09-09-2020, 05:53 AM
buckwheat, just one more point for your friend's oil change. The 750 Shadows usually have the dipstick towards the front of the engine (very early ones were aft of the clutch).
Several Shadow owners have tried checking oil level while the bike is idling, like you'd check the ATF on a car. Once they have the dipstick unscrewed, oil comes spraying out, so they try to put it back in quickly. If it isn't perfectly aligned, the metal tip of the dipstick can get lodged in the clutch/timing gear teeth.
This has mangled the dipstick tip or broken it off, or in a few cases, slightly indenting the gears enough to introduce a slight knocking noise. Engine off to check oil always, bike standing straight up, after it has warmed up a few minutes and then allowed to drain back down a few minutes.
Several Shadow owners have tried checking oil level while the bike is idling, like you'd check the ATF on a car. Once they have the dipstick unscrewed, oil comes spraying out, so they try to put it back in quickly. If it isn't perfectly aligned, the metal tip of the dipstick can get lodged in the clutch/timing gear teeth.
This has mangled the dipstick tip or broken it off, or in a few cases, slightly indenting the gears enough to introduce a slight knocking noise. Engine off to check oil always, bike standing straight up, after it has warmed up a few minutes and then allowed to drain back down a few minutes.