08 FJR downshifts differently after first oil change

[salan10]

This is weird. After I changed the oil and filter at 600 miles I immediately noticed that it is hard to downshift until engine rpm's go down to a certain level. This is true in all gears. This did not happen at all during the break in period. Here's the only thing that's different after the oil change: I drained out over a gallon of oil that was put in by the factory but then filled it only to the midpoint of the sight glass. Could the larger volume of oil from the factory explain this? Should I overfill it to get it to downshift better?

 

[Ignacio]

I doubt it's related to level..at least the ones you describe.

It might depend on what oil you filled it up with. Automotive oil with friction modifiers, olive oil, leftover fry oil, etc.....bad. A designated oil compatible with wet clutch motorcycles from a large and much debated list.......probably good.

 

[r1byker]

I doubt it's related to level..at least the ones you describe.
It might depend on what oil you filled it up with. Automotive oil with friction modifiers, olive oil, leftover fry oil, etc.....bad. A designated oil compatible with wet clutch motorcycles from a large and much debated list.......probably good.

What he said. I've had my oil halfway between the sight lines and it's shifted fine. And I sure hope you used motorcycle specific oil. That car oil will mess up your clutch; it's way too slippery.

 

[salan10]

I doubt it's related to level..at least the ones you describe.
It might depend on what oil you filled it up with. Automotive oil with friction modifiers, olive oil, leftover fry oil, etc.....bad. A designated oil compatible with wet clutch motorcycles from a large and much debated list.......probably good.

What he said. I've had my oil halfway between the sight lines and it's shifted fine. And I sure hope you used motorcycle specific oil. That car oil will mess up your clutch; it's way too slippery.

I did. I used motorcycle specific oil. I wonder if a bad oil filter could cause the problem. I used the Bosch 3323 on my 03 FJR for years without a problem. Maybe I got a bad filter?

 

[fhaze]

I ve been using Rotella Syn + 1/4 qt STP and a 3323 for 22k, works like a charm....sorry just helping this along to NERPT.

 

[r1byker]

Let's try a different tact; I don't think it's oil or oil or filter related. You've obviously been riding for years, but have to ask (and please don't be offended), are you blipping the throttle when you downshift? Blipping the throttle matches engine speed to road speed for the next lower gear and it eases the shifting process. Just curious.

 

[happyPuppy]

If I were you I would drain it all , swap a new filter and different oil. It is easy and cheap to do and would help rule out the Oil and filter.

 

[salan10]

Let's try a different tact; I don't think it's oil or oil or filter related. You've obviously been riding for years, but have to ask (and please don't be offended), are you blipping the throttle when you downshift? Blipping the throttle matches engine speed to road speed for the next lower gear and it eases the shifting process. Just curious.

I'm not offended. The problem is that at high engine rpm speeds downshifts are hard or impossible. Blipping would make the problem worse. I don't think my shifting technique is the issue. Why would I notice a substantial difference in the ease of downshifting suddenly after an oil change?

 

[salan10]

Let's try a different tact; I don't think it's oil or oil or filter related. You've obviously been riding for years, but have to ask (and please don't be offended), are you blipping the throttle when you downshift? Blipping the throttle matches engine speed to road speed for the next lower gear and it eases the shifting process. Just curious.

I'm not offended. The problem is that at high engine rpm speeds downshifts are hard or impossible. Blipping would make the problem worse. I don't think my shifting technique is the issue. Why would I notice a substantial difference in the ease of downshifting suddenly after an oil change?

I'm going to change out the oil and filter tomorrow and see what happens...

 

[road runner]

My 07 did the same thing, and got worse with miles. It turned out to be the infamous DRY CLUTCH PLATES.

I think there are 08's and some 09's that had the same problem. do a search for clutch not disengaging or hard downshift and you will see many others.

 

[r1byker]

Let's try a different tact; I don't think it's oil or oil or filter related. You've obviously been riding for years, but have to ask (and please don't be offended), are you blipping the throttle when you downshift? Blipping the throttle matches engine speed to road speed for the next lower gear and it eases the shifting process. Just curious.

I'm not offended. The problem is that at high engine rpm speeds downshifts are hard or impossible. Blipping would make the problem worse. I don't think my shifting technique is the issue. Why would I notice a substantial difference in the ease of downshifting suddenly after an oil change?

Okay, let me pursue this a little further (and ignore this if you know it already). By your response ("blipping would only make the problem worse"), it tells me that I'm not making myself clear. On a downshift, blipping the throttle, in all cases in all vehicles with manual transmissions, should make downshifting easier. That's why car racers are taught "heel and toe", why Reg Pridmore of CLASS teaches blipping the throttle for smooth downshifts, and why big rig drivers have to blip the throttle since big rigs have non-synchronized transmissions. They simply won't go into the lower gear unless the throttle is blipped. The rpms have to match the road speed. I drive a big rig, so I do this all day long.

Let's just say that at 50 mph in 5th gear the bike is turning over at 4000 rpm. (This is just theoretical because I know the rpm's are lower on FJR's.) And let's just say that at 50 mph in 4th gear the bike is turning over at 4500 rpm. So if you're going to downshift from 5th to 4th smoothly (and I emphasize smoothly causing the least amount of strain on the drivetrain from the engine all the way to the tires) you need to raise the engine speed (blip the throttle) by 500 rpms before engaging the clutch.

Maybe for some strange reason you do have an oil and/or filter issue but I know that using this technique will make downshifting easier.

 

[salan10]

My 07 did the same thing, and got worse with miles. It turned out to be the infamous DRY CLUTCH PLATES.I think there are 08's and some 09's that had the same problem. do a search for clutch not disengaging or hard downshift and you will see many others.

Yes, I think dry clutch plates is likely the problem. It's just strange that the bike shifted fine for the first 600 miles. I think I will do the clutch plate soak procedure before the next oil change. I have billjfr's write up but the accompaning pics don't reproduce. Does anyone have the pics anymore?

 

[ChefDom]

If I were you I would drain it all , swap a new filter and different oil. It is easy and cheap to do and would help rule out the Oil and filter.

Agree

 

[raymond]

Salan10, Ive also got problems with down shifting too 09 model. I nearly ran up the back of my mates car at his house not long ago. Pulled into his driveway in first gear with the clutch lever in and my bike continued to drive in gear for another 2-3 meters, before clutch let go :angry2: . It only done it that once, but I've also got down shifting and shifting into 1st gear from neutral issues. I've taken the bike off the road until I can ride it 600 mile to my Yamaha dealer to have it checked out. Its booked in on the 7th Oct, so will post back when the mechanics fix mine and what they did or say. I've done the oil and filter changes, bled clutch and tried the different lever position settings.

 

[salan10]

Salan10, Ive also got problems with down shifting too 09 model. I nearly ran up the back of my mates car at his house not long ago. Pulled into his driveway in first gear with the clutch lever in and my bike continued to drive in gear for another 2-3 meters, before clutch let go :angry2: . It only done it that once, but I've also got down shifting and shifting into 1st gear from neutral issues. I've taken the bike off the road until I can ride it 600 mile to my Yamaha dealer to have it checked out. Its booked in on the 7th Oct, so will post back when the mechanics fix mine and what they did or say. I've done the oil and filter changes, bled clutch and tried the different lever position settings.

Sorry to hear about your problem. It's likely that your problem and mine will be fixed by disasembling the clutch and soaking the plates in oil. I plan to do this before the next oil change at 3000 miles.

 

[salan10]

If I were you I would drain it all , swap a new filter and different oil. It is easy and cheap to do and would help rule out the Oil and filter.

Agree

OK, so here's what I did. Drained the oil and replaced it with Yamalube 10-40. Replaced the Bosch filter with the Yamaha OEM. Definite improvement in downshifting! Not entirely convinced that the problem is solved, though. Some downshifts were notchy. Most were OK. I spoke to the service manager at the dealer I bought from and he thought that the oil I had in the crank was too high viscosity. I used a mixture of 20-50 and 10-40. I used to do this with my 03 FJR and had no shifting problems at all so I thought that it would be OK for the 08. Maybe not.