Again, according to the operation manual, and the dealer I bought it from, you can shift between gears without using the clutch, however, they recommend coming to a complete stop before moving the shifter. The shifter mounts on top of the transmission; actually it mounts on top of a hydraulic module, piggy-back onto the tranny. the only moving parts are, the shifter, a fork and spring assembly. There's a pinion that comes out of the module and hooks up to the fork. Some minor play and wear in fork link, but not enough to cause this problem. Hope this helps.