Just got some new Shell Rotella T synthetic oil in my motorcycle, recently took apart my motorcycle because we couldn't get it to shift at all. Thought it was the shifter fork and was prepared to take apart the entire engine to fix it. Turns out it was just the shifter lever was loose and was at the wrong angle to shift.
Well afterwards I put regular oil in and it ran perfect, since we had to put a gasket seal on it and we had the engine apart my friend told me to switch out the oil after about 800 miles to make sure to get all the junk out of it, I did and switched to the rotella synthetic. Well afterwards now when I shift, not always but some times I up shift and it'll rev high, then drop about 1k rpm and then climb gradually as I increase the throttle.
Another thing, more serious is now I can down shift and up shift from neutral to 1st without using the clutch (no I don't do this on purpose, found out by accident), and sometimes when I am in neutral I can't downshift to shift the first few tries. I have to either shift a couple of times or rock fowards or backwards to get it to go into gear.
Now The neutral thing concerns me, but since I always keep it in gear when riding I am not too concerned but I want to make sure it runs properly. I do plan on selling it and don't want something barely working to sell, I am not sure if both of these things are a cause of the oil or not. They both started around the time of my oil change.
Last edited by NeverFastEnough; 11-02-2012 at 09:00 PM.
I think this a case of corrolation does not mean causation. Thousands of bikes run synthetic oil everyday without issue so I seriously doubt your bike is the only one that has a problem with it. You CAN upshift and downshift without a clutch so that's not strange. And I don't see the having to roll a little to be a big deal either sometimes your just in-between and have to roll a little.
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You can shift up and shift down without clutching but down shifting without can seriously damage your transmission. So since you found out that you could do it you may have done damage in the process.
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2008 Ninja 250R Blue; Two Bros M series slip on, 2wheels levers, Hotbodies under tail, Sportisi tank cover
2007 GSX-R 600 Red; Two Bros M series slip on, 2wheels levers + rear sets, Vortex frame sliders, Crown Moto USA Carbon Fiber
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2008 Ninja 250R Blue; Two Bros M series slip on, 2wheels levers, Hotbodies under tail, Sportisi tank cover
2007 GSX-R 600 Red; Two Bros M series slip on, 2wheels levers + rear sets, Vortex frame sliders, Crown Moto USA Carbon Fiber
Sounds like your clutch is slipping though. If you shift up and it's revving high, that's clutch slippage. Is the Rotella T in your bike right now, or are you using some other synthetic? Did you add any friction modifiers or additives to it?
Yeah Rotella T is in it, would the clutch slippage be causing my neutral issues as well? I figured my clutch was slipping but wasn't for sure, and no I haven't added anything to it.
Last edited by NeverFastEnough; 11-03-2012 at 04:30 AM.
Dunno how it would affect the shifting, it could, but for sure it would cause slippage if the oil has friction additives. Or at least that's what I've read before, I have never used anything but non-synthetic oil so far.
Before worrying about the oil I'd check the adjustment of the clutch and the cable. There should be about 2mm of free play in the cable at the lever.
As your clutch seems to be slipping after a shift it might also be worth checking that the cable is clean, lubed and has no fraying that might cause it to stick a little.
Being able to shift without the clutch with the engine off is perfectly normal. The clutch unloads the transmission from the engine. With the engine off there's no load anyway.
New Synthetic oil issues or something else?
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