learned some new things this week...

[EvilPooMonkey]

1: how to ride in the rain. it wasn't as bad as i thought but it wasn't super fun either. however now that the first one is out of the way i feel more confident about making rain rides
2:not really a biggie but i finally got balls enough to slide off my seat when cornering. was a little nervous the first couple times and i still need a lot of practice but i got to take my favorite corner on the road i live on somewhat faster then normal. after the first few times it started feeling a little more natural but i am sure with time and a lot of practice and muscle memory i'll be ok. i am happy about this because it added a new element to riding the twisties for me.
3: The one i am most proud of is i learned how to shift without my clutch yesterday. i had read someone mentioning it on my rain ride thread so i played with it yesterday and this is my experience with shifting... looking for some feedback to find out if this is same fro everyone or if im doing it right wrong whateva.

upshifting: the earliest i could upshift without my clutch is 10k. anything below 9.9 just wouldn't do. i also learned that there is def a time and place for using a clutch and errr speed shifting i guess...(no need for getting a ticket cuz i don't wanna pull a lever lol

downshifting: a good downward push around 5 k seem to be the sweetspot. unless i have to brake sooner i actually prefer downshifting this way now preferred to using clutch because it seem much smoother to me.

are there any advantages / disadvantages to this style of shifting. i can haz feedbacks now?

p.s. also let me know if i am doing stuff thats dangerous and stupid...i have a reputation to negle...err protect

[Whiskey]

There's 2 possible ways to clutchless upshift

Light pressure up on the shifter & roll slightly off by a couple of mm & back on should do for the upshift, it should work from about 6k in any gear above neutral.

Sharper motion, flick the selector up as you chop the throttle by a few mm & sharply back on (this one takes a bit more finesse with your timing)

cover the clutch in case it fails to engage, but you should be able to get the first one smooth pretty quickly.

[xSean13]

The 1st way whiskey stated is how i've been able to clutchless upshift, though I hear it's hard on the bike (heard the same when I raced dirt bikes, but did it anyways then).

As for downshifting...never tried it, I just throttle blip.

[Alex]

Clutchless upshifting - has some merit.
Clutchless downshifting - great for bending shift forks and breaking the spinny expensive doohickies in the transmission, with no performance benefit.

[gfloyd2002]

Clutchless downshifting very useful in dirt riding as a technique to get the back tire loose going into a corner. So if you are riding your Ninjette on dirt and trying to lose the back tire, go for it. Otherwise, use the clutch on downshifts. You want smooth downshifts on the street to keep engine braking and thus your rear tire under clear control. Using the clutch with a blipped throttle is great for smooth downshifts.