Janusz

I do know. With some practice, positive attitude and common sense: very reliably.

Just try it guys. Try it on Guzzi without prejudice and THEN tell us what you think. My Guzzi for instance has over 40,000 km and approx. 90% of upshift starting from gear 2 up were done clutchless. And yet, as I said before, there is no wear. Also, for approx. last 25 years I shifted clutchless, nice and easy, on any bike I owned provided it (the bike I mean) liked it. Some had 150,000 km plus. I would not clutchless upshift Guzzi 5 speed. But the new 6 speed just LOVES clutchless upshift. Not even one CLUNK Jeff. Forget why, forget how the box is built. The fact remains that the proof is in the pudding. That's all.

I had a "sticky" seat unwilling to release easily for some time. Lots of wiggling etc. Finally i discovered that applying some grease to two metal hooks on both sides of the seat and corresponding parts of a frame where the hooks hook did the trick. The latch mechanism is not the culprit and needs no greasing. The seat releases very easy now. all you need is pull it back (not forward) by the passenger strap and lift.

Five.... Seven stubborn to go... Practice will make you believer.

Well, let's check it then: March 8, 1947

Attempting to follow your method will surely lead to overreving and valve bend Steve. Have you really try it? Rev limiter will cut ignition but the heavy inertia will spin declutched engine above the limit and cause valve float. This is evactly what I would do if you asked me to wreck the engine in a hurry. No, what you CAN safely do if you really want to have fun is to pin the engine in lower gear (not first) and the very moment when rev limiter starts kicking in upshift WITHOUT THE CLUTCH. This is the fastest way to accelerate safely. Declutching at high revs close to redline = bent valves. By the way; if anybody feels offended by me I want to apologize. This was surely not my intention. As far as being an old fart let me bet that I am probably the oldest one on this thread.

As I said before you will never get false neutrals when upshifting clutchless Bruce. Since your shifts are totally stressless there also will be no grinding as dogs easily slide from lower into higher gear. If you observed your tacho when properly shifting the revs will go down just a few hundreds revs before the engine, a split second later, starts driving forward again. Almost like automatic transmission. On a wide ratio gearbox, like cruisers, lower gears etc., the revs go down more and that is why you would use some clutch; but it also has to be a very quick shift to avoid high stress on the gearbox. Nothing wrecks the box more then slow, lazy shifts. Clutch shifts, by definition are much longer then clutchless and that is why more taxing on the box. My gearbox was taken apart at 34,000 km and looked like new too, Bruce. Good for you dlaing - the ability to change quickly when presented with a new information is a sign of wisdom and intelligence. I was using clutch for shifting for years and years before taking racing schools.

Would somebody who actually did change the shock for aftermarket one care to state what the actual improvements he noticed? I mean actually experienced improvements, not expected. Also, how long the factory Boge is expected to hold before deteriorating? any experience in this regard? I suspect mine is on its last legs. Hard to tell for sure the process is long and slow.

I did list the benefits on the previous page. Even numbered them 1 - 2 - 3. Here is the 4th one: When upshifting without messing with the clutch you will not know what a false neutral, grinding shift and popping out of gear is. I DID get a few false neutrals like everybody else did, but they all happened only when clutch shifting.

On what basis you say that? Tell it to my son Tim and he will not even understand what you're talking about. It is way easier to upshift clutchless since there is less to do My younger son got his licence last year, attended the course before but actually asked me to teach him riding technique. He rides SV650S (the original, fantastic bike). He knows how to upshift with clutch but like me uses this complicated method only when necessary.

Yes;I do not commute. For nice and easy, frequently with pillion, I have a cruiser.

I am really surprised that so many long time and experienced, supposedly enthusiast motorcyclists remain firmly planted in the dark ages. What damage, hurt(sic!) and abuse to the transmission can happen when you upshift it without the clutch? Could any of you explain please? Of course we are talking about a modern constant mesh motorcycle transmission which has NOTHING in common with car transmission except the name and function. No, the truth is that clutchless upshifts on new, modern bike are wearing your driveline LESS not more. This is benefit number one. It is faster, way faster. Even if you are not in a hurry it is still a benefit and not impediment. That's two. It is much more elegant, satisfying and smooth then using clutch. Benefit #3. For everybody for whom these three simple statements are not convincing here is the advice: please study how a m/c transmission works, think about it for a while and please agree that not always the old traditional ways of doing things are the proper, the best ones. Clutchless shifting by itself will never damage your bike. Shifting poorly, with or without the clutch, will damage the parts. And this is the essence of the whole discussion IMO.

This prolonged holding gearchange pedal "in" when shifting, like Tim in Tucson mentions, is a bad idea IMO. If your forks and dogs are already damaged maybe you would prevent jumping out of gear doing that. But on a good bike this is the best way to damage shift selector mechanism and wear down shift forks. Some "old school" riders or others babying their machines use them up much faster then necessary.

kenr; You have to first visualize inside your head what is really happening when you upshift. Do not, I repeat, do not "back off the revs all the way" as you say because you will not be able to shift; your engine will be now decelerating your bike and torque will be applied through your transmission exactly like when accelerating but in an opposite way. The whole trick is to take all the load off your transmission and then and only then, when it is in a sense kind of coasting, you will shift easy like hot knife throught the butter. Your clutch and your transmission will thank you for it and last much longer then otherwise. This is how I do it: I chop the throttle for a split second only a tiny bit just to cause an engine to stop pulling. At the same time I hit the gearchange up and the throttle is on again. The whole thing takes probably less then 1/5 of a second and there is no stages in a throttle movement; down and up again in one quick minute jerk. It is also well synchronized since I've done it many thousand times over the years and now it comes subconsiously but believe me, after some practice you will do it as well as anybody or better. After you are comfortable upshifting you can practice clutchless downshifts. The idea is the same but more precision needed during practice. DO NOT PRELOAD YOUR GEARBOX PEDAL. The higher gears and faster speeds are easier and better to practice first. The heavier, less performance and older the bike is, especially without close ratio gearbox, the less beneficial clutchless shifting is. Riding cruisers, any cruisers, I use the clutch. Bikes like our beloved Guzzi V11S - upshifts always (almost) no clutch, downshifts only when aggresive (90% of the time). Real sportsbikes (including SV650S for instance) - always no clutch. Same in dirt. Remember: m/cycle gearbox is nothing like car gearbox. All the gears are meshed permanently all the time. You just lock and unlock them on the shafts.

When my pads were worn and ready for replacement I just checked on the calipers who made them... aha, Brembo. One of the best or possibly the best brake specialist around. Did not take long to figure out what would the best replacement. Got to be Brembo then. The next visit to my favourite supplier secured the complete Brembo pad replacement kit for a nominal fee. No worries. Got to be careful with them brakes.

The MOST important consideration when choosing a helmet is the correct fit and size and not the brand. If your old Shoei fits you well that would indicate your head shape is more round one ("Shoei head shape") as opposed to elongated shape ("an Arai head shape"). If this is the case then choosing an Arai helmet might be a mistake for you since it will never fit your head shape perfectly. That is why a prudent helmet shopper will try it on first and keep it on for 1/2 hr at least. People are mesmerized with colors, brand name and features/price instead of proper fit. The best helmet in the world will be terrible for you if not fitting correctly.

...the very idea of bike ride brings cementary to mind. But whenever I am caught by rain my Bridgestones never failed me yet.

I run BT010's before and found them excellent tires, but the rear one did not last too long. Now I switched to 010 front, 020 rear and found out that this is an excellent combination. It seems to me that the Goose is not capable to overwhelm the rear tire even at full throttle and as agressive riding as I am only capable of. Disclamer:I am talking dry pavement only here and my riding abilities are low. I cannot imagine what all these people who slide the rear tire and find BT020 does not have enough grip are doing. You can call Guzzi engine many things but surely not high power, no matter how modified.

Gio, I was confused since you'd made a typo and compared MT-90 to MT-90. Now all seems to be clear, so; in your experiment you froze Shockproof and MT-90 and Shockproof seemed to be thicker then MT-90. I believe it but have no logical explanation. Both are equally rated for cold viscosity which is 75. Shockproof is GL-5 and MT-90 GL-4. I compared Shockproof with 75W-90 "High Performance Gear Oil" which is GL-5, same like Shockproof. Please pay attention, it is not the same as MT-90. Shockproof seemed to flow better then the other one. What all this means? again, I have no idea. But I know one thing, and this is the most important: Shockproof Heavy works really great in both gearbox and the rear end. The real proof is in a pudding, right?

You got me here Gio. Now I am really confused...

Oh yes, I forgot. You should not preload the shifter, contrary to popular opinion. It wears your shifting mechanism unnecesarily and destroys proper timing. I know, it feels like sneaking next gear easier but I strongly suggest not to do it. Unless you want your transmission jump out of gear in few years and enjoy false neutrals. Of course when I am riding a big cruiser or anything bigger then 350cc and older then say 30 years (and therefore possibly with a not constant mesh design gearbox) I DO use some clutch when shifting.

Please, don't talk like that. It is embarassing, probably not true and also irrelevant for sure. The proper shifting technique is NOT difficult at all. The opposite is true: it is easier then using clutch. The only thing you need to do after years of wrong habits is to visualize and understand what you are doing and just practice and practice everytime you ride. In a week or two it will become your second nature, i promise.

If you eliminate from your procedure points 1) and 3) and time your 2) and 4) with throttle snap then, and only then you will be able to achieve the real upshifting nirvana. I guarantee you will never go back to unnecessary clutch manipulations. And this is not about speed but about coordination, smoothness and precision. Efficiency, satisfaction and elegance. Speed comes as a bonus.

Geo; According to my limited knowledge Guzzi transmission is very different then a car gearbox where extreme slipperiness of GL-5 rated oil would prevent synchronizers from proper working and could cause a gear clashes. I think the more slippery oil the better for us. Therefore in my competition Jeep i use MT-90 in manual transmission since it is GL-4 rated. (GL-5 oil could also potentially chemically damage brass parts of older design car transmission I heard). But for Guzzi I would not hesitate to use as slick oil as possible and Redline high performance 75W/90 fits the bill since it is GL-5 and of course newer Shockproof Heavy would even be better I think. Will you see even more improvement switching to Shockproof? I do not know but suspect yes. Why don't you try it and tell us? Trying out made me a believer so it might happen to you also.

I can only say that: 1 - I use Shockproof heavy in both gearbox and rear end for three years now and over 30,000 km. Shifts and works perfectly. 2 - After reading about it and talking to Redline tech head guy I got curious and started an experiment over two years ago. I filled up two glass test tubes with it and two another with a regular, synthetic high performance Redline gear oil 75W-90 . I kept them in the freezer for couple of days and then, in very unscientific manner, tested the flow. Shockproof heavy spilled out much easier then the other, equally viscosity rated oil. Then I emptied all four tubes and placed them upside down on a flat dish and put them in a bottom drawer of my office desk. Looked after few days; Shockproof was still covering test tube walls with an even, thin red film of oil of seemingly equal thickness from the top to the bottom of the test tube. The other oil covered the walls with uneven streaks. Some areas were completely clean, some covered with thicker and some thinner film. Did not look nice from esthetic point of view. After a FULL YEAR it was the same with Shockproof, the other was even more uneven. Then I decided to wash one tube of each with a solution of dishwashing liquid and water. All red Shockproof oil washed clean but the other one could not be washed completely. I still keep the other two test tubes in my drawer. They do not bother me and look the same. Does all of this mean anything? I do not know really. 3 - The Redline tech guy strongly recommended Shockproof for any bike with a separate gearbox and also in the rear end. When asked how often should it be changed he stated that in normal street use it does not have to be changed AT ALL. In other words it is good for a lifetime. I tend to believe it and did not change my oil yet. It looks very clean, like new. I will probably change it one of these days just out of boredom and curiosity. In my 2000 VW auto box the oil is sealed for lifetime and I drove it (with help of my whole family) for over 250,000 now. It shifts better then when new. 4 - When doing the recall my mechanic did not mention any abnormality in my gearbox. Knowing him I am almost sure (right, Geo?) that he would notice and tell me if anything was not perfect. I asked him to reuse the same oil in the gearbox which he did. I am not cheap and anxious to save $12 on a quart of oil. But I do not mind to be a guinea pig since I really believe that todays technology of synthetic chemistry is out of this world - equal perhaps to the tire technology and way ahead of any other one. This is probably my longest post ever guys. But I rode two bikes today too so could be excused perhaps.