To clutch or not to clutch?????

[wardis]

A friend of my son who goes to track days (both 15 years old)has told him that once moving he should not use the clutch. He tells him that changing gear without the clutch does no damage to the engine and that it will make his riding much quicker and smoother..........Is this true?
I would think it puts an unnecessary strain on the gearbox but if this is the way these bikes are designed to be ridden who am I to argue.... (he has a CR125 by the way)
Causing a few arguments in our house at the moment so maybe some of you could advise,
Cheers

 

[_JOE_]

The clutch is not necessary. As long as you let off the throttle for a instant there isnt a whole lot of undue stress placed on the tranny. The gearboxes on mx bikes are built for some serious abuse. Just go to the track and watch some A class races. It's pretty amazing how strong these bikes are. Just keep fresh oil in the tranny and you should be a-ok. If he's gonna be working the tranny real hard I would use a race specific 80 or 85 weight 2-stroke gear oil. Its a little more expensive, but has a higher shear strength.

 

[kx125412]

I always use the clutch. And the A guys are constanly using their clutches through corners, or where ever a few extra rpm are needed. And i'm pretty sure when they shift they use the clutch they just dont let off very much.

 

[s_taylor222]

I always use the clutch, cornerns and on straights. But when on a straight, I do not close the throttle at all. I keep it wide open then just a quick clutch squeeze and shift and your there. It keeps the rpm's up and keeps you in control.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

If you click on Search, then Advanced Search, enter "shift without the clutch" in the Keywords field (with the double quotes), then select this forum in the Search in Forum(s) box (it is about halfway down the list), you will get more than you ever wanted to hear about shifting with and without the clutch.