road runner
Well-known member
Had same exact problem. Had clutch saok under warranty. SHIFTS GREAT NOW. Has nothing to do with the lever or slave cylinder travel.
Clutch not disengaging
- Thread starter johnniegoldfish
- Start date
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ELP_JC
Well-known member
Yes it does. Let me ask you a simple question: Have you ever heard of any other bike needing this 'fix' before? In my 14 years of riding, and my 10 years of reading a lot of internet boards, I haven't. Neither has it been mentioned on any of my service manuals.
Glad you're satisfied now, but tearing the clutch apart to 'wet' plates is NOT normal, especially on a new bike. And the potential bad news for you is if you don't use your bike for a few weeks, you'd be back to square one. The better bandaid is synthetic oil IMO. Take care.
JC
dhalen32
Well-known member
ELP:
I have an '06A and experienced these same symptoms of difficult downshifting last fall. Yamaha authorized the clutch plate soak and my dealer was not entirely satisfied with the shifting after the soak so he also cleaned and bled the slave cylinder during the same visit. The bike shifts beautifully now but I don't really know what fixed the problem since they changed both variables at the same time.
Prior to the third shop visit when the plates were removed and soaked I looked at ways of lengthening the stroke of the mechanism, bled the slave cylinder myself and adjusted the hand lever to allow the longest travel but down shifts were still extremely difficult. Due to the design of a motorcycle transmission's dog rings I never perceived a problem with upshifts but it really could have been a "dry" clutch from the very beginning and all shifts, up and down, were affected. Keep in mind with these new stacked transmissions that are all the rage now the clutch doesn't live low in the case (and the oil contained therein) like it used to. It's just possible that Yamaha knows what they are talking about and that a proper soaking of those clutch linings really does cure the problem. Just a thought.
Dave
Good luck with your dealer. My 07 is doing the same thing. Took it to the dealer. Sat there for seven days, appeared they didn't do a thing till I called on the seventh day asking about the status of the bike. Answer was "we can't duplicate the problem." Bike was filthy and they scratched the inside surface of the windshield. I'm taking it to another dealer.
otrfjr
Don't tell Mom
They changed the shape, and I believe the volume, of the master cylinder. Oh yeah, they changed the location of the clutch from Gen I to Gen II to accommodate the AE YCCS.
I'm on clutch #2 & have been having difficulty both upshifting and downshifting--again. Had an appointment tomorrow to take it to a non-****-for-brains Yamaha certified service center. Just for kicks & giggles, I bled the clutch this morning: so much air there was foam. Now, this is after changing the slave cylinder to a Gen I (& the bike behaved perfectly after that flush & bleed of the system) two months ago. Since I bled the clutch twice after the swap--waiting a day to do the second bleed--and was getting pure fluid with no air on both, I'm leaning toward the notion that air is being introduced somewhere somehow. How can I get a Yammie service center to document something like that? It's shifting like a dream now (although still notchy between 1st & 2nd). Anyone else discover air in the clutch system after having confirmed that the air wasn't there before?
I'm on clutch #2 & have been having difficulty both upshifting and downshifting--again. Had an appointment tomorrow to take it to a non-****-for-brains Yamaha certified service center. Just for kicks & giggles, I bled the clutch this morning: so much air there was foam. Now, this is after changing the slave cylinder to a Gen I (& the bike behaved perfectly after that flush & bleed of the system) two months ago. Since I bled the clutch twice after the swap--waiting a day to do the second bleed--and was getting pure fluid with no air on both, I'm leaning toward the notion that air is being introduced somewhere somehow. How can I get a Yammie service center to document something like that? It's shifting like a dream now (although still notchy between 1st & 2nd). Anyone else discover air in the clutch system after having confirmed that the air wasn't there before?
RadioHowie
I Miss Beemerdons!
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Took bike to second dealership. This one said clutch is sticking. Will take it apart under warranty and soak the clutch plates in oil. Service Mgr. said that should solve the problem. Amazing how one dealer had bike for seven days and said there was no clutch problem. Second dealership takes less than five minutes to determine that clutch is sticking.
Follow-up. I'm taking my '07 FJR to Power Yamaha in Sublimity, OR. I spoke with the service manager (Fred) last week, and explained the problem and what others on this forum have had dealers do to correct the problem). He never heard of the problem, but said he would call Yamaha and call me back (fair enough). He called me back the next day, saying that Yamaha wants me to take the bike to the dealer and have them bleed the clutch (only). No mention of clutch plate soak. So, I'll let them bleed the clutch and see what happens. The bike has nearly 2500 miles. I changed to Mobil 1 15W-50 after my 8/16 post, and it definitely helped, but the clutch still isn't disengaging properly. I'll keep y'all informed of how this turns out.
- Scott
Got the bike back today from the second dealership. What a world of difference. They took the clutch apart and soaked the friction plates in engine oil. End of clutch sticking problem. Too bad there is such a difference in customer service philosophy between dealerships.
otrfjr
Don't tell Mom
VanHarlan
Well-known member
4,000 miles on my 07 and I just dropped her off Friday for the same problem - told the dealer service manager that I'm not the only one and what the cure seems to be at this point. My clutch was so stuck that when I was sitting in neutral and shifted into first the bike stalled itself out - and I have the wicked delay on down shifting. Once she's good and hot it seems to go away.
jcrouch
Member
My symptoms were identical to Vanharlan's. My most excellent dealer in Watsonville, Ca. took apart the clutch, examined it and found unusual wear on some of the friction plates. They installed a brand new clutch under warranty, fully soaked in oil for 24 hours of course, and verified the oil galleys were clear and functional. I don't think my clutch worked this good the day I bought it. I thought I should add my experience to this thread. This is at 4,800 miles, but it been a problem pretty much the whole time since I bought it. You sort of put up with it because sometimes it doesn't deem as bad and you think it's going to go away. I had them check it at my 4k service and they ran with it from there.
VanHarlan
Well-known member
Delear called today - you gotta love Yamaha - they told the dealer they haven't heard of this issue of the clutch not disengaging right away . . . . . . but as a courtesy they'll allow the dealer to soak my plates for 36 hours . . . . . I originally went in armed to the teeth with info about the problem and the dealer said the told Yamaha I had a lot of info about the issue. Anyhow, I'm glad it's getting done. Thanks for the favor Yamaha . . . . geez.
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jcrouch
Member
Yamaha told my dealer the same B.S. about never having heard of it before. I advise asking your dealer to closely examine the plates, as the defects on mine were kind of subtle to my uneducated eye. Motorcycle Consumer News just arrived yesterday with the FJR1300 Owner Survey results. Sticky clutch plates are pointed out as a complaint, albeit pretty much at the bottom of the list. So there are are few of us out their. To Yamaha's credit, they did step up and give me a new clutch, but I credit my dealer equally for presenting my case well.
otrfjr
Don't tell Mom
Spot on: it's all about the dealership & whether it wants to go to bat for its customers. Yamaha is denying the problem exists and is attempting to hush it up via the divide and conquer strategy. After I brought up the anecdotal evidence (bunch of others havin' the same problem) and quoted the Moss-Magnuson Warranty Act, the customer service rep asked me point blank: What do we have to do so that this issue doesn't come up again? Rather ham-handed.
I noticed that Yamaha vaguely referred to changes in the transmission on the '08 models, so I'm guessing that is as close as they're going to come to an admission that something was funky in the part of the '07 models.
Legal disclaimer: all this is speculation and purely hypothetical.
I noticed that Yamaha vaguely referred to changes in the transmission on the '08 models, so I'm guessing that is as close as they're going to come to an admission that something was funky in the part of the '07 models.
Legal disclaimer: all this is speculation and purely hypothetical.
ELP_JC
Well-known member
The real question in my mind is if Yamaha got involved on the altitude sickness issue to fix '08s, or our '07s too. I've seen too many times manufacturers fixing problems on future bikes, but leaving previously afflicted ones for dead. We're not that many bikes, so I'm scared of the former tactic, but hope Yamaha does the right thing. Their silence on an official response is certainly not encouraging. With the '08s ready to start production, we should know soon enough.
There's little doubt the '07s are the worst FJRs of all, but if I get the surging issue fix, I'll be a happy camper. I like the bike, and plan to keep it for a long time. Later gang.
JC
There's little doubt the '07s are the worst FJRs of all, but if I get the surging issue fix, I'll be a happy camper. I like the bike, and plan to keep it for a long time. Later gang.
JC
SkooterG
Purveyor of Crooked Facts
No, that's not the real question.
Dude! This is a clutch problem thread. Save your bitching about your altitude problem for the appropriate threads. There are plenty of them out there.
FJRay
Well-known member
Better watch out or the infamous ELP will put you on his ignore list. There is a few of us there already. :yahoo:
