Oil and clutch questions

[xscarnage]

Today was my first time taking my bike out on the freeway. I had some 10w40 valvaline mc oil in it but i found that i had too much valve chatter. So i adjusted valve lash and swapped out oil for 20w50 castrol 4t oil for mc's. I had added some lucus oil stabilizer to help with the overall age of the bike. My issue is that when i was blasting down the freeway twords the ocean at about 75mph i hit the gas to speed up and my clutch slipped. Could it be the oil stabilizer or the old 1977 clutch discs? Not sure... also is there a high performance clutch spring that i could install with a heavier tension? Thanks guys

 

[Travis]

So you had it on the freeway with the old oil and again with the new oil? Or just with the new oil and the stabilizer? Does the stabilizer contain friction modifiers? You shouldn't need heavier springs, if anything maybe new plates and new springs or maybe oil without the modifiers. Have you adjusted the clutch cable at the engine side cover and at the perch? Do you have a little play in the lever? Maybe the cable is just a touch too tight. Does the clutch slip in other gears when you hit the throttle hard? Have you had the clutch apart to inspect the plates?

 

[drewpy]

my money's on the oil stabilizer. there is no need to use additives in oil. they are usually friction modifiers.

If I'm right, you need to flush the old oil out and strip the clutch and clean in paraffin. You may need to buy new plates if they are really contaminated.

check what Trav says first, as its free!

 

[OliverB]

First, you had in there what sounds like auto engine oil. That's not compatible with your clutch plates. If you ran it some with this oil, the clutch plates have been saturated with it. You should have had Valvoline Blue Premium 15W40 Diesel grade oil. Then you put in the Lucus additive with the cycle oil but that just added insult to injury. As others have said, drain that oil, let the bike set for a couple of days with the drain plug out so oil can drain away from the clutch discs. Don't forget to swap out the oil filter, too. Then refill with either your motorcycle oil or the Valvoline I suggested. Run the bike some to get the oil through the clutch plates then let it set again to saturate the plates. Then give it a try to see what happens.

I wish folks would take time to read through previous posts here as that would prevent many problems some owners experience.

 

[xschris]

I have been using lucas pure synthetic (10%) with yamalube semi-synthetic for many years and many thousands of miles on both my 400's with no issues

 

[xscarnage]

That was the first time i had taken the bike on the freeway at all. I had rode around on suface streets tuning a testing with no problems. But this is the first time i put in the stabilizer. It only seems to do it at high speed or under heavy load, 3/4 plus throttle. I would like to use a stiffer spring for a harder bite at take off. I have not opened the clutch pack. The clutch lever has a little bit of execesive play. I have not adjusted anthing at the engine. The clutch engages pretty far out on the lever action. What is the best weight oil for the best clutch grip on these bikes?

 

[xscarnage]

I only used 10% like the bottle said too

 

[Lou Ranger]

I met an old guy with an '85 Shadow 750 with 20k on it when he got it - now has nearly 150k. Initially he had a shudder in the clutch.
A motorcycle mechanic told him to use synthetic (M-C type) and it cleared up the problem and quietened down the engine considerably.
He attributes his having had no problems since he got the bike to using the M-C synthetic.
He could be right (wiki.answers.com) -

"Can you (use) synthetic oil in a Honda shadow 750?

Yes, unless it contains a friction modifier which would be indicated by the circle on the container. It should say something like " Energy Conserving". If it does, stay clear of that particular oil as friction modifers can cause your wet clutch to slip.

One of the most popular synthetic oils used in the Shadow line is 5/w40 in the Rotella line of diesel oil. It comes in the blue gallon jug and is readily found at Wal Mart and other discount stores.
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_you_synthetic_oil_in_a_Honda_shadow_750#ixzz1zu8L7Wbe"​

Any advice on/experience with using motorcycle or diesel synthetics?

 

[lhaolpa]

Either motorcycle oil or[what I use on all my vehicles except my wife's Bravada] 15w40 diesel oil. While draining the oil,tie the clutch open,and it will remove more of the oil from the plates.When you fill up the motor with oil,if you hold in the clutch while it warms up,it'll help as well. lha

 

[Travis]

Did you ever get this one figured out?

 

[Lou Ranger]

Did you ever get this one figured out?

I don't think so - other than it is virtually unanimous that car oils with friction modifiers etc. are bad for our wet clutches.

I still wonder about synthetic motorcycle specific oils though. There is the Honda owner who swears by it and xchris who uses semi-syn Yamalube, but I am still scarred of having a clutch that slips. I would love the benefits of full synthetic for all OTHER parts of the engine though ...

 

[drewpy]

full synth is overkill in these engines IMHO.

I use semi synth in the resto as it was a completely rebuilt engine and will benefit from it.

but its your money and there's no reason why you can't use it

 

[xscarnage]

Did you ever get this one figured out?

I didnt yet. I may just sell it. But i dont have a full manual to be able to disassemble my clutch pack to measure disc thickness. I think i did stumble across a stiffer clutch spring. Just not sure if the od is the same. The unsprung lenth is the same as a xs650

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[1979XS4002-F]

XS the clutch pack isn't manual worthy for disassembly IMO..I popped mine apart and inspected it in less than an hr only ever replacing my CR125's clutch plates a year or two ago with the help of my brother...just drain your oil, remove the side cover, pop the 6 or so clutch basket bolts out and take a few pics of the stack up just so you remember if fiber/plate goes on first(closest to crank) I dont know off hand but Im not scared, we have all of these nice guys to ask questions to on here..worse case drain the oil and fill with the suggested diesel oil and let it sit for a day..Im banking you'll be in business!