My 2nd post! Woot! I found a guy online called M13 (mordeth13), i might have found him on this forum, i forget. Either way, he has a ton of youtube videos on the basics and driving a bike. M13 – Mordeth13 » Videos I had some VFR specific questions with some of the videos ive watched of his. (the rush hour ones are hilarious by the way, no way i could drive in that traffic, if you havnt seen it, you should check it out) My car is a 5 speed, and ive always been taught to stay off the clutch as much as possible, dont sit at a light with the clutch in etc, or you will burn out the clutch and it will be an expensive repair. One of his video's is about "feathering the clutch" and he states that to get the bike and rpm up to speed faster you can half press the clutch, rev the engine to get the rpm up and then as you let it out the bike gets up to speed faster. So my question is: is the clutch on a bike like the clutch on a car? Will you burn it out faster if you "ride the clutch" so to speak or in this case "feather the clutch"? I understand what he is saying by getting the rpms up faster and feathering the clutch will keep the bike from popping a wheelie, but is this normal procedure with all bikes or is this just something he does? I seem to recall the honda guy telling me that my 09 vfr800 had a different clutch, it wasnt on a cable and computer controlled or something. Will feathering the clutch mess it up? Is this doable on a VFR? Another thing he demonstrated was that you could up shift without even using the clutch handle bar, and just use your foot without it. He said that he does it when hes trying to go fast or racing and doesnt do it all the time but it will work, but he did say that it only works when shifting up, and that it will ruin your transmission if you try to do it down shifting. Does this work on a VFR? Can you up shift without even using the clutch handle bar? Do you risk breaking anything if you do shift like that some times? Is it not recommended? Its suppose to be raining all weekend here, so i probably wont even get a chance to ride to try some of these things, but i figured id ask the experts here to see if these things are doable on a VFR without causing major damage to the tranny/clutch. Thanks for all your input. I appreciated all the newbie help. Nick
I am no expert. This is just my opinion! It is your bike ride it anyway you see fit. "Feathering, riding, or slipping the clutch" are all the same thing. This is probably the most effective way to launch the bike at the drag strip. If you do it from time to time you will never notice additional clutch wear. If you do it all the time you will shorten the life of the clutch. Most pros say to feather the clutch and keep the engine under slight power when making a tight u-turn. Riding the clutch is like riding the brakes, you can do it but you will shorten the service life. As far as shifting without the clutch if you match the engine RPM with that of the rest of the drive train she will shift like butter. If you don't match RPM you can chip gear teeth, put excessive wear on gears, bearings and the chain. Ask yourself how long you want this bike to last. Do you want to keep it forever or do you want to beat it and sell it? How do you ride and what's important to you? That's what counts.
Ok, so bikes have the same type clutch as a car then i take it? I dont want to wear out the clutch, so i guess ill keep the feathering to a minimum unless i need it. I did test out the shifting without the clutch, and it works. You really have to get a feel for the bike though, and if i recall correctly, the user manual has me in 6th gear by like 40-50mph, which at least to me makes the bike seem very sluggish and under powered. I let it rev up a little more before shifting, and im sure it hurts on the mpg. I read a review of the new 2011 vfr1200, and they stated that you would be above the speed limit before you shifted into 2nd gear. That is definitely not the case with my 09 vfr800, or maybe im not driving it right ;-) Thanks for the welcome and reply, Im finding this forum very resourceful. Lots of great people on here willing to help out.
You can ride a bike clutch without issue. Its called the "friction zone". Were unlike a car, if you ride teh clutch in a car you burn it up. BZ
The main difference between a bike and a car clutch is that, w/ a couple of exceptions(Yes, You know who you are you BMW and Ducati owners), is that a bike has a clutch that runs in an iol bath, and a car has a dry clutch. This means that a motorcycle clutch can withstand a lot more feathering over time than will a car clutch. In fact, bike clutches are intended to be slipped more often than car clutches are. Clutchless up shifting is fun if you get it right , and expensive if you get it wrong, but you would have to be very hamfisted or abusive to damage a modern bike clutch using this shift method. I have a 1971 Triumph, bikes notorious for not putting up w/ a lot of engine/transmission abuse, that manages clutchless upshifts w/o a problem as long as I'm careful w/ it. And everything Maggot said.
I can't proclaim to be an expert on this subject, but do not some of the newer super-sport machines like the Ninja ZX-10R come with slipper clutches. Slipping the clutch, at least I was taught this when learned to drive, is generally speaking, a bad thing as far wear goes. If some of the newer bikes come with a clutch that is designed to slip, on down-shifts mainly, are they designed with thicker friction plates and such to account for the extra wear?
If you go around riding the clutch all day on a bike you'l wear it out faster. But again, and as stated by Maggot and K1c, it can be done without ill effect. Slipper clutches don't engage for slow speed u-turns and for launching (i.e. taking off) Its for downshifts on the racetrack. BZ
