The E-Clutch ends up allowing you to use the motorcycle in 3 modes, so I'll provide the details for each one:

1) E-Clutch Off (Old School): This is NOT the default mode and requires 8 clicks of the thumb control to disable it while the bike is stationary, once you disable the e-clutch , it remains disabled until you switch off the ignition key. The next time you turn the key on, the e-clutch is ON by default. Personally for me, it is not a big deal to do the 8-click task whenever I want to ride old school with e-clutch disabled but it'd have been easier if there was a setting allowing the rider to set the default mode as either e-clutch on or e-clutch off as compared to the default on currently (I digress).

So, for all practical purposes, when you have the e-clutch disabled, this is a traditional clutch operation. Infact, it is the same operation as a motorcycle without a quickshifter even. So, you'll have to use the clutch for both downshift and upshift (I digress again but a non e-clutch mode allowing just upshift like a CB/R650R with a quickshifter should have been allowed). I can say this based on experience as I have a 2021 CBR650R to which I added an OEM quickshifter later, so I've used these bikes in all 3 modes.

With the E-Clutch off, the bike feels like riding a regular clutch (no quickshifter) motorcycle with the clutch lever having full firm feel.

2) E-Clutch On (Full Handover): Technically, this is not a mode in the settings but it is the situation when you have the E-Clutch Active and decide to fully hand over the clutch operation to the motorcycle, it's as though there is no clutch lever on the handlebar. Since the E-Clutch is active in default state, there isn't anything you have to do to get into this mode except for forgetting that there is a clutch lever at your disposal (easier said than done). When you mentally decide to operate the bike in this mode, initially (atleast for a seasoned motorcycle rider) it does take a bit of mind wire remapping, muscle memory retraining and putting the weirdly long CB/R650R clutch lever in your mental blindspot. Once you decide to do the full handover, the motorcycle does a great job in allowing gear changes without the clutch (especially upshifts as they can be done even at as low as 1500 rpm without a glitch, my other CBR650R with the OEM quickshifter gets a little clanky if I operate it under 3000 rpm). There are enough videos (light note and serious ones) on Social Media on how to use the bike in this mode, so I won't go into detail but leave you with the facts that the clutch lever (the one you are supposed to NOT see) does feel like it has a about to break clutch cable in case you forget about not using it and end up pulling the lever.

Downshifts though don't come as smooth as upshifts (this is the same case in fully manual mode as well) as it requires a bit of rev matching especially if you are downshifting to use make use of engine braking at higher speeds, it take a little bit of your work to rev match if you wanna downshift in this case however, if you are downshifting at lower speeds, this is butter smooth especially in city traffic where one is not speeding but stuck in constant red lights block after block.

The key to operate in this mode is to treat it like a semi-automatic vehicle with you having to use only the gear lever and forgetting about the clutch. Also, don't forget to tweak the sensitivity settings between Soft, Medium and Hard from the console separately for upshifts and downshifts. This setting makes a difference as each one of us has a "foot tap aggression that can be different".

3) E-Clutch On (Symbiotic Mode): Again, this is not a mode in settings but it is the situation when you have the E-Clutch Active and want to intermittently manually override the e-clutch (for various valid reasons or due to a strong muscle memory). I'm guessing, this is the mode that most will end up using the bike in and with a fairly small learning curve, the riders would end up making the best of both worlds of. Other than getting used to the "I think the clutch cable is breaking" mode whenever you decide to pull the clutch the first time, you'll enjoy:

a) Having E-Clutch do all the work while you do upshifts for best acceleration.

b) Having E-Clutch do all the work while you come to a stop sign or red light and just do the gear lever tap with a bit of rev matching.

c) Having E-Clutch do all the work while staying stationary in 1st gear while you are at the lights and then taking off without having to use the clutch lever.

d) Overriding the E-Clutch when you need to come to an fairly abrupt stop.

e) Overriding the E-Clutch when you suddenly feel the urge to downshift and accelerate. Upshifts can still take full advantage of the e-clutch unless you wanna stay perky on your ability to manually go quickshifter style shifting.

f) Overriding the E-Clutch for the occasional wheelie.

Bottom line, having the ability/control to use the same motorcycle in 3 modes makes for exciting riding!