Clutch or tranny problems? Not sure...

[GregM.]

Thanks a ton... ALL very helpful.

Is this cold weather "lurching", when first dropping it into 1st... and "stiff and difficult shifting", for 15 min till it gets hotter... HARD on the equipment at all??

Would a NEW bike do this?
Is there something to do to my clutch or tranny that would eliminate this?
I'd like to do some early morning commuting on dry days this winter... but it could be in the upper 30's or low 40's.

Would I notice an improvement SWITCHING to a 5W-30? Could this cause any harm to the engine once things are hot and a long ride.

If you all say it's better for the engine to stay with the 10W-40... then, I guess I would eventually get used to this. I just don't want to do anything that will be TOO hard on my old bike.
Translation :: I'm MUCH more into riding it... then repairing it, or even doing "extra" up-keep and maintenance to it

[t3rmin]

I don't imagine one or two "difficult" shifts in the morning will do any damage. A lighter oil would help, but it's much more important to keep the rest of the bike (motor, tranny) happy so I'd stick with whatever weight your manual recommends.

I think the root cause is the design of the clutch. For whatever reason there is some hydraulic friction between the plates even when released. Is this normal for all bikes/new bikes? Probably not. Is it normal for GSs? Sounds like it.

Just make sure your cable is properly adjusted (should be 2-3mm free play in the lever action when you pull it before it starts to engage) and just ride the sucker!

[SqDancerLynn1]

When it's 45 deg outside their is nothing you can do except let it warm up.
DO NOT START your GS when cold while in gear, have it in netural.
I ususally work the clutch lever 6 time when cold. If it's really cold BE CAREFULL the bike doesn't get away from you, keep your foot on the brake.

[Road_Clam]

You guys that experience a sticky clutch is simply LACK of oil between the friction plates. When you pull your clutch, all the friction discs are supposed to separate from the steel discs. The engine drives the friction plates, the steel plates transfer power to the tranny.Idealy when all the plates properly disengage, the friction plates are always spinning, BUT the steels are supposed to stop spinning. all's it takes is one friction disc to drag along with a spinning steel disc to cause a bike to jump into gear, or shift hard. Cold thick oil further aggravates this. Sometimes you can simply work the clutch in and out with a cold engine to allow some oil to get between the plates, and allow them to totally disengage. An old scool trick to rid bikes of this problem is to drill severall .125" oil feed holes into the inner hub to allow some extra oil to get between the friction plates. I had to do this on my son's Kawasaki KX65 dirtbike. The bike literally would not go into gear if the bike sat for a month or so without being used, from the clutch pack being completely stuck together. I found a Kawasaki service bullitin that gave me the fix. Luckily for me , my GS1100's clutch action is mint in all conditions.

[GregM.]

You guys are the best... getting this info about how GS mechanicals works, is so helpful to me. Your time and patience is VERY much appreciated.

1 - I checked my clutch freeplay (2 - 3 mm) and that looks good.
2 - It seems to operate fine in the cool mornings, AFTER easy riding for 15 min.
3 - Info you've given me about what is going on inside the "tranny" or "gearbox" (is that the same thing?) helps me understand why it's doing this now, in the cool weather, but didn't do it, in warmer temps.
4 - No one really suggested switching to 5W-30, instead of the 10W-40 that I'm using, to eliminate this cold temp clutch drag... So, I guess that's a bad idea. I'll stick with the 10W-40.
5 - If it's happening in 45 degree temps... it's really going to "lurch" when it's 35 out... Isn't it??? (I'm not riding (commuting) if it's colder than that.)
6 - I'll use ALL your tips : warm the bike up longer, pull and release the clutch lever several times, always start in neutral (I do), apply front brake before CLUNKING it into gear, and get it into 2nd first to loosen things up a bit before dropping into 1st.

O.K. - I'm an expert... I can make these suggestions to the next rookie that raises this issue this winter. Ha-ha-ha-