Harder shifting when hot?

[gearider]

I noticed when it is hot outside (like almost every day has been lately) that the bike shifts harder and harder the hotter it gets. Is this a dry clutch thing?

I had two Monsters prior to this that did not have this issue but they were both water cooled. I had a Streetfighter with a dry clutch but of course it was water cooled and don't recall having this issue.

I'm not talking about not being able to shift at all but just much harder shifts, especially from neutral to 1st.

[AXE]

Although I haven't noticed it with the Hyper, I have had this issue with other bikes. Basically I went to a heavier oil and the shifting wasn't as notchy. I am and have always run 10W50 synthetic in the Hyper.

Also, there were some early bikes that had some shifting issues (mostly 08s if I recall), basically the bikes were getting stuck in a particular gear. I believe that there were some people who may have noticed harder shifting as a symptom before this occured. I believe everyone had this issue fixed under warranty.

Mine is a little hard to find neutral, especially with the lighter clutch slave, pressure plate, and springs installed.

Out!

[Jared H]

Originally Posted by gearider

I noticed when it is hot outside (like almost every day has been lately) that the bike shifts harder and harder the hotter it gets. Is this a dry clutch thing?

My shift quality changes as well when riding non-stop ~3hrs or so in 95deg Texas heat ... picks right back up though as soon as I let it cool down a little ... if I take a break every couple hours I never notice it. Mine does not shift badly ... I just notice a difference on a long extended ride in the heat.

Good luck!

[Dana]

Similar to AXE, I've had bikes that started to shift harder when using a lower viscosity OR a cheap engine oil. I haven't had this in the hyper but I've had it in other bikes.

Dana

[sconly]

I have to chime in, I normally don't complain but I have an 08' HM1100S that has been hard to shift with the weather lately. I am able to shift through all the gears fine but it requires a bit more effort at the shifter. I notice this only when the bike is hot in this hot weather.

[BigJoe]

Greetings all,

I had similar issues and a switch to Motul made a huge difference.

I never would have thought that the oil would make a noticeable difference, but it did.

My bike has 5000 miles and I always ran Amsoil synthetic, which I still run in my three dirt bikes by the way, and I just did the fourth oil change (Motul) on my 08 Hyper S and the difference was very noteable.

Best regards,

Joe

[unfast1]

Somebody school me. I honestly don't know.
I thought with a dry clutch, the oil was not a factor.

[Decreasing Dave]

It's not, with the clutch, but the engine is oil and air cooled, or rather air cooled but has an oil cooler to assist with keeping internal temps down.

With air cooling, as opposed to water cooling, the engine temp varies much more with the type of riding and ambient temps.

You guys really need to do some oil research. The short answer is to use a heavier oil than you would in a water cooled bike. 15w/50 is what I use and my temps are consistent.

Dave

[08hyper]

+1 ^^^ a heavier oil such as 20w50 engine oil WILL help the tranny shift better, when I switched from 10w40 Amsoil to 20w50 Redline, I noticed that the trans shifted much much better. Aloha Alex

[HyperWeaseL]

my 2008 S was hard to change gear and changing the oil did nothing so i used ZX1 C60 Spray Lube on the gear shaft and gear linkage,and on all the linkages and its now silky smooth,you should try lubeing your linkage,..co er
hope this helps