[Corsair]

I did a search on "clutch tight" and looked through the results. One hit makes me think I'm on the right path but I just wanted to run it by people for sure.

Almost all the time I free wheel the bike in neutral when it's off. During the summer I seem to recall the times I was rolling it around in gear it was almost as smooth as neutral. The garage temp has gotten down to lower 40's (F) while the bike sat in between rides this fall. It was most recently ridden six days ago, so not very long. Here's the quick steps on what I did up to what happened:

1. Drained and changed the oil cold. I was pressed for time and didn't want to wait an hour for the oil to drizzle out after it had been heated up.
2. Put the fairings back together and wheeled it outside for a bath. Dried it and pushed it back in the garage.
3. Still in neutral (as it was in #1 and #2), I started it and let it idle for about four minutes.
4. Turned it off and let it sit for maybe 10 minutes before I checked the oil level. It was low, so I topped it off between the hashes.
5. Went to leave to fuel up. I was all geared up so I got on it and figured I'd start it in gear with the clutch held. It wasn't started yet-- I was just putting it in gear and rolling outside with the clutch in.

When I went to roll it in gear it pushed really hard, like something was dragging or tight. It still rolled, but not very easily. I got off and checked the following:

1. Fluid pressure seemed good between the clutch and the MC. I could see the fluid moving just a tad when I'd squeeze the lever.
2. I put it up on the rear stand and started it in neutral. The rear tire moved just a bit and then stopped. Nothing after that.
3. I let it spin in 1st and 2nd and then engaged the clutch-- the wheel slowed to a stop. Seemed normal.

When I dropped the bike back down it still pushed hard like that in gear. Taking chance with it (not knowing what was wrong), I rode out up and down the road quick (~5 minutes). When I came back and shut 'er down it rolled much more smoothly in gear.

Do they really tighten up that much when it's lower temps like that? I didn't think sitting for a couple of days at cooler temps would be an issue, but as I mentioned earlier, I normally wheel it around in neutral and in gear when it was much hotter out or after a ride. Is that normal?

Also, should a motorcycle roll as freely in clutched gear as it does in neutral? When I push mine around I normally feel a slight drag of the gears and can hear them (I assume the teeth) moving. There's a slight delay or slack between rolling it forwards or backwards before that drag kicks in.

Sorry for all the detail and questions. I've read these are grumpy cold weather bikes, and this was my first summer and soon-to-be winter with it so I'm still kind of learning how it acts.

 

[johnyisthedevil]

sounds like you are just dealing with the viscosity of the oil. nothing out of the ordinary. as the oil gets colder it will essentially become heavier and create drag on the clutch plates. what weight did you put in that sucker.

 

[Corsair]

10-40 Amsoil, which the new oil was no more warmer than the cold oil I drained out of it.

 

[johnyisthedevil]

all still nothing to worry about. oil looses it's viscosity as it breaks down and Amsoil is especially "sticky". I'm sure you have seen the little gear winder display they've used since the seventies right?