Oil selection and shifting quality…yikes, not again

[Paul De]

Oh-boy I don’t want to bring up all the territory covered in the linked thread which was a real  tail chaser,  but wanted to bring one part of the discussion back from the deep sleep to finally share some anecdotal experience about oil and shifting.

 
I had loaded up on OEM BMW consumables when the sole BMW motorcycle dealer in my old home town went out of business.  Anyway, I finally consumed the last of my stores of BMW Advantec Ultimate 5W-40 and decided to try the Liqui Moly 4T 5w-40 in place of the Advatec oil in my ‘15 Wethead.

 

Now that I’ve put on several hundred miles I would say there was a subtle improvement in shifting overall. So, yes Liqui Moly seemed make shifts smoother.  Now all the caveats.  When topped up after the oil filter was fully charged with oil,  I landed on the top of the red circle.  Some have claimed with the sump at max it hurts shift quality, but my experience was opposite of that experience.  I noted less engine clatter but I suspect it was due to fresh oil vs used up oil.  And maybe the true magic to the smoother shifting is the riding shoe I am using now has a stiff toe, which makes up shifts very positive and  use more of the full travel of the shift lever.  Lastly, maybe I just wanted it to shift better, so there is that bias too YRMV

FYI for those who want to go down memory lane of this big ‘ol thread…