Clutchless Shifting on the 900?

6876 Views 38 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Scott_in_TX, Feb 25, 2015

darkarcher

Discussion Starter · Feb 19, 2015 (Edited)

Anybody ever done a clutchless upshift or downshift on the 900?

I come from sport bike land where this is very common. I was thinking about it on the 900 and just thought I would see if anyone had tried it. I am not familiar with the clutch technology on the 900 so I didn't know if there is anything that would prevent it.

Not planning on doing it all the time and although it may be a controversial topic I maintain when done properly clutchless shifting can actually extend the life of a clutch. Also you can take quite a bit less bike in a race (cause the 900 is so race inspired...)and beat a guy fairly well if you can perform a clutchless upshift properly. I typically gain half to a full bike length on guys that use their clutch when shifting.

For those of you who don't know what clutchless upshifting is, I will explain.

If you know what clutchless upshifting is, no need to read any further:

Basically lets say your holding the throttle wide open and its about time to shift, if you put some upward pressure on the shifter with your foot, the next thing you need to do is unload and then reload the engine quickly while holding that pressure on the shifter. The way you do this is by what's called "blipping" the throttle which just means letting off and then back to full throttle really fast. You don't let off all the way, its just a flick of the wrist. When you let off the pressure on the shifter will cause the shift and then you quickly get back on the throttle to keep things moving. Its actually very smooth when done properly.

See less See more

1 - 20 of 39 Posts

AZGeek

· #2 · Feb 19, 2015

I think there is a thread somewhere in the forum on this because I do remember reading about it.

My main question is why? I'm not convinced that it is useful in extending the life of a clutch because of the potential for excessive wear if not done properly. But you already called out that this was controversial.

Dirtwiz

· #3 · Feb 19, 2015

Ive tried it and didn't like the clunky feel....my judgment tells me clutches are cheaper and easier to replace than tranny parts. If it was something just as smooth as with a clutch maybe, but it isn't. Coming from a 35 year truck driver I think I have shifted without a truck clutch in the millions of times and when done properly it is perfectly smooth and you couldn't tell if the clutch was used or not. Even with a truck though you don't push the clutch down more than about 25% unless completely stopped since it has a clutch brake at the bottom. You might try a partial use of the clutch but I'm not sure why. The Vulcan is the easiest clutch I have found and recently went thru the bike shop doing comparisons since I have a hand issue.

SteveJB

· #4 · Feb 19, 2015

Although I don't recommend it as a common practice, it does work on these bikes. Improperly done it can destroy the shift fork on any bike. I've done it up and down on my custom, but I don't make habit of it.

darkarcher

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 20, 2015

AZGeek said:
I think there is a thread somewhere in the forum on this because I do remember reading about it.

My main question is why? I'm not convinced that it is useful in extending the life of a clutch because of the potential for excessive wear if not done properly. But you already called out that this was controversial.

Only one reason, racing. Not that I am going to beat too many folks with this bike, but I have a certain Harley friend that if he pulls up beside me I want to make sure that he knows a 5k Kawasaki is faster than his 30k Harley. Don't matter if I can beat him and still clutch, I want to beat him by as much as possible. He has an ultra glide classic. Its honestly going to be close, but I would be super pissed if I had a 30k bike and a 5k motorcycle could even hang with me.

darkarcher

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 20, 2015

SteveJB said:
Although I don't recommend it as a common practice, it does work on these bikes. Improperly done it can destroy the shift fork on any bike. I've done it up and down on my custom, but I don't make habit of it.

Thanks for the advise. Now that I know it works I will probably have to try it, but yea this thing is butter when shifting normally. Smooth clutch and transmission. I only have 75 miles on my bike and I already cant get over the smoothness. Wouldn't want to do anything to mess that up.

HRH_Z

· #7 · Feb 20, 2015

I've never done it. The other half had to once when he had a broken clutch cable (broke at the lever) over an hour from home. He and the rest of his crew rigged up some contraption with duct tape and vice grips on the lever that gave him SOME clutch control, but it wasn't very good (he could only get a few pulls out of it before it started coming apart). So, he only used that when he needed to stop, and speed-shifted the whole way home. LOL!

So, yes, it can be done!

Kawigirl

· #8 · Feb 20, 2015

darkarcher said:
Thanks for the advise. Now that I know it works I will probably have to try it, but yea this thing is butter when shifting normally. Smooth clutch and transmission. I only have 75 miles on my bike and I already cant get over the smoothness. Wouldn't want to do anything to mess that up.

Why? That's my only question, why would you want to take the chance in messing something up later down the road? Not unless you're on a drag strip? You have a new bike, you've done your mod's on it from your past posts. Going through the steps to shift is half the fun. Wouldn't do it down shifting, seems like disengaging gears is a good thing.

darkarcher

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 20, 2015

Kawigirl said:
Why? That's my only question, why would you want to take the chance in messing something up later down the road? Not unless you're on a drag strip? You have a new bike, you've done your mod's on it from your past posts. Going through the steps to shift is half the fun. Wouldn't do it down shifting, seems like disengaging gears is a good thing.

Probably not going to do it for downshifting, because I am not very good at that on my sport bikes either. Only reason I want to do it is to accelerate as fast as possible. You wouldn't believe how much faster you can accelerate by doing this vs. pulling in the clutch. No other reason than bragging rights I can outrun a friend of mine with a Harley. Could I break my bike doing it? Well I guess its I higher chance than clutching for sure, but I have done it many times before with my sport bikes, and I have a quick shifter on one of them so its basically doing it almost every time I upshift.

Kawigirl

· #10 · Feb 20, 2015

darkarcher said:
No other reason than bragging rights I can outrun a friend of mine with a Harley.

Good luck...

SC900LT

· #11 · Feb 20, 2015

I can see your future - in a year or two you will have the 900 torn apart and cursing why Kawa built such a crappy bike -

HRH_Z

· #12 · Feb 20, 2015

darkarcher said:
No other reason than bragging rights I can outrun a friend of mine with a Harley.

Hehehehe. Are there other, more interesting ways to measure each other's manhood?

Bandit

· #13 · Feb 20, 2015

Could just have a pissing contest I guess..

Scott_in_TX

· #14 · Feb 21, 2015

I always used the clutch when I had the nine.

But, I've been up shifting without on my VV for a couple of years.
First to second is clunky and I use the clutch unless I'm above peak torque in the RPMs and hard on the throttle.
But with a little practice going into 3rd and up is very smooth at any point on the tach.
Like DA says; it's a common practice in the sport bike world.

I don't know what model your friend has but I don't really think speed shifting is going to give you enough of an edge to beat a 30k HD.

Not that HD is the king of performance; but the 9 just wasn't built to compete.

Scott

See less See more

darkarcher

Discussion Starter · #15 · Feb 21, 2015

HRH_Z said:
darkarcher said:

No other reason than bragging rights I can outrun a friend of mine with a Harley.

Click to expand...

Hehehehe. Are there other, more interesting ways to measure each other's manhood?

I suppose but its more fun to come in the underdog and come out on top. Im married so nothing to prove here. My wife thinks im the best thing since sliced bread and thats all that matters to me. Just workin on backin up my smack talk now......

HRH_Z

· #16 · Feb 21, 2015

darkarcher said:
I suppose but its more fun to come in the underdog and come out on top. Im married so nothing to prove here. My wife thinks im the best thing since sliced bread and thats all that matters to me. Just workin on backin up my smack talk now......

Sure sounds like that's all that matters. . . Besides having the bragging rights to beat your buddy's Harley. LOL!

Well, good luck. LOL! Unless you're battling an 883, your friend's Harley has more torque and more HP than your 900. I'm not saying that one is better than the other (I have one of each), but as Scott said - not a good comparison. LMAO!

darkarcher

Discussion Starter · #17 · Feb 21, 2015

HRH_Z said:
darkarcher said:

I suppose but its more fun to come in the underdog and come out on top. Im married so nothing to prove here. My wife thinks im the best thing since sliced bread and thats all that matters to me. Just workin on backin up my smack talk now......

Click to expand...

Sure sounds like that's all that matters. . . Besides having the bragging rights to beat your buddy's Harley. LOL!

Well, good luck. LOL! Unless you're battling an 883, your friend's Harley has more torque and more HP than your 900. I'm not saying that one is better than the other (I have one of each), but as Scott said - not a good comparison. LMAO!

Dont forget the 200LB weight advantage. Dont worry i will post results either way. No shame if i loose. Didnt buy this bike for speed. Got my daytona for that. So far haven't found a straight stretch long enough to even get it to redline yet.

durox

· #18 · Feb 21, 2015

works both up and down on the 900

the gears in the trans are straight cut on this bike.
it's not gonna damage anything, worst case you get some shavings from the edge of the gears in your oil.
bending the shift fork takes some force, but that can be done too.

to help you w/ the shifting/racing

max hp 5700 RPM
1st: 33.7 mph
2nd: 49.7
3rd: 69
4th: 84.7
5th: 97.4

See less See more

HRH_Z

· #19 · Feb 21, 2015

darkarcher said:
Dont forget the 200LB weight advantage. Dont worry i will post results either way. No shame if i loose. Didnt buy this bike for speed. Got my daytona for that. So far haven't found a straight stretch long enough to even get it to redline yet.

Oh, ok. Well, in that case, go show him!! Beat that Hardley with everything you've got!!

Is that more in the spirit?

Blockhead

· #20 · Feb 21, 2015

....shaking my square head in amazement

1 - 20 of 39 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top