Worn clutch or old oil?

I've noticed recently that shifting isn't as smooth as it was earlier in the season. Specifically, I can sometimes feel the gears catching/skipping over a gear tooth as it engages into the next gear. Usually going into 2nd and 3rd gear. Is there any way to tell if this is a clutch issue or simply an oil issue? Other than the obvious "change your oil and see if it goes away" (i do oil changes at the beginning of the riding seasons) I'm currently running Silkolene 10w/40 and bike has ~50k miles on the clock. No idea if clutch has been serviced before.

 

It's entirely possible your gearbox is getting a little aged, on the other hand, tension or excessive slack in your chain can lean to weird gear changes and feelings, even moreso than nasty oil, or too much oil.

 

it's most likely worn dogs in the transmission. Try preloading your shift. In other words pull up on the shifter before you actually shift so that when you push in the clutch it pops up into gear. It helps with my similar problem

 

I had the same thing and solved it with a FactoryPro Shift Star kit. This makes for much more positive engagement of the gears, and makes a sloppy worn Honda gearbox feel a bit more like a Suzuki! http://www.factorypro.com/Prod_Pages/prodh91.html

 

That looks like the ticket. I hate to say this but I do not like the way my 5th gen shifts. It's not high mileage by any means but ti feels notchy and I have missed a shift a time or two. I chalk it up to my big feet but maybe there is another way? I would almost say that a heal toe shifter would be great as i have to displace my whole foot between up shift and down shift.

 

I also have to move my foot up off the peg to downshift; would be great to have a finely adjustable shift lever as it is just a bit high as standard.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Big_Jim, funny you said that, mine has 33K plus miles & I have about 1500-1600 miles done on my new oil (Motul 300V 10w40). The shifting feels like you describe: notchy. I got false neutrals a few times. Don't remember missing shifts, though. My VF500 felt like that, too. And I used full synth Motul oil on that, too. So the way I see it it's either Hoda gearboxes always feel notchy or it's a combo of type of oil & the way the transmission is...But no complaints here. I just live with it. I don't think anything is worn out down there. I tend to preload my shifts without realizing it, a habit I picked-up from my days on the VF500...

 

gota pre-load the shift lever, I went back to the stock length shift lever which gives my foot more room to negotiate compared to the cramped quarters with the custom lengthened shift lever I fabbed up many moons ago. Funny how you can have an apiphany all of a sudden.

 

I think it's Honda gear boxes. I heard a reviewer bitch about a Goldwing with a notchy box so it may be in the breeding. Back in the 60s the Italians were fond of the heal tow shifter. You up shift with your heal and down with the toe. I have often wondered if i could fab something like this up.

 

Every bike is different... But i'm in the camp that says "new & thicker oil shifts better". It would be an easy test if you'd just change the oil now instead of waiting till the end of the season and see if there is any improvement. There is quite a reduction in viscosity after just 1500 miles. Also try a 15w40 or 15w50 or thicker. My honda 919 does shift better than either my '06 VFR or my '01 VFR.
Filters are certainly good for at least 5,000 miles and for me that's about two seasons.

 

Glad I don't buy a used bike from you :tongue: I do 4500-5000 Mobil 1 earl changes on my cars, what you stated aboot the filters holds true. The synthetic oil can go well over 5000 miles, but the filter is the weak link. Walmart Mobil 1 is cheap compared to euro prices, so wtf.

Anyway, I have had bikes with tight gear boxes that loosened up with miles and time. I can tell the difference regarding shifting when I change my motorcycle oil. I have one bike in my stable that gets a yearly oil change :sad: (I know) and I do a filter change too because its cheap insurance. Seven dollars or so is not gona kill me.

 

Big_Jim, some of us likes to tinker more than others. I don't see why you shouldn't fabricate something that's going to increase your riding comfort. Do put some pics & descriptions if you decide to go ahead. I'm the curious kind! And a bit off topic here, I change my filter with every oil change, right before storing my VFR for 3-4 months in the winter & during the riding season depending on how much mileage I put on, so far not much (about 2600 miles) since owing the bike & I had the VFR since Apr.2013...

 

You can get heel and toe shifters for the later model Enfields pretty cheap, not sure what would need doing to get them to fit

 

nookiaz, you use synthetic on gen 5? I am a novice. I went to the dealer and asked about oil changes. They would use the Honda mineral oil. I asked about synthetic. The person said frankly, "Honda did not use synthetic at the time this bike was manufactured", aka, do not use it. What says you guys?

 

I used synth on my VF500, same brand (MOTUL). I think mineral oil is used in a new engine for break-in then you can switch to synth (correct me, guys if I'm wrong). I use MOTUL just because they only had that at the time at the dealer when I had my VF (yes, I'm that old ) & no internet to order stuff from! I just stuck with the brand because I don't know better. I went with synth because I had overheating problems on my VF & someone suggested synth oil. And the I installed a fan switch on the VF, but stuck using synth since then.
Anyways on their website, it says it improves gear change & reduces wear, so...It lubes the engine as it's supposed to, but no noticeable difference in smoothness of gear shifting as I can tell. It's expensive, tho. But I don't mind paying that price for engine oil, especially for a bike that inherently runs hot.

 

Ha ha! I also purchased a brand new VF500F way back when! Glad I'm not the only old fart here.

 

You can use fully synth, just means you can leave it in a bit longer than semi or mineral. Regular oil changes are the key to a long lasting engine.

 

Synthetic oil doesn't cause clutch slip in these?

 

Not sure about bikes but I know you can't switch to a full synthetic oil on older car/truck engines(Mid 90's and earlier) unless you want all your old gaskets to leak and the engine to burn oil. I have done it a number of times for customers and they come back saying the engine is leaking or burning oil,and I say to them "I told you not to switch". Then do another oil change back to dino oil.

 

1.) Change your clutch fluid and bleed properly.
2.) Check chain slack.
3.) Verify your shift lever is not loose on the shaft. Re-position if desired to a more comfortable position, like further down for a more positive engagement.
4.) Change oil to a premium synthetic if desired. Motorcycle oil if you want, it doesn't really matter though.
5.) Focus on your shifting next ride out, and make sure shifts are firm and timed well.

If that doesn't fix it, you may have worn shift dogs. But those are simple things that can remedy/mitigate that problem.