Its Lonely at the Top

[Jay2TheRescue]

I think there is some clutch drag because the bike will roll forward a couple of inches when I start it if its not in Neutral. I'm not ready to run it all the way down to Neutral, as I feel that's really advanced. If I noticed a car coming up on me quickly I'd have to start the engine, and cycle it up to at least 5th gear to move out of the way. I figured if it was in 6th gear with the clutch pulled in all I had to do was start the engine and release the clutch.

[DRW]

Originally Posted by low&slow

Hi All,
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.
DRW, where are you at in the Bay Area?

I live in the south bay and commute to Union City. Only 45 miles roundtrip now. My previous commute was 75 miles per day, which encouraged hypermiling more.

[theholycow]

Hey, don't motorcycles have wet clutches? That would certainly produce a significant amount of clutch drag.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I don't know about all of them, but my bike has a wet clutch.

[alvaro84]

Ours too.

[DRW]

Can you feel any extra drag when you downshift into lower gears while coasting at high speeds? I'm wondering if putting the trans in second gear at 60mph would spin the gears fast enough to cause noticeable drag?

[Jay2TheRescue]

Don't know. I'll have to try it next time I'm out there. There aren't really any good sized hills near home, I either have to get on I-95, or go out towards the mountains. Either of which is almost an hour away. Georgetown Pike has some good hills on it, but its a 2 lane road with no shoulder, seems too dangerous for me to try on that road.

[Project84]

As long as the clutch is pulled in on my Ninja 250, you can be in any gear at any speed and there's no noticeable drag. The only exception is when you try starting the bike in gear; it'll pull forward a little and struggle to start vs. starting it in neutral.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Mine doesn't struggle, but if I start in 1st gear it does pull forward a few inches.

[alvaro84]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Mine doesn't struggle, but if I start in 1st gear it does pull forward a few inches.

Mine.... pulls me up a light incline together with the whole bike Large singles need strong starters Anyway, when the engine is running I don't notice the drag anymore (it should increase the idle rpms while coasting with the engine on, shouldn't it?).

But today I tried to shift back to 2nd while FASed to see if it affects her gliding ability, but I'm not sure if I felt anything. I shut down the engine at my usual, approximate transition points and got approximately the same length of glides, about 3 times out of 4. The 4th glide got shorter/slower than usual, but it could be the wind as well.