/begin rant/
Man do I like this board.

I made a rookie mistake.  I checked my oil and it was really low, so I filled it back up.
Then realized I might need to have the bike sitting straight up on the center stand or just balanced.

Quick search turned up
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=33717.0

and then I dug out my manual and it agrees - oil must be checked without threading the dipstick and while the bike is vertical.

Anyhow - I rode the bike for a hundred or so miles with too much oil and the immediate affect was it was very hard to get neutral.  I always had to go to second, and make multiple attempts tapping down gently.

As soon as I drained the oil and got the correct amount in, she's back to smooth like butter.

/end rant/

neutral is always hard to find on these bikes, how over filled was the oil?  shouldnt hurt it too bad

Quote from: jmiller427 on May 02, 2008, 10:37:54 AM
/begin rant/
Man do I like this board.

I made a rookie mistake.  I checked my oil and it was really low, so I filled it back up.
Then realized I might need to have the bike sitting straight up on the center stand or just balanced.

Quick search turned up
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=33717.0

and then I dug out my manual and it agrees - oil must be checked without threading the dipstick and while the bike is vertical.

Anyhow - I rode the bike for a hundred or so miles with too much oil and the immediate affect was it was very hard to get neutral.  I always had to go to second, and make multiple attempts tapping down gently.

As soon as I drained the oil and got the correct amount in, she's back to smooth like butter.

/end rant/

I think everyone on this board has done that, or will eventually, I sure have. The first thought is "WTH ? My bike is dying ! The tranny is gone ! Ohz Noz!" then a little rational thought, a visit to gstwins, or the manual, and blammo all is well !

Yeah, my bike has always shifted soooo smooth, then my hubby changed the oil on his bike, a few days later we ride, and I am having a hard time finding neutral...   
I think it's my toe is having a spaz or something, then I'm feeling like an idiot the next time out too. I check my oil, it's up above the F, not much but NOT where it was when my bike's oil change was done, it was spot on then! I'm thinking WTF??? 

Then it occurs to me, husband probably had a little oil left over, figures my bike burns it (not much with the new synthetic though!) and "tops it off".

He won't admit it, but he's an inveterate liar and a coward when caught doing something he shouldn't have that effs stuff up for ME, so I can't think of any other explanation that doesn't involve strange LGM or those bad little bike gnomes in the Progressive motorcycle insurance commercials...

Sneaky, passive aggressive bugger. I should just kick his ass on general principles for stuff like that, because for everything I catch him in, there's probably 10 more I don't. But I do love the snot out of him, he sort of can't help it, he was raised on a raft by wolves.. 

Quote from: Teek on May 02, 2008, 04:09:06 PM
Sneaky, passive aggressive bugger. I should just kick his ass on general principles for stuff like that, because for everything I catch him in, there's probably 10 more I don't. But I do love the snot out of him, he sort of can't help it, he was raised on a raft by wolves.. 

Quote from: Teek on May 02, 2008, 04:09:06 PM
Sneaky, passive aggressive bugger. I should just kick his ass on general principles for stuff like that, because for everything I catch him in, there's probably 10 more I don't. But I do love the snot out of him, he sort of can't help it, he was raised on a raft by wolves.. 

LOL !!!

Quote from: Teek on May 02, 2008, 04:09:06 PM
Yeah, my bike has always shifted soooo smooth, then my hubby changed the oil on his bike, a few days later we ride, and I am having a hard time finding neutral...   
I think it's my toe is having a spaz or something, then I'm feeling like an idiot the next time out too. I check my oil, it's up above the F, not much but NOT where it was when my bike's oil change was done, it was spot on then! I'm thinking WTF??? 

Then it occurs to me, husband probably had a little oil left over, figures my bike burns it (not much with the new synthetic though!) and "tops it off".

He won't admit it, but he's an inveterate liar and a coward when caught doing something he shouldn't have that effs stuff up for ME, so I can't think of any other explanation that doesn't involve strange LGM or those bad little bike gnomes in the Progressive motorcycle insurance commercials...

Sneaky, passive aggressive bugger. I should just kick his ass on general principles for stuff like that, because for everything I catch him in, there's probably 10 more I don't. But I do love the snot out of him, he sort of can't help it, he was raised on a raft by wolves.. 

props to Wolverine for being so thoughtful.

i have found on my 89 01 and 04 that if the oil is topped up just right that neutral is easier to find.  a rule of thumb that i use is that once neutral begins to get harder to find is to top up the oil and that fixes it for me

Never had a neutral finding problem here...   

My bike is SPECIAL!   

Hey Frankie, of course I know you never over fill your '01, but mine when it's low doesn't have trouble with neutral that I can remember, only when high. Where exactly do you feel it is where the reading should be? Like I said, mine is a few hairs over the top of the F. I may take my turkey baster out or find some tubing and pull a little oil out from the filler cap hole, because this is making me feel reallly inept.

Also, the bike used to comparatively burn a ton of oil when I was using dinosaur 10/40, but with the synthetic it seems very stable (my Wolverine ( ) also mostly doesn't believe anything I tell him about the nature of the GS, he must see it to believe it, hence topping off my bike, figuring it would be gone in a few weeks via burning as he had seen that in action, so now he says no way high oil would affect neutral).

Anyone who can tell me why it would slow it down, is it running cooler with the synthetic or is it my valve adjustment making it run cooler, or? 

Teek, I think you should start doing your own wrenching! 

I actually do at least half of it, anything he does that isn't done behind my back without my knowledge       is, well... under my supervision...   

oh i have overfilled a bit but don't worry much about it to be honest...i am running synth too