Wow, just when you think that every possible raw nerve has been probed.   Let me stipulate that the clutch is there for a purpose and probably should be used all the time.   But 4th and 5th are close together and a couple of times I inadvertently put a little pressure on the shifter and it very smoothly went into 5th, so that got me experimenting a little and thinking just a little, leading me to get lazy.  

Based on what I read above, I conclude that clutchless shifting might not do (the bike) much harm if performed carefully, but certainly doesn't do the bike any good.  But I agree with the comments that suggest that it is not a good idea to float ideas that encourage riders -- especially new riders, myself included -- to start getting too cute.  Think I'll go by the book until my experience gets farther ahead of my confidence.

Theres a clutch on every standard transmission. 18 wheelers rarely use a clutch, shifting up or down. Once a person understabds whats actually happening inside the tranny & how RPM "Lines up" or Synchronizes the gears, then slipping it into & out of gears without the clutch stops being " Bad JuJu" & starts looking like a quicker, slicker, actually less wear approach to shifting. No cable wear, since the clutch isnt asked to disengage & reengage, thers no clutch wear.The pivot in the side cover ( which has broken for a few of us) isnt stressed. One of the guys explained his method & I went & tried it & it CAN be done in a very vrelaxed manner. I had been doing it as quickly as possible, violemntly slamming the throttle closed & grabbing a gear & cranking wide open immediately, but ( Paladin? I think it was him) someone said they gently rolled out & snicked it up a gear, & LO & Behold,, it works & its so easy, so slick, I can have my left hand on my leg( IF I wanted to) & shift up & down, from 2nd, to 5th & thwen down to neutral, with just a hand on the throttle. I CAN put it in first, but that would take 2 hands,cuz it can jerk it a bit,, HMMM, Ive never gone 2nd, neutral then 1st,,,, always 2nd to 1st & thats a Big Jump in RPM,,, I betchya thatll work, let the thing idle down & then drop in 1st, with a little throttle blip...COOLman,, I think I learned something here..

And there is also natural talent.  One person might never get the hang of it, while another finds it to be the most natural thing in the world.  

Just beause you cannot do something does not mean that no one can do it.
Just because you can do something does not mean everyone can do it.

Shadowman, in the initial message in this thread, noticed that he was doing it and was wondering if it would harm the motrocycle -- so it is not a matter of suggesting someone should try something.  As for harm,  I did it to my DT175 for 14 years with no problems;  have done it to Thumper for 20,000 miles, no problem.

If you blip the throttle properly there is no problem
S.

Shifting up gears, especially 3 to 4, and most truely 4 to 5 can be done clutvchless -easily with the gentle slip it home method.  I do NOT think downshifting clutchless is at all a good idea, much to much wear and tear. Happy motoring.

I'll stick with using a clutch.  I'm sure what ya'll do works.  I'll just consider the clutch a maintenance part and replace it when it goes.

Thanks,

Roadie