grinding gears

[Border Rat]

Howdy from Alberta ,Canada.yes the place that doesnt put up with the Ottawa Liberal govt bullshit.Im right here on the border with Montana,I can see it from here.What my question is about is my 98 1500 VL grinds gears on the 1-2 shift.Varying rpms or ground speed doesnt seem to make much difference.I have adjusted the shifter,replced the shifter bushing,greased the bushing,didnt help much.It seems to get worse when the bike warms up.Any one got any ideas?Ive got about 40 years in on bikes,mainly Evo Harleys ,and am pretty handy with a wrench,but this is my first Suzuki so I would appreciate any suggestions.There are no bike shops within 50 miles of here and I have the only Intruder. Are trans parts interchangeable with the 800 1400 etc if I have to do that?Thanks in advance.

[hillsy v2]

The gearboxes on the LCs are pretty clunky. Some things to do:

Bleed the system thoroughly

Check the star gear is not damaged (google VL1500 star gear).

Make sure your idle is set correctly

Change your oil.

[Designer]

First,...WELCOME to our Board. Always good to hear from out fellow riders.

A question.....or two.

Has this happened suddenly, or has been coming on for a while.

Have you noticed any change in the "feel" and the Friction Point of the clutch?

Have you checked the Clutch Fluid for Level and color?

As to Tran's parts interchangeability. I have installed the 1500 Trans 4th and 5th Driven/Driven Gears in my 1400,....and also installed the 1500 Primary Drive/Driven Gearing also, (the Driven gear being fitted onto my 1400 Clutch, of course),..so there is compatibility. but the most desired gearing is the 1500, imho.

[Herb]

It sounds to me like you have moisture in the clutch fluid. Designer mentioned level and color. If the fluid is less than completely clear it will have moisture in it that will expand as it gets warm and you won't get full movement on the clutch slave cylinder.

If it was me the first thing I would do is do a complete exchange on the clutch fluid. I am not real familiar with the 1500 but the 1400 is supposed to use DOT 3 brake fluid, so you will have to figure it out.

[sgtcall]

Welcome!
Here are a couple of things to check out.

POSTING PICTURES ON INTRUDERS ALERT
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=13992

INTRUDER MANUALS AND INFORMATION
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=14168

[Border Rat]

Thanks to all who have replied,I have changed fluid.I bought this bike 2 years ago,havent been able to put many klicks{miles} on it soI dont have a lot of famliarity with it,but yes it is getting worse.WhenI first got it it felt a lot like the old Harley 5 speeds I had,you know, clunks when going into first and a bit harsh first to second ,but now is much worse.The bike has about 26000 miles on it.Have changed engine oil ,currently running Valvoline 20/50 synthetic Motorcyle oil.Are thess bikes like a Harley Sportster where engine and tranny oil are on the same lubrication circuit?Or does each have a separate reservoir?But the idle does seem a little high ,might try turning that down a bit ,but I dont have a tach and wont go too low.

[sgtcall]

Thanks to all who have replied,I have changed fluid.I bought this bike 2 years ago,havent been able to put many klicks{miles} on it soI dont have a lot of famliarity with it,but yes it is getting worse.WhenI first got it it felt a lot like the old Harley 5 speeds I had,you know, clunks when going into first and a bit harsh first to second ,but now is much worse.The bike has about 26000 miles on it.Have changed engine oil ,currently running Valvoline 20/50 synthetic Motorcyle oil.Are thess bikes like a Harley Sportster where engine and tranny oil are on the same lubrication circuit?Or does each have a separate reservoir?But the idle does seem a little high ,might try turning that down a bit ,but I dont have a tach and wont go too low.

Unlike the Harley's these bikes have a higher idle. The 1500 is like the VS1400 and 800s, a single lubrication system. Have you considered new clutch springs? Barrnett springs come highly recommended.

[hillsy v2]

You don't want to run synthetic oil - 10w40 mineral is best.

[Herb]

You are running too heavy of an oil. The factory specs call for a 10W40. I have been running walmart supertech 10w40 for years with good results in my 1400. I put 154,000 miles on my 87, and over 180,000miles on the first engine in my 99. I put in a used engine with mileage uknown, the guy said 25K but I am sure he lied, and now have over 50k on this engine.

Also the 1500 has hydrulic valve adjusters, like the 1400, and in cooler weather the heavier oils can cause lifter clatter because the holes for the oil are REALLY tiny.

[Designer]

Thanks for the Added Info. The more we know, the better we can be of help.
Yes, as per what Herb says, best you put in the 10w40 oil first for the very reasons he mentions.

A too high Idle does have it's effect. I think the setting is 1,000 RPM.

Did this issue become more noticeable after you changed the Hydraulic Fluid? If so, there might still be some tiny amount of Air left in the system. This is somewhat a notorious issue with the Intruders with Air trapped at the Banjo Fitting at the Master Cylinder..

Here's a method to make sure all Air is totally removed.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4

[Herb]

My 87 1400 was the first bike I have ever had that has a hydrulic clutch. I don't know why Suzuki decided to go with the damn thing it repuires way more maintenence than should be required and the "back torque limiter" is a total piece of crap.

My GS1100 had 20 more HP and 10 lbs less torque than the original 1400. By 95 the 1400 is down to the same as my 83 1100. And the GS had a cable clutch that never gave any trouble.

Still Suzuki went with a more expensive and complicated clutch system. Pure stupidity, as far as I am concerned.

[hillsy v2]

There's lots of benefits with hydraulic systems. They are easier to operate on larger clutch setups than cable. You can route the hose anyway you like as opposed to a cable which needs to be as straight as possible. Less mechanicals and are self adjusting.

Sure they need fluid changed like brakes do - but overall they're pretty easy to live with.

[Border Rat]

Thanks for the help again.I will try an oil change.Do I need to run a specific oil for air cooled engines?I l know I have an oil cooler , and that makes a difference .I was just going from.past expirience with HD's.when I decided to go with Valvoline 20 50 syn.Lowering the idle has made a difference.

[hillsy v2]

10w40 mineral oil. Your LC is not a Harley - dont use 20w50 or synthetic.

[Designer]

Thanks for the help again.I will try an oil change. Do I need to run a specific oil for air cooled engines? l know I have an oil cooler, and that makes a difference .I was just going from past experience with HD's. when I decided to go with Valvoline 20 50 syn. Lowering the idle has made a difference.

Thinks for the feed back ....Not knowing what you idle speed was, I can now presume it was kinda high.

I've found that the benefit of smoother shifting that synthetic oil had went away after about 1500 miles,...and everything went back to being just like regular oil.

But do use the10w 40 oil.

[hillsy v2]

...Not knowing what you idle speed was, I can now presume it was kinda high.

The LC is a bit of a catch 22 - the charging can be crap at low idle so bumping that up will fix it. The downside is the clutch engaging will be clunky because of the higher RPM. Personally, I kept the idle up so the charging was good and lived with the slightly clunky gearbox.

[Designer]

Instead of putting the extra stress/wear on the Trans Gears with the higher idle so as to get better charging, I choose to make it so I better charging and keep the idle at recommended speed.

Best of both worlds.

[hillsy v2]

Instead of putting the extra stress/wear on the Trans Gears with the higher idle so as to get better charging, I choose to make it so I better charging and keep the idle at recommended speed.

Best of both worlds.

It can be a very fine line between a low enough idle and adequate charging on the LC. I'd replaced the stator, RR, battery and done MOD3 and still had 12.5v at "normal" idle. Bumped the idle up until I got 13v and the bike was happy...except when engaging 1st.

Sometimes it's a compromise.

[Designer]

No need to compromise when you know how to up the charging and get the benefit of smoother gear shifting both.

[hillsy v2]

No need to compromise when you know how to up the charging and get the benefit of smoother gear shifting both.

Bullshit. You're clueless here.