Is Clutching necessary when shifting up on 08 Ninja 250R?

Question

I have ridden quads before and I noticed that you have to clutch to shift down, but once you get into 2nd gear I never had to clutch in order to get into third and beyond. I would clutch to shift down but not to get up? Is this right? I'm not hurting the bike am I?

Answer 1

no, you can hammer on if you want, I wouldn't do it to my baby but it is just a ninja 250

Answer 2

http://www.sportrider.com has an article you'll have to snoop to find, but it goes into great detail about clutchless upshifting. Look for it under riding techniques.

Answer 3

use the clutch or your going to wear out your trans FAST.  you spent $3500 on it, why do stuff to it that can break it

Answer 4

unless you're grinding gears, no it won't hurt it...

powershifting is acceptable

Answer 5

What you're doing is called "flat shifting."  It certainly can be done, but it's best to make sure you know what you're doing.  If you make small mistakes in timing, not being affirmative in your shifting, or in rev matching, you could end up grinding gears a bit.  

Long story short, you won't hurt the bike by doing it, IF you're doing it right.  But it's somewhat easy to do wrong.