KDXRIDER.NET

I posted a thread about my clutches getting hard but this led to another question. On a ride this weekend the problem crept in. All my riding friends all said "its a dirt bike, you dont need to use clutch to shift." I did it anyway because I was unwilling to stop riding. BUT, is this ok?

Thoughts please.

if im not mistaking a dirtbike gearbox uses "dogs"
as long as the dogs line up properly you dont need a clutch

having said that, i only use the clutch when i take off or when i downshift, but going up, hardly ever

once you get moving in just about anything you dont need the clutch to shift up(except big trucks) its mostly used to take off and downshift.

if im not mistaking a dirtbike gearbox uses "dogs"
as long as the dogs line up properly you dont need a clutch

Indeed. It's a constant mesh transmission....All the gears spin all the time, the driven gear just moves up the line. You do have to unload the trans to shift it....IE let off gas. Shifter karts will use a momentary ignition kill built right into the shift lever, so you can just yank it while at WOT.

hbgod wrote:once you get moving in just about anything you dont need the clutch to shift up(except big trucks) its mostly used to take off and downshift.

"Big Trucks" need the clutch even less then cars and pick ups.

I'm pretty sure if I try to up shift w/o clutching on my car, the trans will grind horribly.

terminatr wrote:I'm pretty sure if I try to up shift w/o clutching on my car, the trans will grind horribly.

Then something is really wrong with your trans and/or your shifter. All modern (80's+ - most from the mid 60's and up) manual trans cars and light trucks are synchromesh transmissions. Read up on it as I can't explain it and have it make sense! Anyways, you should be able to accelerate the engine smoothly and, with just gentle pressure on the gear shift, it will shift up to the next gear almost on it's own. When you hit the sweet spot RPM it will just slide easy as pie. Try it sometime. I have done it on everything from a '71 Ford Ranger w/390ci BB w/3 on the tree to a little Geo Metro and even a huge Ford F700.