Sticky clutch - Beware wrong oil

[oldfella]

Had some fun after I bought my last bike (Kwaka W650). Clutch would not free easily and felt like it was slipping - hot or cold. Bought a new set of plates and springs and fitted them. When I checked the old plates and springs they were still within the tolerances for wear etc. but put the new set in anyway.

Also changed the oil and filter and found that whoever serviced the bike last must have put in too much of the wrong oil (maybe synthetic instead of mineral)???

Anyway, good news is the clutch is heaps better.

Moral - beware of people who work on bikes and don't know much about them !!!

Oldfella

[merv]

How many times do I have to tell everyone just use Castrol bike oil either Grand Prix mineral oil or GPS semi synthetic or RS synthetic - never have clutch trouble with any of those?

[James Deuce]

Sounds like someone used car oil. Most cars have a dry clutch so they don't need to worry about adding friction modifiers to the oil to improve the oil's cold start performance in car engines.

Friction modifiers will make a wet clutch slip like a bastard.