clutch stick not lubrication-related?

[Steve Rolfe]

RM wrote:

> >Why do we have so many posts about broken doohickeys, even from listers > >who use the "right" oil and change it frequently? > > Because doohickey breakage is not a lubrication-related failure.

A number of listers have suggested that doohickey failure is caused by shock to the balancer assembly when you kick the bike into gear. The suggestion is that the rapid deceleration/acceleration of the balancer during the "clunk" fractures the admittedly poorly-manufactured doohickey. This is the most likely-sounding argument I've heard so far. And it certainly doesn't point to lubrication failure as the cause. HOWEVER: Anything that reduces "clutch clunk" and resultant shock to the balancer assembly, ought to reduce the incidence of doohickey breakage. And there is definitely a body of evidence that synthetic oil helps to reduce or eliminate the "clunk". Steve Rolfe (Replacing his A16's doohickey regardless)

[RM]

On Tue, 8 Apr 2003, Steve Rolfe wrote:

>- My clutch stopped clunking when I switched to synthetic oil. >- Other riders report not only report the same experience, but > that the clunk returned when they switched back. > >You might not understand why it works, but it obviously does.

I'm not denying that different oil formulations will improve the clutch-clunk "problem." What I assert that that the fluid characteristics that promote (or hinder) clutch plate stickage probably have little to do with overall lubricant quality. I used Quaker State 10W-40 at $1.25/qt on my way back from Florida and my clutch clunk was less severe than it normally is with $4.50/qt Mobil 1. Does this mean that Quaker State's dino oil is a superior product? Probably not. RM