Indestructible Clutch?

[blues2cruise]

If you are in heavy slow traffic, such as is common here in rush hour on the freeway.....leaving lots and lots of space in front of you will help so you won't have to be feathering your clutch.

You can just let it go at idle speed or just a small blip of the throttle to keep pace.

[Nibblet99]

Nah, clutches on bikes can wear out. Just takes longer. And yes, generally speaking, they're wet clutches, ones submersed in the engine oil. Typically the transmission and engine share the same oil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slipper_clutch

think you meant to link the wet clutch, not the racing clutches

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_clutch

[Kal]

I feather my clutch all the time, usually during low speed maneavours in first/second gear or setting myself up for the corner/roundabout etc or during heavy engine braking.

Feathering is why motorbike clutches are 'wet'

Indestructable? No, but tough enough for appropriate feathering use.

[Sev]

That being said, I don't feather mine anymore - I only did it for a little while, while I was first learning to ride. Clutches aren't cheap, and a burnt one smells awfully bad.

How do you do this? I feather my clutch at really low speeds; its easier for me to modulate speed smoothly than by using the throttle. I'd love to find a better way though.

Careful brake and throttle control, coupled with pretty good balance means you only rarely need to feather or slip the clutch.

[Kal]

Sub 20mph there really isnt a better way of modulating your speed than feathering the throttle, which is why its such an important part of the CBT.

And as I hinted don't feel comfortable with my brakes so I engine brake a lot feathering the clutch to stop the bike trying to throw me.

Personal preference thing.

[storysunfolding]

At slow speeds only use your rear brake, teh front one will make the bike dive on it's front forks and upset your steering. You can crawl using this technique and rear brakes are much easier to change than a clutch.

You have more stability with full power to the rear wheel, why not use it. Even in heavy traffic (DC metro area) I can do smooth slow starts and stops letting the clutch all the way out and dragging the rear brake. For fun I try to see how many times I put my foot down on my commute, the less, the better.

[Kal]

Heavy brake action without playing the clutch stalls the bike out, I tend to use the rear for trail braking at low speeds and in the corners alongside the clutch.

I do the whole time trial foot thing here too.