My KDX is becoming harder to shift

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KDXrider1989
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My KDX is becoming harder to shift

Post by KDXrider1989 »

ever since the day I bought it, it was harder to shift than any other bike I've ridden. But now its getting worse for some reason, I've been using the same gear oil for about 2 years now. What could be the cause of this, clutch plates / hub / basket / springs?
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Slick_Nick
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Post by Slick_Nick »

The same gear oil for 2 years now? As in you havent changed it in 2 years, or it's just the same brand?

Try ATF type F and it should be a bit smoother.
'00 KDX 220R
KDXrider1989
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Post by KDXrider1989 »

ha, I change it after every ride or two, I meant that I've used the same brand. I have that stuff in the forks, it'll be OK for the tranny too?
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Julien D
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Post by Julien D »

Type F is awesome for the transmission. Yup.
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rbates9
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Post by rbates9 »

My bike had a bad shifting issue and different oils didn't make a huge difference but when I replaced the somewhat sloppy clutch lever it now shifts much better.

Most of my shifting issues were related to finding neutral and going out of neutral.

And like was said before different oil's will make a big difference in the smoothness of the transmission. The problem is it seems to be some trial and error to find what works best. Try the type F and see how it goes.
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Slick_Nick
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Post by Slick_Nick »

>|<>QBB<
KDXrider1989 wrote:ha, I change it after every ride or two, I meant that I've used the same brand. I have that stuff in the forks, it'll be OK for the tranny too?
And it's almost too thin for the forks. Isn't Type F like a 2.5W oil?
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ihatefalling
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Post by ihatefalling »

I think type f is about 7.5 in the forks.

I went 5, ATF, then 10 on Wibbys advice looking for better feel up front. Each step helped.

Eventually did fork swap.....mucho, mucho, mucho, mucho bettero
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david
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Post by david »

ATF is like 7.5Wt. It is also what the factories used in the forks back in the early 80's but now they have better oils for the forks. Wet clutch plates in motorcycles are just like the ones used in automotive automatic transmissions, most ATF will work fine, buy type F (Ford) has friction modifiers they help the clutches grab a little better. Back in the day, we would use it in GM tranys to make it shift a little harder.
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