Anyone else notice that shifting gets notchy in traffic on hotter days?

[Guest Sneakers]

My manual transmission gets notchy or harder to change gears when shifting on hotter days (70-80 degrees F) when I'm in some stop and go traffic. The whole time the cooling fan is running non stop till you speed up to about 45 mph.

I tried changing from 10-30 to 10-40 weight oil and same thing.

[interceptorrider]

Yup. Just like almost very other bike I've owned. Best shifting bikes I've owned.......my two 5th gen VFR's (Y2K yellow bikes), RC51, and this big VFR. Even the 5th gen's got a little notchy if they were hot and stop-n-goin'. Worst shifting bikes I've owned.........anything with a Kawasaki in the name. No luck with them. I just put Amsoil in the 1200. I like it so far, but, it's fresh too. Fresh oil always helps. I rarely go more than 1500 miles on an oil change. Shifting is the reason.

Ride safe.

[Switchblade]

Yup. Just like almost very other bike I've owned. Best shifting bikes I've owned.......my two 5th gen VFR's (Y2K yellow bikes), RC51, and this big VFR. Even the 5th gen's got a little notchy if they were hot and stop-n-goin'. Worst shifting bikes I've owned.........anything with a Kawasaki in the name. No luck with them. I just put Amsoil in the 1200. I like it so far, but, it's fresh too. Fresh oil always helps. I rarely go more than 1500 miles on an oil change. Shifting is the reason.

Ride safe.

+1 on that .....

[kaldek]

+1 for me too. I've had two motors in my 6th-gen and they both get notchy when really hot. The 2002 motor was worse, but it had 130,000KM on it anyway.

[TiN]

Had bad shift problems off the oem honda oil. +1 on the fresh oil for better shifting. Plain ol' Mobil 1 seems to keep shifting good for the longest time for me. Go figure.

[Guest]

I guess I've never noticed shifting issues when it's hot and it's hot here 90's with 90s humidity from May to October I ride in stop and go beach traffic all the time. I will say when the fan kicks in and blows that hot air on you it get's warm very fast had to set through two lights the other day I now know what it feels like to be in a convection oven.

[Cam2]

I was just thinking to myself on the ride in to work this morning that this bike has the most unforgiving of any transmission on any Honda I've owned over the years so I'm finding the same things.

Having just said that, it is still a Honda so its still a pretty damn good transmission!

[midias]

I seem to have trouble down shifting at low speeds or going from N to 1st when I get the bike hot and ride a while.

[Guest]

If you use synthetic oil instead of Dynasaur oil, it lessens the problem.

Keep the weight 10w-40. Don't go thicker or you'll have shifting problems on cold mornings.

[kebrider]

I guess I've never noticed shifting issues when it's hot and it's hot here 90's with 90s humidity from May to October I ride in stop and go beach traffic all the time. I will say when the fan kicks in and blows that hot air on you it get's warm very fast had to set through two lights the other day I now know what it feels like to be in a convection oven.

The girl and I had a blast strafing the dragon with our Tmax. Miss having it in the garage but the Tiger 800 is fun too. Take the rubber bump-stop on the centerstand and slice it in half with a razor knife. You will instantly have the ground clearance the scoot deserves. Keep the tire pressure up and a Tmax is a damn fine handling machine.

[Volfy]

My manual transmission gets notchy or harder to change gears when shifting on hotter days (70-80 degrees F) when I'm in some stop and go traffic. The whole time the cooling fan is running non stop till you speed up to about 45 mph.

I tried changing from 10-30 to 10-40 weight oil and same thing.

I would kill for 70-80F. Around these parts right now is more like 95F and 80+RH. Heat index is often 105F or higher.

The Concours 14 tranny gets very notchy too when warmed up. That's with Mobil 1 10W40 synthetic. I just have to make sure to preload the shift lever, then snick it in with a quick clutch pull.

[parchedson]

I seem to have trouble down shifting at low speeds or going from N to 1st when I get the bike hot and ride a while.

This is my problem. Doesn't matter on hot or cold days...the damn thing doesn't like neutral to 1st gear. My lack of grace finesse on some stops probably doesn't help much either.