Not Using Clutch?

[Fee34610]

Greetings!

... talked to a guy today that does not use his clutch shifting from 3rd to 4th to 5th gears. Says something about less wear on clutch? Anyone else don’t use your clutch on those gears? To me - it’s kinda like using a motorcycle tire that’s designed for your bike (vs the darkside) ... it was engineered to be used !

[AZgl1800]

That fella has some misinformed info, but to each, his own.

Shifting w/o the clutch is a bit tricky and not necessary at all.

Very rarely does a Goldwing clutch need to be repaired.

1500s and 1800s are known to go well over 200,000 miles and the clutch is the OEM that came with it.

the only thing he is saving, is a $00.30 lever bronze bushing. whoopee

Bike...and...Dennis has only 285,000 miles on his GL1200 which he bought new, and he sure isn't thinking it needs to be worked on.

[WingAdmin]

I hear this kind of nonsense frequently. "Oh, I'm saving my clutch by not using it to shift."

If you shift correctly, you are not wearing your clutch at all, so you're not saving anything. On the other hand, by not using your clutch you ARE wearing out your transmission dogs, so if by "saving money" you mean avoiding a $200 clutch job by instead paying for a $2,000 transmission overhaul, then by all means, go ahead - it's your bike.

[Fee34610]

Thank you ! So I will continue to use my clutch in confidence!

[DaveO430]

I hear this kind of nonsense frequently. "Oh, I'm saving my clutch by not using it to shift."

If you shift correctly, you are not wearing your clutch at all, so you're not saving anything. On the other hand, by not using your clutch you ARE wearing out your transmission dogs, so if by "saving money" you mean avoiding a $200 clutch job by instead paying for a $2,000 transmission overhaul, then by all means, go ahead - it's your bike.

Motorcycles don't have synchros. I shift without the clutch about 1/2 the time, saves my arthritic hand.

[freedomrunner]

Not using the clutch to shift into 3rd, 4th and 5th to reduce wear, simply put, makes no sense. Very very very minimal wear occurs from shifting into the higher gears, unless you completely don't know how to shift. The wear on a clutch, mostly occurs when taking off from a standing stop. Just a few missed "unassisted" shifts on the transmission can cause damage to the transmission, that far exceeds whatever he believes he is saving.

If you see this guy again, smile and walk away as fast as you can.

[DaveO430]

This is me, just a demonstration. I did a lot of shifting in this video and a lot of times I can't even tell when I shift watching the video.


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[Viking]

Just because I can, does not mean I should. I have been riding for 53 years, and this is what I have been told all that time by people who ride and work on their motorcycles, and have since long before I began. As was stated, Goldwing clutches are pretty much lifetime items, and misuse is the only thing that causes problems. I understand when people with health or physical infirmities use shortcuts, but clutches were made to prevent damage to transmissions, so I use mine. Besides, my left hand and arm are fine. It is the right I have problems with. That is why I use the cruise control when I can.