How To Ride a Dirt Bike with a Clutch?

Bikes are one of the vehicles which are not automatic in the current scenario. Therefore, you must know how to ride a dirt bike with a clutch. It is very similar to the car’s shifting gears as the instrument’s function is the same for changing gears situated on the left side of the handlebar, and on the right-hand side, the brake Lever is mounted.

The first beginners will face a tough time using the clutch and gear that could be hard to remember. The Gas Pedal is available on the right-hand side off the handle, and above is the brake pedal provided. The clutch helps change the gear as the car provides the same system. Using the left hand, we can press the Lever to change the gear available on the left foot pedal to vary speed and torque and vice versa. 

This article will discuss how to ride a dirt bike with a clutch. As you know, practice makes a man perfect, and hence in this situation also, riding the dirt bike with the help of a clutch is also an important task. Get an idea about how gears and clutch work together to move the bike from the initial position. Skills are one of the aspects gained by the experience and time with the bike. One must find an open space to learn how to ride a dirt bike with a clutch. 

Some Steps To Help Ride a Dirt Bike with a Clutch

1.  Before starting, first, turn on the bike and rest it for the cold start.
2.  Now you know about the clutch and the gas pedals used to drive the bike together. When the bike starts, it is always in neutral gear, and to engage first gear, you need to push the gear pedal downwards to change the gear. The bike’s gearbox is one down and all others up, implying that the neutral gear lies between the first and second gear. Before pushing the gear pedal downwards, you need to engage the clutch lever first and then engage the gear for smooth gear application. 
3. Once the gear is perfectly engaged, you need to slowly let go of the clutch lever and increase the gas pedal for the bike’s movement. This process takes a little while for the new user, as they can not feel when to let go of the clutch and increase the gas pedal for the perfect movement of the vehicle. When the gear is attached, the working of bikes is very much similar to the cars with a manual gearbox.
4. Once the bike starts to get momentum, then try shifting the gear to the second gear by applying the clutch lever and pushing the gear pedal to the upside, which will provide a feel of engaging new gear to the bike and by releasing the clutch pedal slowly, the bike throttle response will change. At first, it was revving too much, and the speed was slow, but I know the rev will be a bit mild, and the bike is now starting to gain momentum. 
5. Once you get an idea about changing gear, start applying gear slowly to the top gear. For some dirt bikes, the top gear is the 5th gear, and for some, it is the 6th. Once you reach the optimum speed for the top gear, the part is to disengage the gears. 
6. To downshift the gear, apply the clutch gear and start pushing the gear pedal down one by one, feeling that the gear is being decreased. While decreasing the gear, always remember to reduce the speed. If this is not done, the engine valve will blow away due to overheating, causing big trouble for the user. While downshifting, most people tend to select the wrong gear, which causes bike ignition to turn off. It is not a big issue that the bike ignition goes away while shifting gear because new bike user tends to miss interpret the selection of the gear, and hence the bike turns off.

Things To Keep In Mind

Before riding the bike, always remember to wear protective gear to protect yourself at every cost. Life is a precious one and does not risk it. For the beginner rider, I suggest you wear sneakers instead of riding gear because you will never get the feel of changing gear as the riding boots are heavy and the protecting layer is so thick that the user does not get to know the gear change. This guide will help with the necessary safety gear you need.

Once you get the idea about how to change gear with the help of a clutch, then practice is the only way to master it. And at first, it will be difficult at times, but please do give yourself time to adjust to using all the body parts in a synchronized way. 

And for the new rider may feel not to use the clutch to select and deselect the gears. Then you are wrong. The bike is made so that the user has to engage the clutch lever first to change the gear. And still, the user does not use the clutch while changing gear; then, in a few periods, the new transmission system will be arriving in the family, so be ready to welcome that new member. 

To stop the bike to the rest position, it is recommended to again shift the gear to the neutral, which helps to switch off the bike properly. Once you practice the shifting of the gear, then you can do this job at a much faster pace. 

Riding a bike vs. riding a quad bike

In most quad bikes, it comes without gear and hence is automatic. So you need to increase the gas pedal so that the quad bike will attain speed. The risk factor in a quad bike is too big; if the rider topes off and goes in front of the bike, then the rider’s life is at stake. In the case of a dirt bike, the rider will be fine most of the time at such an incident happens. 

Riding a Two Stroke Engine Dirt Bike

The two strokes engine in the dirt bike at much more powerful, and the rider will not be able to control the unpredictable power offered by the engine. If you are blessed with a two-stroke engine, it is recommended to experience the power and throttle response of the bike. Once you get an idea about the same, you can go for the gear shifting and clutch engaging and disengaging sessions. For the new rider, it is recommended to drive the dirt bike on the plane and empty load so that the rider does not hurt in the most extreme cases. 

Mistakes Made By The Beginners

There are some mistakes which beginners are making. Please try to avoid these mistakes, as it will sometimes be problematic for the rider. Those mistakes are highlighted below:-

1. Fear of crash
2. Not taking the power of the bike seriously 
3. Sitting far back on the seat
4. No instructor to guide you while riding the bike
5. Starting on the wrong bike as a beginner
6. Not wearing protective riding gears

These are some mistakes made by the rider the first time. 

To know further about the art of riding dirt bikes with a clutch, read on here.