2008 Warm Transmission/Starting Problem

ArsnlTim

Registered
Here's what's going on with my 2008
First- There is too much oil in my bike; a fact that I just noticed today. I almost always change my own oil but last time it needed to be changed a friend offered to do it for me so I let him. After I was having a problem this morning I noticed it was overfilled and I'll be fixing that this afternoon. I'm not sure it's relevant to the overall problem but since I'm looking for ideas I figured I'd mention it.
The Problem- It's happened before but only once or twice and but it seemed to be an anomoly that after the bike was warmed up it would not shift into neutral or first. When it happened before I just revved the engine, moved the bike back and forth and finally it would shift down and be fine after that. This morning, similar situation, when the bike was cold it fired right up and shifted fine. I had to stop for gas and when I stopped it once again it shifted down to 2nd but wouldn't go lower. I played with it for a minute or two and still couldn't get it to downshift so I turned it off and filled the tank. When I went to turn it back on, when the display came up it said check in the odometer spot, had a line through the gear indicator, and nothing happened when I hit the starter button. So I take my gear off and push the bike to the side of the gas station with the key still in the on position. After pushing it forward for a few feet I had to back it up and right after I did the odometer came up and the gear indicator said 2 but it still wouldnt shift down but the bike did start fine. Since it wouldn't go into neutral I had to turn it off to put my gear back on and when I went to turn it back on, same problem, check... line... no start. I backed it up a foot or two, back to 2nd... odo... start... so I took it really easy the rest of my ride to work. When I got to work, on a military base,the bike was shifting ok-ish, a little rough but hitting all the gears. When I pulled up to the gate, the bike was in first and the guard asked me an odd question and when she did I pulled my hand off the clutch without thinking and stalled it. When I tried to start it again the engine barely turned like my battery was dead. I turned the bike off, turned it back on and hit the starter and the engine rolled much longer than normal but finally caught so I rode to the building I work in and parked. After about an hour and a half of the bike sitting and cooling down I decided to see if the problem was still there and sure enough it wasn't. The bike fired up and shifted through all the gears perfectly...

Any thoughts on where I should start looking or what might be the cause?
 
Welcome to the Org. How's the Arsenal football club looking this year?

How much extra oil? What type was used? If its not motorcycle specific it is right now killing yer clutch fibers. I would not ride it until that has been cleared up.

Is your battery at full capacity with a minimum of 13.2 volts?

Another member has been this dealing with this problem in the guage aswell.I dont beleive its been sorted yet. But we better figure it out fast,it sounds like its turning into a plague.:laugh:

RSD.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm sad to say that I'm not sure how Arsenal is looking right now. I've been so busy with work and school that I can't really follow any of the off season changes.
I'm not sure how much oil was used but it is over the top of the sight glass... I'm gonna have to have a chat with my friend about that, and not trust him touch my bike ever again. As far as the type of oil, the only types of oil that I've ever put in the bike are the Amsoil motorcycle oil and Mobile 1 Racing 4T.
I'm going to pull the battery as soon as I get home to check the voltage and/or hook it up to my charger I'll keep you posted on that.
 
Thanks for the reply. I have no idea how Arsenal is looking right now, I'm so busy right now I haven't been paying attention to the off season at all.
I'm not sure how much extra oil is in the bike right now since I trusted someone else to do it and they screwed it up. I know that the oil level is above the sight glass. I'm going to have to have a little chat with my friend about that... As for the type of oil, I've never put anything other then Amsoil motorcycle oil and Mobile 1 racing 4t.
I'm going to pull the battery as soon and I get ho9me to test and if necessary charge.
The fact that this is an intermitant problem is really irking me, I'd rather it just break so I'd know what was wrong and could fix it... :banghead:
 
Try bleeding the clutch system and clean the slave pushrod.

Too much oil increases the crankcase vapour pressure which if the breather into the airbox isn't clean will make it harder to crank the engine....sort that first before doing engine damage.
 
Try bleeding the clutch system and clean the slave pushrod.

Too much oil increases the crankcase vapour pressure which if the breather into the airbox isn't clean will make it harder to crank the engine....sort that first before doing engine damage.

Dont be afraid to hit us up for a walk thru on that ^ guys have damaged the cover before. Not belittling your tech skillz,just offering help.

RSD.
 
Dont be afraid to hit us up for a walk thru on that ^ guys have damaged the cover before. Not belittling your tech skillz,just offering help.

RSD.

Not sure what you mean by a damaged cover.

Not sure if my way of bleeding and cleaning is the best or correct way but it works for me.

1st...anyone unsure of their skills shouldn't work on a bike...low margin for error and far too easily damaged.

2nd...to work on the slave remove the cap from the master cover to prevent the circuit pressurising due to any movement and to make it easier on reassembly.
Unbolt the slave and take care to clean around the mating faces....clean the pushrod with paraffin/white spirit etc...if there are signs of pitting or wear...replace it and if it looks wet when 1st removed check the seals on the slave and the clutch housing.
Reassembly using some light oil to minimise the risk to seals.

3rd...never try using the clutch master lever to pump fluid through (nothing firm to pump against as with brakes)....the slave responds to a light action and will move each time you try pumping which reduces the effectiveness of bleeding by....buy a syringe and a small length of silicone 5mm id hose and draw fluid down from the master reservoir to the slave via its bleed nipple.
Clutch fluid must be fresh and untouched ...never ever shake the bottle.....bubbles form in it easily and are a nightmare to disperse...takes at least 48hrs so even after buying it leave it sitting for a few days
 
OK, got the oil squared away and it seems to be shifting smoother. There were no problems this morning but it was an intermittent problem to begin with so I'm apprehensively optimistic.
 
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