Loud clunky gearchange

Gentlemen.

My Virago XV535's down-change is, I think, louder and 'notchier' than it
should be when the engine's hot, even when I blip the throttle during the
change. Is this normal for a Virago or is something wrong, or have I got the
wrong oil in it perhaps? It's also extremely hard to find neutral when it's
hot and it runs a *lot* faster at idle than when it's cold.

Any thoughts? I would ask in my 'local' bike group, UKRM, but it's not as
technical as your group.

 

This normal, really. Engine oil should be 10/40. Gear oil in the rear
bevel box should be 85w or thereabouts.

Try adjusting the clutch cable.

This is normal, too.

Oh, and yes, you hooked him, first try.

 

Curiously, there are a number of folk on ukrm, myself included, who
rather rate the 535 Virago.

 

Could well do, I've only ever had two other Yams: a YB100 way back when, and
a RS125DX shortly after way back when.

Heh. They didn't, on the whole, because contrary to popular belief they're a
decent bunch of blokes/ladies/unsures. Mostly. Now I've got it running
properly they'd have no right to anyway; for a Jap cruiser it shifts along
quickly enough when I ask it to and it's real purty too.

 

These will be checked later but I think it's got 15/40 in the engine and
SAE80 in the drive. It *has* got car oil in the engine though, which I
understand could cause problems. Not a super-duper car oil with extras in,
mind, just a standard mineral oil.

Seems ok but I will anyway.

This explains the easy-to-adjust-even-with-gloves-on knobbly screw between
the carbs then, for easy adjustment on the road.

Eye thang ewe

 

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I've stripped, cleaned, and set up the
carbs myself so they are "factory" set, though I know this doesn't allow for
wear of jets/needles etc., and balanced them, so they're as "right" as
they're going to get.

Lovely bunch of fellows, even those with red noses.

 

If it's not fully synthetic, it should be OK, but I'd still lob 10/40 in
it, in our chilly climate.

 

I've only ridden a couple of 535s. Both had 'clonky' gearshifts when
compared to my GSXF, but then most bikes do when compared to a Suzuki
oil/air engine. Both were clonkier than I remember any of my Yamahas being,
but not as nasty as say an ER-5.

First off, check the clutch freeplay and set it to exactly the amount Yamaha
specify. Next, when the bike is hot, switch it off in first gear, pull the
clutch in and check for excessive drag. It will drag a bit, but if you can
get the bike onto a milk crate ( just get the rear wheel clear of the
deck ), you should be able to turn the rear wheel with the bike in gear,
with the clutch in, by hand.

If you can't, the clutch isn't fully disengaging. If you can, then all is
well. There are many possibles and some probable causes there.

If the clutch isn't fully disengaging, it can make neutral finding a bit of
a pig. Some bike are just a pig sometimes anyways. Call it character.

As for the oil, semi-synth or mineral that meets JASO is all the engine
needs.

I quite liked the 535. Went OK, was fairly comfy, went round corners in a
not unamusing way and had brakes that worked. A nice little bike really.

 

Exactly me feeling. Lovely soft torquey engine, too. And shaft drive,
which is unusual in such a small bike.

 

That's reassuring.

Will do.

I have to do some reversing when I park it up for the night and I did notice
some difficulty going backwards in gear, clutch in obviously. I'll check the
adjustment, as suggested by your good self and TOG.

Ok. I didn't really think a small variation in the viscosity of the oil
would make a great deal of difference in the noise of the gearchange but it
was worth checking.

For the first couple of months it was bogging down at fairly high revs. Now
I've cured that the difference in performance is a revelation. I still can't
imagine how quick a litre bike must be these days though; the Viagra's quick
enough when it spins up so a new 'blade or gixxer must push your eyeballs
back into your skull!

 

I've had a couple of bikes (Yamaha TT600R and Suzuki TS125X)
that were very hard to find neutral on. A couple of quick oil changes
seemed to help a bit, probably flushed out the clutch fibre soup
left there by earlier owners.

After a couple hundred thousand miles of using car oil in relatively low
power Yamahas with excellent results I think I can say that there is
nothing wrong there! OTOH, I mostly use full synth and never pure
mineral.

The silver lining on the agricultural sounding Yamaha gear change is
that in my experience the gearboxes are reliable and never need
maintenance. Just be firm!

 

My bike was made in 1988 and before I got it last year it spent the previous
*ten* years in a dry garage. I did wonder what this might do to the innards
but the engine was fine. I changed the oil, naturally, and have changed it
since, but I think you could be right - it wouldn't hurt to change it again.

I've seen oils developed especially for big bore singles, v-twins, and
opposed twins, but I'm not convinced they're necessary. I stand to be
corrected though because if it's beneficial to the engine I won't skimp on a
drop of oil.

Heh! But when I slow to a stop from 5th and haven't bothered changing down
along the way it does sound like I'm panel beating in the last few yards
*CLONK - CLONK - CLONK etc*

 

You have? You mean, oils developed for each engine individually, or just
for all three?

I've *never* seen anything like that.

 

Morris Lubricants do a 20W/50 which they say is a heavy duty multigrade for
single big bores, v-twins, and opposed twin engines. Apparently it has a
carefully formulated additive package. Well, it would have, wouldn't it? Who
wants one carelessly formulated?

 

Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot wrote:

....And they make oils specifically for steam engines and Sentinels, which
makes them good chaps in my book.

 

Well, I never. Mind you, Morris does make a lot of very unusual oils,
single grades, stuff like that. I can't see how an oil can be
specially formulated for a particular cylinder configuration, mind....

 

I agree. A V-twin I can understand due to the rear cylinder getting hotter
than the front; perhaps it might need an oil better suited to the
temperature variations, but opposed twins...? Still, there it is, and Morris
seem well thought of.

 

It works like any other clutch mechanism that uses a similarly placed
actuation lever.