Originally Posted by Micky
By depressing the clutch you take the drag from the gearbox off the starter motor,which in turn means the starter motor will last longer.
Hmmm
As you press the clutch in all the force from the clutch springs is taken by the thrust washer that control the end float of your crankshaft. So basically you a ramming a lump of steel into some little bearings and generally adding lots of extra friction to the system.
The clutch also does not fully disengage, it simple reduces most of the drive to the gearbox to allow you to change gear but releaseing enough spring pressure from the clutch cover so the driven plate (friction plate) can spin.
So I'm not sure your grandad's theory is right!
Alex