Clutch question...

[Tripwire1124]

So today in Kansas it was beautiful out so I decided to take the Buell for a spin. when I was getting on the highway to take a short cruise, I opened it up a little bit. Now between first and second gear I used the clutch to shift, then clutchless the last gears .When I used the clutch into second, I noticed it was slipping a little bit. Being that I am somewhat new to bikes in general, should this raise a flag that the clutch need to be replaced or is going bad?

 

[sparky300]

Start by adjusting your clutch and get back to us.

 

[user_deleted]

then clutchless the last gears

a practice i strongly discourage.

 

[oh9bolt]

^[up]

 

[snrusnak]

Maybe it's because you don't use the clutch when shifting

 

[Tripwire1124]

is it still bad if you let off throttle, shift, then get back on it all I one motion? I thought it was ok to float the gears? when just cruising normally, I use the clutch.

upon further research, I probably wont do that anymore. Got some buddies with bikes and they've been saying it was ok to do..

definitely going to look into adjusting it in this next weekend. Thanks guys

 

[snrusnak]

I guess it depends who you ask. I would never do that especially on the buell since the transmission/clutch is pretty crude feeling as is. I tried it on my suzuki a couple of times just to see and it felt ok when hard on the throttle and "blipping" it like you said but I just did it to see what it was like. I wouldn't ever actually shift like that. Personally I don't think it made for a faster shift. I will usually blip the throttle when shifting anyway.

 

[EricZ]

Buell ECMs included an ignition cut for clutchless shifts on many model years. Not something that is enabled on a stock bike but none the less, the XB transmissions can easily be shifted without the use of the clutch. With that being said, if you don't use the proper technique to shift you can easily prematurely wear or bend shift forks and/or wear/break dogs. No real need to clutchless shift on the street.

 

[Tripwire1124]

Well I was just trying to get a feel for the bike. I probably wont do it for shiz and giggles anymore but only when I absolutely need to.