Rough shifting

[xpwarrior]

Has anyone else experienced rough shifting due to using oil other than Mobil 1? When I bought my 02 the shifting was one of the things I absolutely loved about it. I've had lots of bikes and the shifting on the Triumph was the best of all.

After riding it for a couple of weeks I decided to change the oil so I put some Castrol Act-Evo 10-40 in it since I had used it in other bikes before without problems. I knew my S3 had Triumph brand Mobil 1 in it because I had the receipt from the previous owner but I wasn't going to pay $48 for a jug of oil.

As soon as I started riding the bike with the Castrol in it the shifting was terrible. Totally clunky and notchy when going into each gear. I couldn't believe it because normally shifting is always better with fresh oil. I suffered along for 1500 miles this way before I changed it out and put in Mobil 1 MX4T 10-40 and the shifting went right back to the way it was when I bought the bike. That oil now has about 3500 miles on it and shifting is still as good as ever.

I was just curious if anyone else had experienced something similar when using oil other than some type of Mobil 1.

[beers2u]

I just changed mine with Rotella-T. It's probably just because it's brand new oil but it seems like the bike shifts better/smoother/easier than ever. I had MX4T in it for the last 6K (at 12K now).

[kuhlka]

If you're not using a full synthetic, there are some major chemical differences with a non-synthetic or partial synthetic 10w40 and the standard 15w50 or 15w40 full synthetic. Odd that the shifting would be ****e right after an oil change. But, then again, all the more reason to just find a Walmart and buy the big jugs of 15w50 Mobil 1 full synthetic (now 'gold cap'). Its not branded for motorcycles, but it is basically the same thing with minor differences in additives if you've read the oil thread we had running a little while ago.

[miker]

I use Silkolene, similar to Mobil 1, no problems with shifting at all.

Something to think about. If its not shifting right, what else is it doing to your gearbox?

Mick

[crashmasterd]

I'm a firm believer in using one brand, and weight of oil from the first day I buy a bike. (except for break in oil). I have no scientific evidence to back this up, but it's kept most of my equipment running for extra innings.

Always use high quality synthetic oil of the proper weight. The manual says 15-50, so I wouldn't be surprised if you problem is the 10-40 oil, and not the Castrol brand. I've ran Castrol synthetic in several bikes with no problems. Good product.

[FelixLeiter]

On 2006-01-19 21:06, crashmasterd wrote:
I'm a firm believer in using one brand, and weight of oil from the first day I buy a bike. (except for break in oil). I have no scientific evidence to back this up, but it's kept most of my equipment running for extra innings.

Always use high quality synthetic oil of the proper weight. The manual says 15-50, so I wouldn't be surprised if you problem is the 10-40 oil, and not the Castrol brand. I've ran Castrol synthetic in several bikes with no problems. Good product.

If you read his entry the bike went back to shifting smoothly after installing 10w40 Synthetic. I have heard stories (no actual facts though) about Castrol wreaking havoc in Honda engines-- the oil foams easily.

I had a similar experience to yours xpwarrior...after the initial 800km with the break in non-synth oil my dealer installed semi-synthetic. I wasn't too happy about the use of non-Mobil 1 (sometimes I'm @nal about mfgr recommendations) so I changed it out at 4000km with Mobil 1 mx4t and the shifting was noticably smoother and more positive.

[xpwarrior]

On 2006-01-19 20:51, kuhlka wrote:
Odd that the shifting would be ****e right after an oil change.

That's what I thought. My last bike was a RF900 Suzuki and the shifting on those is kind of rough no matter what. I put close to 30k miles on it and used Mobil 1, Castrol Act-Evo and Rotella Synthetic in it at different times and none of them made any difference as far as the shifting.

crashmasterd wrote: The manual says 15-50, so I wouldn't be surprised if you problem is the 10-40 oil, and not the Castrol brand.

My owners manual says 15-40 and the service manual says either 10-40 or 15-50. At least for me the weight doesn't seen to be the issue only the oil type with the Castrol being a semi-synthetic.

[Diego]

Xpwarrior, have you had experience with El Dorado Cycles for any of your sales or service needs? I'm looking for a dealer in the area now that I've moved. If you've got enough postings at this site for the PM button (below) to work, you can reply by private message if you prefer.

[xpwarrior]

Eldo Cycle is where I bought my S3 and several other bikes and PWC over the years. I've known Randy the owner for at least 15 years and he sells lots of bikes and is good to deal with. I can't tell you much about the service deptment since I have never had anything worked on by anybody else. The guys back there seem like they know what they are doing and the #1 mechanic has been at it for a long time and is a top rated Polaris tech.

You should come check it out they have a nice showroom considering ElDorado is a small town.

[BUCKET]

xpwarrior
If you can get it in the states try PENRITE HPR10. I used to use it in my 98 Daytona and it made a big difference to gear changing and performance.Plan to use it in my 05 s3 when it is out of warranty too.
Bucket :hammer: