what are your thoughts and comments

[jdlove...yfz450]

One of the guys I ride with tells me I should not even use my clutch when shifting gears. Deep down I know this can't be good for the quad. Please give me some feedback on this subject. What do you guys perfer? It is usually very hot where we ride, will this have any effect.

[ILOVEMY450]

i heard that if you are doing wheelies you can shift up without using the clutch but i wouldnt shift down

[Sweendogie]

back when we had a warrior i never used the clutch to shift and we never had any tranny problems or anything due to not using the clutch.... but really i dont see that doing any good to the transmission not using the clutch... my truck is a 5 speed and its pretty much second nature to me now to use the clutch to shift

[Honda_Matt]

95% of the time, I shift without using the clutch.

Same with most people I ride with.

Although, theres alot of times I use it to down-shift.

[BrettOaktree]

shifting up with the clutch doesnt hurt anything if ur at a high enough rpm. i almost never use it with shifting up i do use it sometimes when down shifting i try to use it more but its hard in some situations like down shifting before the corner on a track

[jshtex]

I know my son ALWAYS uses the clutch and we seem to get a lot of hours out of one. Heck I have an 01 426ex that raced a full season of MX and then two seasons of XC and to this day it still has the OEM Honda friction plates, steels and springs. We got almost two full seasons out of our YFZ clutch and now our 450R is into its second year with the stocker.

I am not saying it hurts it not to use it, just that we get a lot out of ours and it gets used.

[Ride1Rob]

You don't need to use the clutch when shifting up or down. There is an exception to this... When downshifting stay off of the throttle. I've been riding my bike like that since March of 04 and my tranny has NO WEAR AT ALL! I build my own motor and do my own maintnance so I can tell you first hand that it does no damage to the Yami tranny. Of course I don't ride like that ALL THE TIME. I only do this when I'm balls to the wall and taking corners and such. Race like conditions...

This is what my tranny looked like after a motor rebuild in January of this year.

http://img5.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/1121/11214756e519c61dd05bbb3097cfff4ca07fe78.jpg (http://www.uploadhouse.com/viewfile.php?id=1121475&showlnk=0)

[jshtex]

Originally posted by Ride1Rob
You don't need to use the clutch when shifting up or down. There is an exception to this... When downshifting stay off of the throttle. I've been riding my bike like that since March of 04 and my tranny has NO WEAR AT ALL! I build my own motor and do my own maintnance so I can tell you first hand that it does no damage to the Yami tranny. Of course I don't ride like that ALL THE TIME. I only do this when I'm balls to the wall and taking corners and such. Race like conditions...

This is what my tranny looked like after a motor rebuild in January of this year.

http://img5.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/1121/11214756e519c61dd05bbb3097cfff4ca07fe78.jpg (http://www.uploadhouse.com/viewfile.php?id=1121475&showlnk=0)

Ok,how can anyone looking at that pic tell what condition your tranny is in. :)

But I will take your word for it.

Oh, and I do my own work too.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/5/web/353000-353999/353459_27.jpg

[Ride1Rob]

If you look at the teeth the can be seen you don't see any chips or breakage and all the teeth are perfect. This is what ALL of my teeth look like. Of course you can't see them all, but the ones you can see are in almost perfect condition ;) .

[jdlove...yfz450]

as always I appreciate all the feedback from you guys. are any of you riding in the heat of the sonoran desert? unfortunatly i am and I think that is where the issues come in. there is a huge difference riding in 115-120 degrees and ri9ding in 60-70 degrees. we all know how bad climate extremities can effect our motorcycles and quads

[Ryan]

I would think just not using the clutch would be a bad habbit to get into.

I always use the clutch going threw and down the gears, and never even notice im doing it.

All im gonna say is.... If your downshifting without the clutch.... Make sure you do it right.... . It seems to feel a hell of alot smoother when im droppin gears with the clutch in.

[TheNewn]

Originally posted by Honda_Matt
95% of the time, I shift without using the clutch.

Same with most people I ride with.

Although, theres alot of times I use it to down-shift.


Word for word how it is with me as well.