I may seem to be going off on a tangent but I have read some oils have a much better effect on gear changing.Would appreciate some genuine experience of gear changing improvement for the '07 ZX

* Last updated by: donfre on 2/9/2017 @ 9:07 AM *

I mix 2qts of 40 yr old 50w racing and 2qts of diesel type truck oil being 10w40. I roll backwards down the driveway, in gear, clutch in, and man, the drag on that clutch, I have to literally backpedal the bike down the slight incline. Once the miles add up, I can roll the bike backwards again, lift my feet and balance rolling backwards like normal.

At around 4800km the shift quality signs off. That tells me it's time to change the oil. I think others may chime in and note the same shift deterioration. Grn first made mention of that mileage change and I felt that same experience before he mentioned it. And being this is my 3rd 14, I did use the recommended weight and that too meant the same shift quality met at that mileage.

So if I'm seeing a pattern between shift to oil grades, it's not the weight, brand, but the mileage cutoff you may be mentioning. Now, did I just change 10 shims for my first valve interval service, and did the cams and cam towers send a smile or more a smirk. I mix weights, run antique SAE oil numbers that meets or exceeds that BS marketing crap?

Run 2qts of straight racing oil, top it off with any weight syn if you like.

if you don't use oil for motorcycles with wet clutches, make sure you use an oil that is NOT energy conserving.

As soon as I change oil, I can tell the shifting is smoother. Any fresh oil is better than used oil. I used Repsol 4T Race oil once and it was MAGNIFICENT for 500 miles and then it was like normal oil after that. Very expensive and very good but not worth the short lifecycle. I use Rotella 6T 5W-40 synthetic and it's good and it's cheap. It does not last any longer than Kaw conventional oil, I change the Rotella every 2500 miles. It's cheap enough to do that but many synthetics are not.

Thanks Guys,some handy info.Oil change is due soon, will have a chat to the mechanic.