Surely at some point you’ve wondered online how much a quick shifter would cost to install on your bike, or you’ve spent part of your time reading about the new technologies being integrated into gear shifts that seem to render the clutch lever a mere decorative ornament.
Well, a few years ago all these things didn’t exist and riders managed to upshift using the clutch. How did they do it? We’re going to try to explain this technique that has been used for a long time and that technology has managed to improve.
Timing precision is the key
To give you an idea, old competition riders were true masters at upshifting on their motorcycles without using the clutch lever. This isn’t a technique that has just been discovered today, and next we’ll explain the secrets to performing it correctly.
But why would we want to use this technique? Very simple: gear changes without using the clutch will be much faster and we’ll gain a bit of time in acceleration, especially when we’re on the track.
At this point, one crucial aspect to consider when using this technique is the speed at which we shift. When we ease off the throttle and then get back on it, there is a small moment of slack in which the gearbox allows us to engage the next gear without the effort of pulling the clutch. It is at that moment that we must perform the gear change.
This technique requires being very precise with that moment, so it’s advisable to have the shift lever prepared before easing off the throttle, pushing it slightly upward as a preload. When we stop accelerating, we complete the foot’s upward movement and engage the next gear to promptly reopen the throttle.
With time, we’ll gain experience and gradually we’ll find that it’s ingrained in our head and becomes natural, allowing us to gain those tenths in accelerations with perfect synchronization between our foot and the throttle.
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