  The loss of angular momentum through gravitational radiation, driven by the
excitation of r-modes, is considered in neutron stars having rotation
frequencies smaller than the associated critical frequency. We find that for
reasonable values of the initial amplitudes of such pulsation modes of the
star, being excited at the event of a glitch in a pulsar, the total post-glitch
losses correspond to a negligible fraction of the initial rise of the spin
frequency in the case of Vela and the older pulsars. However, for the Crab
pulsar the same effect would result, within a few months, in a decrease in its
spin frequency by an amount larger than its glitch-induced frequency increase.
This could provide an explanation for the peculiar behavior observed in the
post-glitch relaxations of the Crab.
