I agree that one should not shift without the clutch. It's there for a reason. I rev match all my shifts, it makes for a smoother ride for me and passengers, and is more gentle on the transmission.

TomO, did you just use an engine lathe to turn yours down? I've got access to a 13" engine lathe if I need it. How much runout is permissible?

It was a CNC lathe. What my friend and I did (he was the one running the machine) was we took off all the backing weight on the OEM flywheel. basically it's all the dead, non-functional weight that Honda put on the back-side. It's the same place they remove some excess weight for the VX flywheel as well. It's been going on 3-4 years now with 262HP and 213ft/lbs of torque going through that lightened flywheel. Recently inspected, it showed no signs of stress fractures or heat scorching even with a 6 puck sprung clutch kit on it.

So how thick is it now?

Basically the thickness of the teeth on the flywheel and the mounting surface for the crank.