Starting around a month ago, I started having problems than when my bike was cold, and i haven't rode it in a while when I would first start the bike up and ride off, the clutch had a ton of play, and it would engage SUPER early, then after riding about 5-10 minutes it would go back to normal. Well, it slowly started getting worse. Yesterday, I was riding it only about ~15 minutes away from home, and had to turn back as the clutch was getting so bad I couldn't stay stopped without the bike pulling forward! I had it in first gear with the clutch lever pinned as hard as i could against the grips, and it kept pulling forward.. It got so bad that I would have to kill the bike at red lights, and when I wanted to move forward I couldn't start the bike with the clutch pulled in as it would die, as if it was still in gear, So I had let the clutch out, walk it, and LAY on the starter to lunge the bike forward and it would fire and take off. I just replaced the clutch plates around January. I've never had a problem with it slipping and still don't. I even hit it WOT 2nd-3rd on the way home yesterday and it held fine. I feel like this is a fluid or master cylinder problem? Maybe air in the lines?
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naughtyG
Well-Known Member
It sounds like you need to purge the lines and replace your fluid with fresh stuff - it should be done every 2 years minimum anyway as brake fluid absorbs moisture and becomes elastic.
Remember that you cannot bleed the clutch like you would do brakes - you must reverse bleed it, that is either use a MightyVac tool, or a big syringe to push fluid through the bleed nipple until it comes clear of bubbles into the master cylinder.
While you're at it, do check your whole clutch line, master cylinder and slave cylinder for leaks.
Remember that you cannot bleed the clutch like you would do brakes - you must reverse bleed it, that is either use a MightyVac tool, or a big syringe to push fluid through the bleed nipple until it comes clear of bubbles into the master cylinder.
While you're at it, do check your whole clutch line, master cylinder and slave cylinder for leaks.
Next time the clutch acts up in this fashion, you might check for an air bubble in the line right where it connects to the handlebar master. You may have a bubble trapped right there, and it is hard to get it to bleed all the way downhill to the caliper. Be sure to maintain an adequate level of fluid in the master so's it don't have an opportunity to splash around and end up pulling in a bit of air as you ride. (I've had that happen in the past on my Venture Royale.)
Don't bother trying to pull fluid to the slave bleeder. Reverse-bleed it as was mentioned, pushing the fluid from the slave bleeder up into the master cyl. That will push any trapped air out. There are plenty of threads about the reverse-flush. I use a 60 cc syringe & a short piece of clear plastic tubing, and a hose clamp to hold the tubing on the slave nipple. Be sure to have the master cyl open so you can remove excess fluid.
If you don't see any fluid leakage anywhere, then your problem is most-likely air still in the system. A bad hose could cause similar issues, just ballooning when you pull the lever and increase pressure, instead of forcing the pushrod to lift the pressure plate off the clutch pack.
If you don't see any fluid leakage anywhere, then your problem is most-likely air still in the system. A bad hose could cause similar issues, just ballooning when you pull the lever and increase pressure, instead of forcing the pushrod to lift the pressure plate off the clutch pack.
