When riding my motorcycle, I usually will slow down using the front and rear brakes, and by downshifting through each gear. I do this in traffic so if a light turns green suddenly I will still be in a gear to accelerate.If I am on an open road and want to stop, can I just pull the clutch lever in and coast instead of downshifting (while using the brakes of course)? Would this damage the clutch at all? I‘ve heard it damages car manuals but I want to see what a motorcycle would be like.
It might not hurt it - but it wont be GOOD for it. you don't say what kind of bike you have - most modern bikes have clutches that run in the engine oil bath (exceptions - Ducati - most BMW - dry clutches). When you coast - engine at idle and say 70 mph in high gear the differential in clutch plate speed may be about 3-400 rpm. The oil film between the plates will be shearing and getting hot due to the different clutch plate speeds. Might just tend to burn and shear down your oil as much as anything. If you want to coast - try nudging the gear lever down into neutral between gears - and then let the clutch out. DO NOT shift down into 1st gear at 60-70 mph or you might blow the clutch plates - because they go up to high rpm.
You do not have to release the clutch after every downshift on a motorcycle. You can simply pull in the clutch, slow with the brakes and downshift to match your decreasing speed without releasing the clutch so if you need to take off again you are always in the correct gear. You can do this in a car too, but what's the point? If you are in fifth gear traveling 70mph in a manual shift car, you can simply push in the clutch pedal, slow to a stop, then take the gear shift out of fifth and put it in first. You can also push in the clutch pedal and move the shifter from 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 without releasing the clutch, but what's the point?
It doesn't hurt either one, car or motorcycle.
