Poor Clutch Take Up

Hi everyone

I've been riding my 01 fjr for nearly 3 years now and I've just noticed that the clutch does not bite hard when taking off in first gear compared to a car say - it is more of a smooth action

The point is that I had to start off at the bottom of an extremely steep hill recently and initially I thought the bike was not in gear as the bike would hardly move. I tried altering adjusting knob from my setting number 2 to 4 or 5 but I could not tell any difference. I got the bike going by very high revs but it was not an impressive start for such a powerful bike

I haven't read of any clutches needing replacement and my bike has only done 25k miles. Apart from rebleeding the fluid I can't see there is any adjustment possible other than a new clutch plate :glare:

Incidentally I do not have any problems changing gear

Any thoughts and TIA

25k miles is still pretty young for a FJR clutch. Bleeding effects the ability to DISengage the clutch. There were no confessions to doing silly things with the clutch such as racing so I have to ask, what have you been feeding it for engine oil, and what additives if any? It is possible that the clutch plates are glazed. There are things you can do to help glazed plates without having to disassemble the clutch pack but I won't endorse the abuse(?) that is required.

I would suggest you flush the system, rather than just bleed it. That fluid gets contaminated eventually just like anything. Dot 4, (3 is ok, 4 is better), and while you're at it, do the front and rear brakes too. Pretty quick and easy if you have a vacuum bleeder.

You may simply have bad fluid or air in the sytem.

Another possible cause is contamination to the clutch friction disks if you've been using oil with friction modifiers in it, (a.k.a. most auto oils).

At 25k, you shouldn't have apprecable wear, unless you've been abusing the clutch. Doesn't sound like you do that, but only you know for sure. I have 60k miles on my '04 and no issues with the clutch.

Not the best symptom description one could hope for-especially the hill start. The "high revs" comment, if clutch was fully engaged, means a junk clutch for sure, whether caused by oil, abuse, whatever. Otherwise, the statement is irrelevant. And I agree with Iggy, if air is in the hydraulics, would follow that the complaint would center on disengagement, not engagement. But if it's engaging poorly, and differently than you are accustomed to, then yes, you have a clutch problem. Anytime behaviour changes from the norm, time to start looking as to why. Mileage is not the issue, some machines receive a liftetime of use in a very short period, like those used in heavy traffic on a constant basis etc. Folks here tend to forget that life for a bike in Jolly Ol' is quite different than that here in the Colonies.

Thanks for your thoughts guys

The situation is that my bike has been really looked after, not thrashed

I use Motul 5100 4T Ester Blend 10W-40 which is a synthetic SPI SG spec and within the range approved by Yam uk. Oil and filter changed every 3k miles

Radman

Not sure why you said "Not the best symptom description one could hope for-especially the hill start. " How would you have wished me to have described the symptoms?

yamaha1300rider said:

The point is that I had to start off at the bottom of an extremely steep hill recently and initially I thought the bike was not in gear as the bike would hardly move. I tried altering adjusting knob from my setting number 2 to 4 or 5 but I could not tell any difference. I got the bike going by very high revs but it was not an impressive start for such a powerful bike

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This part. "Impressive start" does not convey info, only subjective opinion. Whats impressive to you? Wheelstanding lockup or torque converter like slip? In any case, I write up repair orders every day, usually takes at least 5 minutes of Q&A to get a clear idea of what the driver is experiencing. And you still haven't addressed the question I posed, as to the exact behaviour the bike displayed while attempting the hill. See the problem? Hard to diagnose without clear info as to exactly what happened.

radman said:

And I agree with Iggy, if air is in the hydraulics, would follow.....

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Wow! I must have The Kevorka. I've got radman complimenting me even when I don't post anything.

Either he's confusing my avatar with my fair fair friend down the Columbia several hundred miles.....or he's figured out time travel and complimenting this post in advance.

Not to disappoint.......ummm....yeah, there's air in your hydraulics. You need to replace that air with synthetic air.

Wow! I must have The Kevorka. I've got radman complimenting me even when I don't post anything.

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Tisn't the first time Rad has mixed up ionbeam and ignacio. In the past I've sent 'corrections' but this time the topic and the slip were too innocuous to bother.

You need to replace that air with synthetic air.

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If you can't find metric synthetic air you can substitute SAE nitrogen.

How bout Iggybeam? That should cover it either way........

ionbeam said:

Wow! I must have The Kevorka. I've got radman complimenting me even when I don't post anything.

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Tisn't the first time Rad has mixed up ionbeam and ignacio. In the past I've sent 'corrections' but time the topic and the slip were too innocuous to bother.

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Ahh! Then it's not an avatar thing. Washington and New Hampshire......nope. '05 vs. and '04......naw. Both have a razor sharp intellect....pretty doubtful.

Both are 1500 miles away from Lakeville, MN and he's confusing east and west......much more likely

yamaha1300rider said:

Hi everyone
I've been riding my 01 fjr for nearly 3 years now and I've just noticed that the clutch does not bite hard when taking off in first gear compared to a car say - it is more of a smooth action

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Yamaha1300rider, I posted a similar comment, but I don't think anybody understood. I think it is more in the nature with which the clutch engages. With a usual clutch, once there is engagement, then it is usually just pressure to create more "bite". All done with very little movement at the lever.

But with My FJR, it seams that that there is initial bite, then 1/8" more lever travel (letting out the clutch), but with no more bite, then another 1/8" more travel, still no more bite (plates just lightly engaging at about 20-30% capacity), then I let it out another 1/8" (still not making progress). Then finally over the course of the last 1/4" it seams that the clutch starts to progressively engage. No slipping, just a very slow take up on the power delivery.

Is this how your clutch feels. If so "I feel your pain". My only guess, is that maybe the clutch plates are slightly warped? That to me seems like my only guess.

Any other ideas, from all you forum dudes? :help:

It is really not the end of the world. But what happens if I get into a drag race with GSXR-750 and need to smoke him.