Clutch is sticking

[Pegasus]

Aaaand another one to forget. The tab washer on the clutch centre actually has two tabs. That's modern technology for ya!

So I suppose I'm just after opinions on blue (ish) plates and the importance of the pink marks.....

 

[900gc]

After changing to full-syn and 50 miles later the bike sat for about a week, let her warm up to two bars, clutch pulled in, kickstand is up, this time grabbed some front brake, popped it in to first and with a pretty good jolt trying to go forward it quits/stalls again. Put in to neutral, start it up again, pop it in to first and it goes in beautifully just like it should from the get go.

I'm a minimalist.So leave your bike in first gear when you park; on riding - gear up,

then push your bike back so it's headed out, still in first gear.

Only then start bike, first gear still engaged/clutch in, ride off within seconds.

Screw the engine warm up. Start it and ride. Problem solved.

This is what I do too. You only need to roll the bike a few inches forward or back to loose the clutch plates.

One test for clutch drag is to put the bike on the center stand, start, put in gear and see if the rear wheel still turns with the clutch lever pulled in. On my bike, the clutch can be engaged and disengaged over and over and the wheel will always stop spinning by itself (little drag). If you need to apply force to stop the wheel (excessive drag), then hopefully the suggested remedies ( system bleed, plate soak, etc. ) will solve the issue.

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Blue plates are a sign of clutch abuse.

I had clutch problems with a 2006 Triumph Sprint I bought "New" but it had 60 miles on it.

Evidently it was used for a lot of test rides.

When they tore into the clutch they said the plates were blue, meaning overheating.

 

[Steel_Gin]

After changing to full-syn and 50 miles later the bike sat for about a week, let her warm up to two bars, clutch pulled in, kickstand is up, this time grabbed some front brake, popped it in to first and with a pretty good jolt trying to go forward it quits/stalls again. Put in to neutral, start it up again, pop it in to first and it goes in beautifully just like it should from the get go.

I'm a minimalist.So leave your bike in first gear when you park; on riding - gear up,

then push your bike back so it's headed out, still in first gear.

Only then start bike, first gear still engaged/clutch in, ride off within seconds.

Screw the engine warm up. Start it and ride. Problem solved.

This is what I do too. You only need to roll the bike a few inches forward or back to loose the clutch plates.

One test for clutch drag is to put the bike on the center stand, start, put in gear and see if the rear wheel still turns with the clutch lever pulled in. On my bike, the clutch can be engaged and disengaged over and over and the wheel will always stop spinning by itself (little drag). If you need to apply force to stop the wheel (excessive drag), then hopefully the suggested remedies ( system bleed, plate soak, etc. ) will solve the issue.

Had a nice hard rain last night to wash all the salt off the roads and I will be taking her out for the first time tonight. Taking it to the dealer to have the inspection done and will ask if they can bleed the clutch to see if there is any air in the line. I will report back once with the results.

 

[Kc5]

I have the same problem with my 2012. It started at about 3000 miles. I took it in under warranty (which is now out) and they replaced the slave cylinder. This helped the sticky downshifting some. I am at 4500 miles now.

It didn't help my initial startup lurch into 1st gear. I can let the bike warm up for 5 minutes and pump the clutch lever for a few times and it will still jump and die. It may work the next time, after a re-start.

I now just start in 2nd gear for the first ride of the day. It will work fine for the rest of the day, but after sitting overnight, I'm right back where I started.

 

[Steel_Gin]

Didn't bring the bike over last night like I had planned. Called the dealer and he said they are swamped and wouldn't get to it until next week. I will report back once the work gets done.

Kc5, sounds like you are having the same issue I am. One thing I have figured out is if you really baby it when you shift it doesn't stick as bad when it's cold. What I mean is letting the clutch out very slowly when I shift and not down shifting to slow down when it's cold. Mine didn't start lurching/jumping until a couple weeks before putting it up for the winter. (put 8,000 miles on it last season) Will address that when I bring it in next week.

 

[Steel_Gin]

Dropped the bike off at the dealer on Tuesday and sort of happy to report it gave them a pretty big jump/lurch putting it in to gear. (Cold) They called Yamaha and they gave them the go ahead to open it up to take a look at the plates. The dealer told me there isn’t any sign of abuse but can defiantly tell where they stuck together over the winter. He could see a spot on them similar to not driving your car for a few months and seeing the spot on the brake rotors where the pads were. It was reported back to Yamaha and the response wasn’t very favorable, not sure exactly how the conversation went. The dealer is now in the process of tracking down the regional manager and seeing what they have to say. Needless to say I’m a bit bummed, considering after market clutch plates to see if that fixes the problem. With that said Yamaha really needs to setup here.

 

[Steel_Gin]

Great news, Yamaha has stepped up and the dealer got approval from the regional sales rep to clean up the clutch plates and soak them. He also had very specific instructions for me; as soon as it starts to stick just a little bit bring it in. Let’s hope I don’t have to bring it in again for this. I mentioned bleeding the hydraulic lines and they didn’t want to do that for two reasons, A) it shifts fine when it’s warm, if it was that it would do it hot or cold. B) Didn’t want to do two things and not know which one fixed the problem. I have to agree with them on A, several times 45 minutes to an hour after riding it the first for the day, I jump on and it shifted great.

Cross your fingers for me this fixes it this time. Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[Fred W]

Great news, Yamaha has stepped up and the dealer got approval from the regional sales rep to clean up the clutch plates and soak them. He also had very specific instructions for me; as soon as it starts to stick just a little bit bring it in. Let’s hope I don’t have to bring it in again for this. I mentioned bleeding the hydraulic lines and they didn’t want to do that for two reasons, A) it shifts fine when it’s warm, if it was that it would do it hot or cold.

Didn’t want to do two things and not know which one fixed the problem. I have to agree with them on A, several times 45 minutes to an hour after riding it the first for the day, I jump on and it shifted great.
Cross your fingers for me this fixes it this time. Thanks everyone for your help.

Wow!

This sounds like an absurdly intelligent shop.

Whatever you do, do not tell anyone else (besides me of course) where this shop is or else they'll have too much increase in service business and it will ruin them.

Hoping and expecting a positive outcome.

 

[Steel_Gin]

I know this is very late in reporting but didn’t because I thought I’d jinx myself if I did before the end of the season. After the second soak I was told when its cold let it warm up until the RPMs drop to 1000 or lower then pull in the clutch, rev it a few times, release it, pull it back in and put it in gear. (I only revved up to 3-4k.) I was told it would help break the plates loose if they were sticking. I’d rather not have to do that but I followed directions and have not had a problem in almost 8000 miles. (I parked it for the winter just a few days ago.) About 5000 miles after soak number two, just to test (in the morning) I waited until the RPMs drop to below 1000 and I didn’t rev it; I could see a difference when putting it in to gear for the first time as well as the first few shifts, it was sticking just a very little bit. I did that twice with the same results. Now every time I let it warm up until the Rs drop to 1000, rev a few times and I’m off. It has been fine ever since and shifts great.

If anyone has this problem it would be interesting to know if revving a few times solves the problem before doing a clutch soak. In my case that might have been a solution, but it could be a combination of the two as well. I’ll try to report back next season if warm up - rev combination still works.

Every bike I have owned has had something unique about them, nothing major just strange, so I guess my FJR is no different. Looking at the big picture there are many things I love about this bike. With that in mind the extra minute or two I have to wait for it to warm up is easily over looked and look forward to seeing if I can join the 100k club…. only 85k left to go.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and suggestions on this issue.

Happy riding!!

 

[bwv]

I always pull the clutch in and the blip the throttle to break the plates loose when starting out from cold. It eliminates the crunch into gear and makes it just click in nice.

Once the bike is warm and has been driven, even just a couple feet, I dont need to do that. But it's always needed on start from cold, first time into gear... or theres a crunch. I do not consider it abnormal for a big wet clutch like this.

I have about 4500 miles on mine..I did the clutch soak around 1000 miles (the clutch was rediculously sticky and covered in black sticky goop (clicky for goop pics))

Thanks to the forum members advice about the soak procedure(and how easy it is), this thing shifts amazing now. But it does still need the squeeze and rev to go into gear nice the first time.

 

[Bounce]

Another thread is starting up at:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/155274-clutch-plates-sticking/

I'm referring them here, so they can take advantage of the pre-existing discussion and the lessons learned from other members; consolidating the answers for easier finding.

 

[Bustanut joker]

Another LMAO situation here.. Kinda absurd actually.

 

[Bounce]

Misunderstanding on my part about Bust's comments. PMs clarified it and apologies on my part for reading them as comments to the post right before his instead of his intent to encourage people to notice existing, active threads on the same subject.

No warns ever made (indicating that even the misunderstand was very low level)

Unhides completed.

 

[Bustanut joker]

I guess I should clarify what winds up me shorts when I post eh?

 

[HotRodZilla]

No you jackoff...You should stop drinking so goddammed much.

Now...Back to sticky clutches:

 

[Bounce]

Actually, we clarified that wasn't the case either.

 

[supertankerm60a3]

Another way to 'break the clutch plates free' quickly so you do not have to wait until it is warmed up. Put it in gear, squeeze the clutch and rock it back or forth before you start it. I commute with mine and don't have time to let it sit in the mornings, Usually I will feel it let go during the 'rock', by the time I am at 2 bars, (gen 1, 2 bars is operating temp. 1 bar is 4 blocks out) I am just getting to the freeway.

 

[Bogus]

Just my two cents but on the first time shifting into first, I always blip the throttle to break free the clutch plates and have had no problems. BWT, the RPM's should never drop below 1000, but stay at 1100 when warmed up.