Whats in motorcycle oil that helps with shifting

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Curious. Is there some secret addative in mc oils that helps them shift? Some oils shift terrible. My LTZ 400 shifts awfull. I have tried many oils. So far Napa Sae40 is the best.
 
its not just what is in the oil....

it is what is NOT in the oil...

No friction modifiers to hurt wet clutch performance..

and usually a modest amount of extra anti-wear additives such as ZDDP.
 
Make sure the back of the jug doesn't say energy conserving.

I've had good luck with Rotella 15W40 and Valvoline Motorcycle 10W40.
 
There is no question that fresh oil changes shifting feel. I think I like the feel of heavier oils. And certain oils that don't shear quickly retain shifting feel over a longer period of time.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
What differentiates a good shift from a bad shift? Grittiness? Time to engage?
extremely notchy. Can't find neutral. Valvoline 10w40 mc oil and rotella we're the worst!
 
No exp with motorcycles. Could it be the clutch needs adjusting?
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I think is viscosity. 15w40 seemed to last longer than 5w40. I could always feel the 5w40 get notchy after some miles. I think its how much a given oil shears.
 
even more than cars + trucks motorcycles beat up oil with their higher heat + shared gearboxes. most anything non-conserving will be ok but real synthetics + oils with closer spreads fare better, try a few until your satisfied with one. many use 15-40 cheap diesel oils but if you ride a lot longer lasting real synthetics can be a better value. always take your riding temperature into consideration for choosing an oil. my traded HD would not start on a big name 20-50 synthetic but a 10-40 worked well. i know use top of line 15-50 year around!
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
No exp with motorcycles. Could it be the clutch needs adjusting?
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I have messed with adjusting the clutch for years now. Too much Freeplay to not enough. No change.
 
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Nope, no magic in an MC oil that isn't in a HDEO.
If your straight 40 is working, keep on using.
I'm concerned about it taking too long to pump up to the cams through that little skinny pipe.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Nope, no magic in an MC oil that isn't in a HDEO.
If your straight 40 is working, keep on using.
I'm concerned about it taking too long to pump up to the cams through that little skinny pipe.

Dont worry too much, I'm sure there will be no riding in frigid weather.
After sitting close to 6 months(maybe more), my r1 had a healthy amount of oil on the cam lobes, nice and slick. This is with 15w40. I would not worry about the oil taking a few to get pumped up. Plenty of residual oil to take care of things until then.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
What differentiates a good shift from a bad shift? Grittiness? Time to engage?
extremely notchy. Can't find neutral. Valvoline 10w40 mc oil and rotella we're the worst!


I've used the Valvoline 10W-40 M/C oil in my Hayabusa many times and it shifts well. Transmission design has a lot to do with how well they shift, so some transmissions seem to be more sensitive to the oil than others.

Might try Valvoline 10W-40 M/C in the XSR900 next oil change and see how it does. Currently using Yamalube 10W-40 in the XSR.
 
As others have said, it more about what's not in it. Wet clutches are designed to be used in an oil bath, so the oil itself won't hurt engagement of the clutch. Beside that, it is just about selecting certain types of additives for the required performance and avoiding certain other ones that could be used for those same purposes, but would negatively affect the clutch performance.

The key to making a good motorcycle oil is to try to get the best total performance, for engine and transmission, out of the additive types that won't hurt a clutch.
 
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