutchless upshift. I figured this out one day, when i was determined to shift down without clutching and not getting any rear wheel skid. one day i rolled down in fifth gear to about 20kmh and quickly down shifted to 5 then 4, and it down shifted better and smoother then up shifting, but then i got to 3/2/1 it jerked and skided. thats where i realised the only way to down shift without clutch as smooth as up shifting would be to do the same but in an opposite way. it dosen't make sense its one of those things like counter steer things, gotta do it to understand it. I can up shift clutchless with on normal riding too, but its really pointless, its only useful when you accelerate to a point you need to shift as fast as you can blip the throttle.

 

[jeero]

done it in 2 of my 3 standard cars (for some reason my 5.0 was a picky ***** and wouldn't let me do it properly) and I use the same concept on my bike.

Slightly off topic...but do you have any pointers for doing it on cars? I've got it down pat on my bike, but it always grinds in my car; so I've been too scared to practice it. Or is it the car?(2000 civic si)

It's possible in nearly every single vehicle with a normal* manual transmission, but some seem to be a bit more tricky than others. Hence why I said that I did it in 2 of my 3 standard cars, cause my 5.0 Mustang just gave me a hard time for the most part. I was able to do it a few times but it was never smooth like in my previous vehicles.

* by normal I mean conventional manual transmissions compared to the onslaught of new manual and semi-manual transmissions showing up on the market nowadays.

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