In this article:

Lifting the Front Wheel Preventing Whiskey Throttle Finding Traction Tightening Up a Turn Faster Corner Exit Speeds Explosive Power Delivery Developing Your Clutch Control
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What Does Clutch Control Really Mean?


Don't be afraid to use the clutch...a lot!

If you’ve dabbled very long in the dirt bike world, you’ve probably heard riders discussing the importance of “clutch control.” But what exactly does this mean? Having a steady clutch hand? Shifting gears smoothly?

The concept of clutch control on a dirt bike goes far beyond simply taking off from a stop and shifting gears. Having fine-tuned and instinctive clutching skills can unlock everything from traction in slick conditions to high-level (and very cool) offroad techniques like pivot turns and splatters.

Relying heavily on the clutch is a trend that came about only in the last couple of decades. The clutches on the vintage bikes of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s are heavy, imprecise, and grabby, and riders in the twin-shock era did everything they could NOT to touch their clutch levers.

Today’s motorcycle clutches are smooth, light, and can be operated halfway (slipping) extensively with minimal wear. They can be engaged and disengaged so smoothly that they create almost no impulse on the rear wheel. However, you can also engage them as suddenly as a switch, delivering instant power. The result? You can accomplish completely unrelated things using the same tool.

What effect the clutch has varies depending on how quickly you actuate it, how much you actuate it (fully engaged/disengaged or slipping), and when you use it (in relation to when you apply/remove throttle or body input).

It's virtually impossible to see a rider operating the clutch, and you certainly can’t hear it—consequently, there is often more happening with the clutch than you might be aware of when watching top level riders. If a rider executes a technique that looks like magic, the “magic” is probably the clutch.

Here are some examples of what the clutch can do for you.


Lifting the Front Wheel


The clutch is what gives a wheelie precision, both at the point of liftoff and at wheel placement on landing.
When traction or space are limited, you don’t want to rely on using the throttle alone to lift the wheel.

Body movement timed precisely with releasing the clutch can lift the front wheel with less wheel spin, less acceleration, and with more precision than with throttle alone. This is important when approaching an obstacle on the trail or trying to lift the front wheel in slick conditions.


Preventing Whiskey Throttle

When (not if) you eventually get knocked off balance and find yourself left behind the bike with the throttle pinned open, pulling in the clutch is your get-out-of-jail-free card. Covering the clutch lever with one finger at all times will give you instant access to it when the need arises.


Finding Traction

Although developing good throttle control is also an important skill, the reality is that it’s harder to be smooth with the throttle than it is with the clutch. The twist-grip is more prone to accidental input than is the clutch lever, and the non-linear power curve of some bikes makes it hard to deliver perfectly smooth power.

Consequently, using the throttle alone to accelerate offroad often results in wheel spin and inconsistent acceleration. On slick rocks or muddy hills, it’s very difficult to regain traction once the wheel starts spinning freely.

The clutch can find traction where it otherwise doesn't exist.
Photo by Larry Mayo.

Rather than relying on throttle control to maintain traction, you can use the clutch to meter your power delivery and keep the tire glued to the ground. By working the clutch at the slipping point and making microscopic adjustments with the lever, a rider can respond to changes in the terrain to find what traction is available without wheel spin: feeding out the clutch to put more power down in spots with higher traction, then pulling it in slightly to reduce power to the rear wheel and avoid spinning over slick patches of ground. Working the clutch in this manner is often referred to a “feathering” the clutch. Developing this feel can take years, and fine-tuned clutch control is something that separates the pros from the Joes.


Tightening Up a Turn

When navigating narrow corners in the woods at speed, a couple of inches often makes the difference between catching a tree with the outside handlebar and clearing it like a hero. Grabbing the brakes to

Pulling in the clutch lessens the power to the rear wheel, causing the bike to lean tighter into a turn.
slow down and tighten up a turn radius risks breaking tire traction and requires time; merely pulling in the clutch a hair, though, lessens your drive and slows the bike just enough for it to lean in and tighten up your line.

Faster Corner Exit Speeds

Pulling in the clutch while navigating a turn allows you to keep the engine revved up, so you can feed the clutch back out and be back on the power immediately and smoothly once you’re past the apex. If you roll off the throttle to slow for the turn, the engine can drop out of the power band and accelerate more slowly when you twist the throttle back on.

(This is more important on two-stroke bikes that have a narrow power band than it is on the torquey four-strokes that are prominent today, it should be noted, and modern schools of thought are mixed on clutching technique when it comes to cornering on a track.)


Keeping the engine revved up while pulling in the clutch around a corner can result in higher corner exit speeds.
Photo by Briarhill Photography.


Explosive Power Delivery

In technical off-road situations, it is often not possible to approach obstacles with speed. Finding the explosive power necessary to hit a big obstacle or hill from crawling speed is accomplished by building engine RPM and then “popping” the clutch to deliver sudden torque that wouldn’t be possible with the throttle alone. High level trials-based techniques like splatters and zaps are possible thanks to the same clutching technique.


Developing Your Clutch Control


Learning to work the clutch at the engagment point is a key skill.
On a dirt bike, the clutch should be operated with only one or two fingers. We need the remaining fingers to give us a firm hold on the handlebars; if you clutch with three or four fingers, it’s just a matter of time until a friendly bump in the trail rips the bars from your hand.

The first step in mastering the clutch is to learn to feel the engagement point. Experiment with where the clutch starts to slip, and practice controlling the speed of the bike by moving the clutch lever in and out in small degrees around the point where it slips (i.e. engages/disengages).

Practice riding at slow speed with the clutch slipping, revving the engine periodically to feel how changes in RPM change the clutch engagement level. This will start to develop your feel for how the clutch can be operated across a range, rather than just as an ON/OFF switch.

This type of clutch operation is used heavily in hillclimbs, slow-speed turning, and navigating technical parts of the trail.

Next, practice releasing the clutch quickly to feel the sudden impulse it can provide to the rear wheel.

Start by rolling along at slow speed with the clutch pulled in, revving the engine slightly above idle, and then releasing the clutch quickly. The bike should lurch forward gently.

Do NOT rev the engine high and then pop the clutch, unless you enjoy momentary thrills and lying on your back in the dirt.

From there, continue repeating the drill with increasingly higher engine RPM to feel how much instant power the clutch can deliver. This concept is the foundation for both precise and explosive wheelies.

Better clutch control will affect every part of your riding and unlock new terrain and new techniques. Good clutch work is a huge part of what separates the advanced riders from the rookies, and dedicating time to improving your clutch control is one of the most valuable things you can do to advance your capabilities as a rider.