Cheryl and I practice this technique as much as we can….do you agree this is a proper way to change gears without using the clutch or is it bad practice?

Forgive me if this sounds a little remedial, but I see a lot of guys out on the road who don’t know how to do this. Works on any bike, be it crotch rocket, assless chaps mobile or two-wheeled Hummer H2.

The benefit is smoother, faster shifts and slightly lower clutch wear. It’s just easier and will better enable you to work shifting into the rest of your riding.

Super easy to do. As you accelerate and are approaching the point where you want to shift up, sneak your toe under the lever and apply a little upwards pressure. Now, quickly close the throttle a little while keeping that upward pressure on the shift liver, feel the gear slip home, and open it back up.

Takes a little practice to make it smooth, but once you’ve nailed it, you’ll be surprised at how little time it took. Doesn’t work so well if you’re cruising along at constant speed or decelerating (then why are you upshifting?), you’ll eventually just learn to get all your shifts out of the way as you increase speed, then be in the right gear for cruising along the highway or whatever. On some bikes, I still use the clutch between 1st and 2nd, just because going through neutral occasionally requires that in order to maintain smoothness. You’ll figure it out.

Is This Corner Tightening Or Opening Up?

You’re in a blind corner, wondering when you can start getting on the throttle. In the absence of other visual references, simply look at the horizon point where the two sides of the road appear to meet. If that point is holding a steady distance from you, the corner is continuing at a constant radius. If it’s moving towards you, the corner is tightening. If it’s moving away from you, the corner opens up and you can begin accelerating. Sound like magic? It works like it too.