YOu have nothing to lose by trying dino oil, except the price of the oil. Give it a shot, and give it a few hundred miles to get rid of any slippage if it doesn't immediately go away. Just avoid making it slip except to occasionally check progress.
Motorcycle clutch slipping
- Thread starter XS650
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CGLENN: You should have bought a harley, they never slip the clutch....engine dont make enough power to do that....
Seriously, i agree in that i would swap out with whatever you were running previously. Drive the bike gently around, utilizing the clutch gently without loading it to the point of slipping.
Let us know how it turns out...
darrell
sin city
Hi Cglenn,
Went thru the same thing with my bike. At 4,000 miles I decided to try a synthetic. I noticed the clutch slipping at highway speeds after the swap out so I immediatly switched back to good old dino and haven't had any more problems in the last 12,000 miles with the clutch. Good luck.
Kl250
Went thru the same thing with my bike. At 4,000 miles I decided to try a synthetic. I noticed the clutch slipping at highway speeds after the swap out so I immediatly switched back to good old dino and haven't had any more problems in the last 12,000 miles with the clutch. Good luck.
Kl250
hahaha."If Harley made planes, would you fly in one"?
I think you may have other non oil related problems with your clutch. Check for proper freeplay in the lever.
I have used synthetic in all of my bikes & I have never had a problem with clutch slippage.
While I know nothing of the formulation of that Castrol oil, I find it highly doubtful the clutch slipped because of the base oil (synthetic). More likely because of some FM or other additive in the oil causes just not quite enough friction if it isn't a mechanical problem as UnRider suggests.
I have a 1995 Honda Shadow 1100 which I just recently changed the oil with synthetic castrol "V-Twin" motorcycle oil. Now the clutch slips when put under a hard load. Ideas if any on how to correct ? I got home and drained the oil immediately while hot in hopes of getting a good drain. Is there any hope on changing back to a non-syn oil to hopefully correct ? My only thought is that maybe this oil is not meant for a shared transmission/wet clutch system but rather for Harley's with a seperate tranny. Thought as I really can't afford to take it to the shop for a new set of clutch plates.
Yes- check the clutch setup. I highly recommend swapping out the stock clutch springs for K&G clutch factory springs (or Barnett). The stock clutch springs are fairly weak to begin with. I've been using Mobil 1 15w/50 in my '97 Honda since new and never had slippage problems.
How many miles are on that clutch? Is it the original?
A '95 is 10 years old. I seriously doubt that any motorcycle-specific oil (Castrol's been in this business for YEARS!), synthetic or not, is the culprit here.
I changed to Amsoil AMO 10W-40 on my '93 ZX-11 @ 15K, one 3K interval after I bought it. I had changed to Castrol ACTEVO (a semi-syn) 10W-40 for that 1st interval. With the Amsoil I noticed IMMEDIATE better shifting, cooler temps, higher gas mileage. No clutch slip. Ever. I'm @ 26K now. Filled up with 4.6 gallons of Premium (@ $2.59 per gallon, no less) yesterday and got 43 mpg on what was a mixed city/highway tank.
This is the bike that was called the "King of the Hill" for 5 years or so. Fastest top speed, 1/4 mile, etc. & etc. until the Blackhawk and the Hayabusa came out. 140+ rear wheel hp. If EVER a clutch was gonna' start to slip "because of synthetic oil", this was the one. No way.
I'd check out the entire clutch system. Does the Shadow use a cable or is it a hydraulic system?
Cheers!
A '95 is 10 years old. I seriously doubt that any motorcycle-specific oil (Castrol's been in this business for YEARS!), synthetic or not, is the culprit here.
I changed to Amsoil AMO 10W-40 on my '93 ZX-11 @ 15K, one 3K interval after I bought it. I had changed to Castrol ACTEVO (a semi-syn) 10W-40 for that 1st interval. With the Amsoil I noticed IMMEDIATE better shifting, cooler temps, higher gas mileage. No clutch slip. Ever. I'm @ 26K now. Filled up with 4.6 gallons of Premium (@ $2.59 per gallon, no less) yesterday and got 43 mpg on what was a mixed city/highway tank.
This is the bike that was called the "King of the Hill" for 5 years or so. Fastest top speed, 1/4 mile, etc. & etc. until the Blackhawk and the Hayabusa came out. 140+ rear wheel hp. If EVER a clutch was gonna' start to slip "because of synthetic oil", this was the one. No way.
I'd check out the entire clutch system. Does the Shadow use a cable or is it a hydraulic system?
Cheers!
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