Smoother running Marauder when cold

[Tamaki Massive]

Hi all

My 2006 Marauder runs much smoother when I havent ridden it for a week or so.

If I ride it constantly day after day, the gear changes in particular seem to be less smoother.

The bike is in good condition, has done about 11,000km and I regularly get it serviced.

What could be causing this?

Cheers
Derek

[JWR]

Originally Posted by Tamaki Massive

Hi all

My 2006 Marauder runs much smoother when I havent ridden it for a week or so.

If I ride it constantly day after day, the gear changes in particular seem to be less smoother.

The bike is in good condition, has done about 11,000km and I regularly get it serviced.

What could be causing this?

Cheers
Derek

What oil are you using and when was it changed last?

[Tamaki Massive]

Hi

Not sure what oil was used during last oil change.

It was last done 3-4 months ago.

But seems to have been something ive noticed since i first got the bike, when it only had 1,000kms on the clock. It has now done 11,000kms and has been serviced every year.

Thanks

[clonak]

Another Kiwi. Awesome. What area are you in ? I'm in Auckland.

Who does the servicing ? I found when I took mine in, they kind of had the attatude "its a 250, you dont want to spend any money on it" and just couldnt be bothered doing half the things... Serves me right for trying to paying someone to do something I am perfectly capable of doing my self.

They sort of do have a bit of a clunky gear change I find, or mine did. A tip I have recently herd of, is giving it a slight blip on the throttle just as you pull the clutch in, helps align everything, Works on my kawasaki. Havent had the GZ out for quite awhile so havent tried it.

[Water Warrior 2]

A very slack chain will give you clunky shifts. Do you regularly check the chain for proper adjustment and lube it on a regular basis? The owners manual will have the chain adjustment procedure and measurements to follow. It is easy. Are you following the oil change recommendations? Do you have to add oil between oil changes and what kind of oil are the boys in the shop supplying during servicing?
A little TLC at home will make the bike run much better than waiting for the shop to do everything. Motorcycles are not like a car as they require an eye for maintenance and touch ups to adjustments by the rider. Just giving your bike a critical look for potential problems will be a benefit to you as you will soon learn more about it. I have a suspicion this is your first bike. Am I right?
Have some time set aside to read the How To's on the forum. Maintenance issues are well described, many with pics and can be rewarding with the amount of knowledge we have onboard.
Never ever be afraid to ask a dumb question. We've all been there done that and learned a lot in the process. Smart people ask questions to increase their knowledge.

[jonathan180iq]

Conventional oil will tend to wear out a little faster on these bikes. If it's been 3-4 months and you ride fairly consistently, then it's probably time for an oil change anyway... After all, we are only talking about a quart. Oil filters do not need to be changed every single time, but that is personal opinion.

I did several different personal tests trying to determine which oil gave me the longest life and smoothest shifts. Personal opinion, Mobil 1 was tops for fluid shifts. Followed closely by Castrol Syntec. Shell Rotella T is a very good oil and you can get it in synthetic.

There is an oil change guide here on the site:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=566

You will also find tons of discussion in that thread about oil types and other people's opinions.

All you need to know is to avoid anything with friction modifiers. The motor oil lubricates the gear box and bathes the clutch as well. If it says "Energy Conserving" or "Resource Conserving", get something else.

[raul10141964]

Idle to low or to high do that

[Tamaki Massive]

Great advice guys. Much appreciated