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Today I changed my oil on my SV for the second time. First one was around 500 miles with a filter change, this one was at 1800 with no filter change.

Before I changed my oil I noticed a recent phenomenon with my transmission: As I would slow down to a stop, and working my way down the gears, I found if I tried to go from 2nd to 1st prematurely (say around 18mph, clutch pulled all the way in), the transmission was unhappy. It'd grind and shake a bit and would "compromise with me" by going to neutral. Not a big deal at all, nothing that concerned me. I've been on bikes and in cars that do this.

But after today's oil change, it works down to first gear beautifully, every time, no grinding. Just like when I first got the bike.

So again I ask, oil really makes that much of a difference? The transmission uses the same oil as the engine, no? Can I expect these transmission issues with stale oil in the future? I'm hoping since my bike is new it needs frequent oil changes now but that will settle down as its broken in.

Well, oil is the blood of the engine. Anything ugly and dirty will make it unhappy, whether mild or noticeable. I've never been one to leave the filter on through oil changes. Its relatively cheap insurance.

I imagine you had some leftover junk in the oil and filter from that 500 mile change, which is still a real young age and you should expect some contaminants to be sluffed off, especially after another 1800 miles.

Like its always been said, oil changes and regular maintenance are cheap insurance. Also, keep tabs on which oils and weights work best in your machine (outside temps too). Stuff that works great in one SV may not work as well in another.

I would change the oil and filter together every time. I am a big
believer that the oil is the life blood of the engine. I change the
oil and filter earlier than the manual says also.

Type of oil may be a factor. Did you change brand, type, or viscosity of oil? Mine seems to shift nicer with synthetic. Or maybe my imagination.

Regards,

Perry