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Not good for any part of the clutch mechanism from the thrust bearing to the input hub. Yes the 'Safety' crew in training courses suggest it, that's because their main concern is 'Safety'! From a mechanical and component longevity point of view though sitting with the clutch pulled in at lights, or anywhere else, is murder. Especially if whoever has tuned the bike is one of those mouth-breathers who sets the idle speed as low as they can because it 'Sounds cool'!

I've been riding on public roads since 1979. Although I have a couple friends who've been seriously injured by rear ending at lights, not once has it happened to me; I'll chalk that up to good fortune. I have, a couple times, been threatened by squealing tires as someone slid up behind me. Very bad feeling. One friend says he always kept his bike in gear, so we'll assume it didn't do him any good. Most significantly here, is that *NONE* of those times would I have had any time to think about where I'd go if I dumped the clutch. I may have jumped out into a far worse situation, and for no reason at all since none of these events ended in contact. I pop neutral and roll to the stop at low speed.

All this about being run over at a stop light makes me think that we'd be better off to lane split and get between cars. So far as checking mirrors and losing an extra nanosecond's difference to get away by shifting from neutral, well.........huh

Riding schools,sheez. I've heard of this technique they pedal and wondered. So they want you to stop at the traffic lights/intersection in gear looking in your mirrors and if it looks like you're going to get rear ended then accelerate through the red light or stop sign into the middle of a busy intersection to avoid getting rear ended. Sounds totally illogical to me and relies on you being the first vehicle at the lights/intersection of course. Cant say I'm a fan of the stop and re start the engine technique either. Engines like to stay running unless its going to be idling for an extended period of time in a traffic jam. Ciao

+1: be kind to your input hub and slip into N at stops with the clutch released. Learned this the hard way . . .

I'm going to pile on here. The worse thing it does is wear the input hub and clutch splines. Because of the uneven firing order, when the plates are free, they rattle back and forth. Doing that is a guaranteed clutch replacement before it's time.

I ALWAYS have the bikes in N before a stoplight, or parking. Even the auto trans in the cages too Cheers tom.

You shouldn't be doing this with any clutch, wet,dry, car or motorcycle. It's a bad habit you should rid yourself of. Unnecessarily wears the throw out bearing, the engine thrust bearing, the pilot bearing( automotive) the clutch friction plate and flywheel faces/steel plates. Not good under any circumstances. Ciao