shifting to neutral

[dannymax]

Just for the hell of it Poke, run manufacturer's recommended Yamalube for the next couple changes and see if it improves.
I ran Royal Purple for a year, then switched to Yamalube and there was noticeable improvement in shifting.

 

[slowpoke]

im starting to think that may be my problem. depending on how annoyed i get i may just change it out soon. sucks because its a fairly fresh oil change now...

 

[WESLICH]

Just for the hell of it Poke, run manufacturer's recommended Yamalube for the next couple changes and see if it improves.
I ran Royal Purple for a year, then switched to Yamalube and there was noticeable improvement in shifting.

I'm due for an oil change soon too, so maybe I should go with the Yamalube to see if that helps? I was leaning towards Royal Purple, local company and all, but if that is going to create shifting problems, I'll go with something else. Don't know what's in there now, previous owner didn't say. Any reccomendations?

 

[dannymax]

I don't think you can go wrong with manufacturer rec's. Then if you want to switch, you got a baseline. JMHO tho. :worthy:

 

[mivmx]

Yamalube is obviously a good choice. I would recommend any name brand oil specific to motorcycle use. There are additives for the clutch (like in yamalube). I would start there. I bought my Max from the original owner who used Amsoil. I noticed some slipping under hard throttle and popping out of gear and difficulty finding neutral. When I switched to Valvoline 4stroke all that went away. This worked for me. Good luck.

 

[naughtyG]

I don't know what oil was in mine when I bought it, but I switched to Shell Rotella-T 15W40 (I'm in florida) and all is well. It is the non-synthetic kind. Shifting and neutral are a breeze.

The neutral problem does sound a lot like clutch sticking so I agree that the oil will have a lot to do with it.

 

[slowpoke]

well i decided 6 bucks sounded a lot cheaper than a new oil change so i went out and bought a 32 ounce bottle of valvoline synthetic dot 3 and 4 (that is how its labeled.) and flushed and bled it again. no more problems what so ever. i can find neutral probably 4 out of 5 times. the 5th time a simple rock of the bike allowed me to find it. all is what i would consider normal again.took it for a test ride and hot rodded it a bit and still no problems finding neutral.

 

[vmax626]

I too have the same problem finding neutral But, I thought that it was a factory problem so, I just delt with it but now, I think that I will try that synthetic dot 3-4 and see what happens with my 2000 max.
I also am using Castrol 20/50 wt. oil.
Maybe I`ll try the Yama lube it just sounds better to go with factory rec`s. `cause sometimes I have trouble up shifting in higher rpms but no problems down shifting.:ummm: I gotta look into that.
<<Dave>>

 

[Lew L]

No probs here in finding neutral. Running Castrol 10w40 motorcycle specific oil.
The synth. DOT 3-4 sounds good--- I'll have to get some.

But please don't put DOT 5 in your bike as brought up earlier. It will cause leaks and you'll have to rebuild the system. ( then you can use dot 5 with all new compatable seals). Don't ask me how I know this:bang head:

 

[slowpoke]

btw i am not saying this is the fix all to vmax neutral shifting :rofl_200: all im saying is in my case. dot 3 was not good enough and the dot 4 synthetic fixed my issue. the tranny still has "stickyish" shifts but those are tolerable. its not like im missing gears and i attribute that as normal operation. i have since heard rumors that (at least locally) the yamamaha dealerships were putting dot 3 in when they recieved the bikes new??? at least since 05 anywah. so maybe more dealerships were doing that as well to help save money. who knows. all i know is my bike had the factory clutch fluid in it when i bought it and it was horrible about not shifting to neutral once the fluid was warmed up. now its a whole new bike. so nice in fact i put another 300 miles on teh ol gal today unk:unk:unk:unk:unk:

 

[slowpoke]

oh! almost forgot. 2 good things happened today. 1 which you all know about being the shifting issue is fixed. and 2. ill let the picture speak for itself. my 2 year old ( just turned 2 last month)

 

[maleko89]

I wish a happy birthday to your boy!

 

[113s&s]

06 i had never noticed the problem and i go into neutral at all stop lignts i never hold the clutch in...but thinkin about it now i i always rolled it a hair then pulled clutch at hit neutral thats was always normal on all bikes ive owned ...little rev it pops in easy....hell its part of riding

 

[slowpoke]

06 i had never noticed the problem and i go into neutral at all stop lignts i never hold the clutch in...but thinkin about it now i i always rolled it a hair then pulled clutch at hit neutral thats was always normal on all bikes ive owned ...little rev it pops in easy....hell its part of riding

that is what it does now. it wouldnt go into neutral at all before the fluid change to dot 4. not once it was warmed up anyway

 

[mivmx]

Got my eight month old on mine today. Gotta love our future Vmaxers!!!

 

[Dan Lee]

Any advice for someone who's never replaced or bleed the clutch fluid, DOT 3-4 Synthetic? I am also having some neutral issues, slight shifting issues
Just picked up the bike and started surfing this site for recommendations on oil. Decided to go with the Rotella 15w40 Diesel engine oil. Seems like its shift harder, may go to the factory Yamaha lube and see if this problem goes away, anyone else have this issue?

 

[CaptainKyle]

Any advice for someone who's never replaced or bleed the clutch fluid, DOT 3-4 Synthetic? I am also having some neutral issues, slight shifting issues
Just picked up the bike and started surfing this site for recommendations on oil. Decided to go with the Rotella 15w40 Diesel engine oil. Seems like its shift harder, may go to the factory Yamaha lube and see if this problem goes away, anyone else have this issue?

Never had an issue with the Rotella & been using it for years in all my bikes & my customers bikes . You can use Dot 3 or 4 in the clutch if you do not know if the fluid has been changed I would suggest doing the clutch & brake. It is not really a hard job but I have a vacuum bleeder.LOL

You can just pump & bleed like you would a brake system if you have ever done one of them. I usually suck all the fluid out of the reservoir & fill with new fluid & then pull the new fluid thru . just pump the lever 4 or 5 times & hold it in & open the bleeder valve until fluid stops coming out then close the bleeder & keep repeating until you see the fresh fluid coming out . The bleeder is located on the left side of the engine under the little rubber cover on the top.

 

[Dan Lee]

Thanks, I've done brakes before, never dealt with the clutch side

 

[ouchez]

Any advice for someone who's never replaced or bleed the clutch fluid, DOT 3-4 Synthetic? I am also having some neutral issues, slight shifting issues
Just picked up the bike and started surfing this site for recommendations on oil. Decided to go with the Rotella 15w40 Diesel engine oil. Seems like its shift harder, may go to the factory Yamaha lube and see if this problem goes away, anyone else have this issue?

I installed Speed Bleeders and if you follow direction works great! As to oil, always Valvoline Motorcycle oil, no problem.

As to clutch etc.,,always used Yama product.

 

[Dan Lee]

Went a head and used a hand vac bleeding tool to do this, easy job, just dont run dry on fluid while doing it, used the synthetic Dot-3-4 , took it for a spin, noticeable difference while shifting, changed out the brake fluids as well. Thanks for all the replies.