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Originally Posted by Tbucket Does the transmission suffer from not disengaging the clutch, I thought that was the idea of disengaging to take the shock out of the tranny.  |
No and no. Actually,disengaging the power flow and re-engaging it puts shock on the drive line, hence the torque snubber (spring) just in front of the drive shaft (close to the dreaded in backward, hopefully not, bearing).
Because of machining tolerances and manufacturing considerations there is always a certain amount of free play (slop) in any power transmission device that employs gears and shafts. That's why there is allowable wear limits in the shop manual and thrust washers in the transmission case. So long as you remove the power flow (torque) when you shift gears and allow the inherent slop to occur within the transmission, there is no harm whatsoever in shifting without disengaging the clutch. However, when you shift the transmission without interrupting the power flow, you put tremendous strain on the synchronizer rings and eventually, the tabs will wear to a point that the synchronizers will be unable to bring the corresponding gear set to speed allowing for a smooth, clutched shift. That's exactly how an air shifter works on a crotch rocket. You have the throttle opened up (read maniac) and when the rpm reaches a pre-determined point, the ignition is momentarily interrupted and at that precise instant, a servo connected to the shift lever shits to the next gear. It happens so fast you can't hear it and it sounds like a full power shift, but it isn't.
You can up shift your bike under power, but the synchronizers will fail pretty fast and if, per chance you mis a gear or get a false neutral and keep pressure on the shift lever, you'll destroy the gear set.