OK, now here's the deal. When I was growing up, dad had bought us kids the traditional little Japanese bikes for puttering around on at the local dirt bike riding area. Once we would get the bike under way, we never used the clutch for shifting because they shifted so easily without it just by letting off the gas and hitting the shift lever. That was when I was young and stoopid. Now I'm old, cranky and battle scarred (married:Avatars_Gee_George:). As the owner of a recently purchased Venture, I've got a question concerning proper clutch use. It's been a long time since I had a bike and I caught myself using the clutch for all shifting (force of habit caused by all that truck driving). This got me wondering. I've never had a bike with a hydraulic clutch and I've certainly never had a Venture before. Is it in the bike's best interest to use the clutch for all shifting or do I need to revert the ways of my youth and use the clutch only for starting, stopping and downshifting?
Thanks y'all!