Hi all, been speaking to a couple of bikers today about gear changing and changing up gears with no clutch, they both said that they use there clutch when up shifting.
My question is that if they use the clutch, how can BEC's not use them and do the gearboxes last very long when not using clutches?

hope this explains

with good practice it is perfectly safe to Upshift

therefore you can up shift on a BEC clutchless

BUT

the problem lies in the technique

Bad technique= quicker wear in theory

mostly though even abused bikes go on and on and on

I do

and it makes for a very smooth change if you get it right

accel off
upshift
accel on

are we all talking about the same thing by upshifting? 1>6 is clutchless, 6>1 you would use the clutch. I believe the gearboxes prefer fast and clutchless on the way up the box.

well Im talking about the same as you

no clutch on the way up

If you turn the output sprocket on a bike engine and work through the gears you can feel the way the gears neatly drop into the next cog.

Also as the gearboxes are close ratio and the reciprocating weight of the engine is low you are not forcing anything.

As an aside You can buy full power powershift systems for bikes, essentially these are solenoids that punch the gearbox up a notch, while knocking the ignition off during the transition. Bike technology is far ahead of cars.

I always use the clutch coming down, just throttle back and nudge the gears up on my blade.

Regards Mark

I get the whole up shift business

But how do you do a good down shift?

Do you hold the clutch in whilst You pull the leaver or just stab it?

I shift up on my bike without clutch easy when you get the hang of it

yes pull clutch in and drop down gear

never do clutchless downshifts they are bad

its all about engine speed and revs etc and forcing it upon the gearbox

ie a bit like if you rammed a car gearbox into first at 20mph speed and let the clutch out

thats the stress anyway

Heel and toe when going for it seems to give good downshifts. My Indy pedals are crap for heel 'n' toe though. To roll my foot onto the throttle requires me to lift it uncomfortably and compromises the braking.

I'm in the process of fitting a trickshifter with the downshift option to avoid the need for using the clutch on the way down. Interested to see how the box holds up under the abuse

mezz ,i wouldnt worry to much about it, with in an hour you'll be going up and down the gears no problem,if you think about it to much rather than just doing it you'll get no where fast.
for the overtake ,,clutch in ,down the gear,then as your bringing the clutch up ease/stick your foot down on the throttle,it all happens in less than a second.
roundabouts i dont worry about the gears untill iv done most of the braking and then whilst still on the brakes its just clutch in and go down the gears a couple at a time(normaly aim for 3rd depending on traffic) then let the clutch out,you should of done most the braking and be at a speed where you wont have to worry about being in to low a gear and revving the tits of it.if you manage to get first gear at 20 mph watch the throttle as it becomes a hair trigger .
its hard to explain as it comes so natural