newb q's

[greenthumb]

so i have a couple newbie questions for you guys;

whats a safe lugging speed for the engine?
what i mean, is are they designed to be at high rpm in order to maintain a decent oil pressure, is it just fine to power out of a corner at 2,000rpm?

also, how ofden do you use a clutch?
mabye this seems stupid, but ive heard people that always use the clutch to shift and other that never use it. i find the bike shifts better without using the clutch (granted youre shifting under no load). these transmissions are non-scyncronised (right?), so as long youre not slamming between gears, it shouldnt really matter, should it?

 

[wrightme43]

Good questions.
On the first one, its probley better if your going to POWER out of a cornor to be up at a higher RPM. Say 4-6k. Lugging a engine is not good for it. If its just a occasional error its not really going to damage it in my opinion. If you do it constantly I would expect it to help bring the engine to a earlier than normal end.

On shifting that is a hot topic. Some people like you said, say no clutch, some say always clutch. I believe a little of both is best.
If you have the practice and skill to make clutchless upshifts and downshifts perfect everytime go for it. If you are like me and make occasional errors, especially on the the downs, if is probley best to make a light stab to slip the clutch, not fully disengage just slip. While blipping the throttle and loading the shift lever.
A book called Total Control by a man named Lee Parks has a big section on this and how to do it right. Even more important a section on throttle to brake to throttle transitions and how to do them with upsetting the chassis.
It is available at barnes and noble, usually in stock for under $25. If only one tip in it helps you it has paid for itself.
Again all this is subjective and only my opinions. I have been wrong many times in my life and will be again.
Hope this helps you though.

 

[fz6xlr8r]

Like Steve says, you want to keep the RPM's up. I ride in a lot of stop and go traffic and every now and then I lug the bike, but most of the time I try to keep it reving around 4000 RPM's wheather I'm in 1st or 6th gear.

As for shifting, I like to feather the clutch and pop up or down. It seems to work best for me. I'd use the clutch.

 

[rubyrabbit]

My experience is that you're not going to POWER out of anything at 2k. It will accelerate above 4,000 or so. To the point where I rarely need to really rev the engine on the street. In second gear peak hp puts you wellllllll over the legal limit. But in the mid range, around 6000 rpm, it will pull well and above eight I think no cars, and very few bikes will run away from you. I get real nervous about flashing blue and red lights.

 

[hunterfz6]

always use clutch

I always use the clutch. My technique came from my cousin Eric from CA, he is semi pro super bike racer and he gave me alot of suggestions. The way I use the clutch is index finger and middle finger, on the inside of the clutch. The reason I use the inside of the clutch is it has less to travel then the outside and when you pull the clutch is a bit faster. When i'm riding and going up and down the gears its second nature to pull the inside clutch and drop/go up in gears. Sinse I just learned about blipping from you guys, that reall makes things super clean. When I first started riding my fz6, 1, 2, 3, would clunk a lot. Now only a big clunk in 1st then everything else is super super clean.