Clutch not disengaging

[Zolton]

Ooops. Just read Roadrunners reply regarding this issue on another post. Sounds like I'd end up soaking the plates for a few days in 10W40 (synthetic in my case). How about the issue of contamination. What does one use on clutch plates to safely clean them up? Plus...how big a job is it to take the clutch plates out and perform this surgery? I've heard it's not that big a deal but is that compared to putting a man on the moon, or fixing a flat? :blink:

 

[FJstaR]

My clutch/oil story.

Bought 06 new no problems

Had 600 mi service at dealer (Yamalube 10/40) no problems

Did my own oil change at around 2000 mi changing to golden spectro 20/50 and slowly noticed more difficulties shifting and clunking into 1st. Blamed it on heavier oil and changed to golden spectro 10/40 within a 100 mi. Much better with infrequent misshift or dificuties getting into 1st from neutral but still happened especially when cold.

At ~2600 mi swithed to Mobil 1 4T 10-40 fully synthetic motorcycle racing oil. (Walmart with family members 10% employee discount)

No problems since to 4900 mi and due again for oil change. I have stocked up on Yamaha oil filters bought online at Seattle Motorsports and Cases of Mobile 1 from Walmart (not all stores stock and those that do might have 6 qts on the shelf).

I will keep you posted with any other problems but feel that the synthetic oil helped and sounds like the 07 problems may be worse than the 06.

 

[KY Ridge-runner]

:clapping: Obermeyer called last week. A Yamaha factory technician droppped by and authorized him to purchase a new clutch and side panel for my bike. Up to this point Obermeyer had been dealing with Yamaha human resources department, which apparently will not admit/commit to anything. I suspect the new clutch will dry out just like the original b/c the lubrication problem has not been corrected. It's too cold (for me) to ride in Indiana right now, so I'll let you know next spring.

For what it's worth, I did ride 2kmi after the clutch soak with the clutch lever set on full stroke & had no issues. I have been running Mobile fully sysnthetic oil since the break-in was over at 1kmi. The oil had been changed several times to try to remedy the sticky clutch and I actually saved it to run in my dirtbikes b/c it looked like new oil! The dirtbikes love it.

 

[johnniegoldfish]

Hey Kids,

After a lot of bogus dealers and mechanics and letters where I started to say "safety" which is certainly a fact, Yamaha answered by totally replacing the clutch and saying there was some type of packing grease left on the clutch, but all very vague.

Bottom line is that it was all under warranty if not very timely, but because they were so slow it is in storage at the dealer and I've not had a test drive.

Anyone having problems with the 07 and the clutch not disengaging. Pull in clutch and wait literally 2 seconds before clutch will disengage, blipping the trottle helps, just changed oil at 2k and bled clutch to check for air. Any Ideas?

 

[rocketman]

I put a lot of the symptoms together and have a theory. (which may be totaly false) Maybe the clutches were put in dry at the factory. They figured, hell it wil get oiled when they start it up. The clutch sits above the oil and maybe the oil spray over the top doesn't get all the plates. My bike was clunky when i got it. But around 500 mile it started to stick and get worse with each ride. Maybe there were still some dry disks and when you sit at a red light with the clutch in on first gear these dry plate and disks rub together. Somewhere a sticky substance gets on these plates, maybe from the dry rubbing. When the subtance is cold it sticks like glue. When you break it loose it's still sticky, but when it's warmed up it's not as bad, but still sticks if the plates and disks are clamped together for a few miles.

 

[rocketman]

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq

NHTSA Link for NHTSA Vehicle complaints

Complaint Only Complaint for 07 FJR1300 Clutch problem

 

[NMRoadRunner]

Same happened to minw when new, the Yamaha guys thought I didn't know what I was talking about, got in a big argument with thier "Best Boy". Anyway I got really aggressive with the clutch and it went away after about 4500miles. If you fill the oil to spec, it looks low on site guage, Don't add a little more to level, this will cause the clutch plates if fill with oil and they won't release because of they stick together. Don't be afraid of the revs!

 

[rfulcher]

Mine is at the shop to be evaluated tomorrow morning. My bike has 11000 miles and had the problem at around 4000 miles, It went away when I changed to Mobil 1. However the problem is starting to show up again and seems to be worse with cold tempertures.

Has anybody with a sticking clutch fixed with the clutch plate soak cure had the problem return?

Has anybody had the problem with an 07 after installing an 05 slave cylinder.

 

[vabrzn]

Mine is at the shop to be evaluated tomorrow morning. My bike has 11000 miles and had the problem at around 4000 miles, It went away when I changed to Mobil 1. However the problem is starting to show up again and seems to be worse with cold tempertures.
Has anybody with a sticking clutch fixed with the clutch plate soak cure had the problem return?

Has anybody had the problem with an 07 after installing an 05 slave cylinder.

I had the problem with my 07; removed the clutch plates, cleaned assembly lube off several of the plates, and soaked the plates in oil overnight - problem solved. It appeared to me the assembly lube that did not get flushed out of several of the plates was preventing oil from reaching the plates which caused them to stick.

 

[sammon287]

I had the problem with my 07; removed the clutch plates, cleaned assembly lube off several of the plates, and soaked the plates in oil overnight - problem solved. It appeared to me the assembly lube that did not get flushed out of several of the plates was preventing oil from reaching the plates which caused them to stick.

Did you do this yourself? Difficulty level? Gaskets required? I'm loathe to take anything to the dealer that I can do myself. Didn't buy it locally and don't want to jump through warranty hoops if my mild sticking gets worse.

 

[38 Ford]

Hi, When I carried my 07 with 1700 miles in to have the ecu replaced I had the Dealer keep the bike overnight so he could see how bad the clutch was when the bike was cold. I was told there was nothing wrong with it an it was like all other FJRs. I could not stand the jerk and clunk of 1st gear.

First I bought a 05 slave cylinder and put it on. When I first installed it I had to use # 1 on the adjustment of the lever to get full engagement of the clutch. I noticed that the ball of the lever was hitting the grip before the rest of the lever. I kept bending the last couple of inches of the lever out until the lever hit the grip all the way down it. I am now able to run the adjustment on #4 where I want it to be at and still get full movement of the slave cylinder. Can also use #5 if I want to.

This just made the lever easier to pull and had no effect on the clutch disengaging.

I then pulled the clutch plates out and found a heay grease like substance on the back 3 friction plates. Wasn't much but it was there anyway. They were cleaned with paint thiner and a wire brush.

4 of the friction plates looked semi oiled while the rest looked like they were soaked with oil. They were all cleaned and soaked for 24 hours and then reinstalled.

The outside clutchdisk plate was checked and it was out of balance by 1/2 an ounce so I fixed that also like mentioned in an post before.

GUESS WHAT. It works perfect now even after sitting for 2 weeks it will not jerk or clunk when first putting it in gear. :yahoo: I can put the bike in gear when cold,gab the clutch and push the bike in gear with no problem now. Before I really had to rock the bike to geat the clutch to disengage.The only problem I still have is after about 4 hr. of riding 4th and 5th gears are hard to shift into useing the clutch. Works perfect if I don't use the clutch. I had this problem before I took the clutch apart. Anyone else have this problem.

Have a great week Harold

 

[vabrzn]

I had the problem with my 07; removed the clutch plates, cleaned assembly lube off several of the plates, and soaked the plates in oil overnight - problem solved. It appeared to me the assembly lube that did not get flushed out of several of the plates was preventing oil from reaching the plates which caused them to stick.

Did you do this yourself? Difficulty level? Gaskets required? I'm loathe to take anything to the dealer that I can do myself. Didn't buy it locally and don't want to jump through warranty hoops if my mild sticking gets worse.

Yes, did the work myself. How difficult is subjective... well, not hard at all, kinda fun actually.. You'll need a clutch cover gasket ( $8.00) and a torque wrench, a repair manual ( especially if you've never done this type of work before, be sure to torque per the manual- steel bolts and aluminum threads don't always get along)

What I do to prevent screwing up when I'm doing something I don't do very often:

Get a digital camera

Take a picture of each part before you take it off

Lay out newspaper within arms reach of where you're working

Lay each part you take off on the newspaper, in the same order you took it off

Put the bolts from that part in a container and put the container next to the part

Repeat until you've taken all the stuff off you need to

Take a picture of all the parts on the newspaper which will be in the right order

Put everything back on in the reverse order you took it off

This helps out a lot particulary when thrust washers and such are involved, what seems obvious when you take it off can become a big puzzle when you go to put things back together.........

 

[sammon287]

I had the problem with my 07; removed the clutch plates, cleaned assembly lube off several of the plates, and soaked the plates in oil overnight - problem solved. It appeared to me the assembly lube that did not get flushed out of several of the plates was preventing oil from reaching the plates which caused them to stick.

Did you do this yourself? Difficulty level? Gaskets required? I'm loathe to take anything to the dealer that I can do myself. Didn't buy it locally and don't want to jump through warranty hoops if my mild sticking gets worse.

Yes, did the work myself. How difficult is subjective... well, not hard at all, kinda fun actually.. You'll need a clutch cover gasket ( $8.00) and a torque wrench, a repair manual ( especially if you've never done this type of work before, be sure to torque per the manual- steel bolts and aluminum threads don't always get along)

What I do to prevent screwing up when I'm doing something I don't do very often:

Get a digital camera

Take a picture of each part before you take it off

Lay out newspaper within arms reach of where you're working

Lay each part you take off on the newspaper, in the same order you took it off

Put the bolts from that part in a container and put the container next to the part

Repeat until you've taken all the stuff off you need to

Take a picture of all the parts on the newspaper which will be in the right order

Put everything back on in the reverse order you took it off

This helps out a lot particulary when thrust washers and such are involved, what seems obvious when you take it off can become a big puzzle when you go to put things back together.........

Thanks for the response. I'm not afraid to rip into things and there has to be a first time for everything. I may do it at the next oil change.

 

[rfulcher]

If you have an 06-07 that shifts like a piece of farm equipment it may not have to be that way.

About a month ago my 07 with 11,000 miles was acting like the clutch was not disengaging. When the weather was warmer it shifted "just okay" but not great and tended to clunk when sifted into first from neutral. When it was cold, say temp in the 30s-40s, it was much worse with a very loud clunk and jumped when shifted into 1st from neutral. It up shifted okay if I used good technique. It only down shifted okay if I matched the RPMs perfectly. On occasion I would hear a loud click after I revved the engine to downshift, I think this was the clutch releasing. Took it in to the local shop and the service manager drove it on a warmer day. He said it shifted "notchy, but Yamahas tend to be that way." Nonetheless he agreed that something was not right given my description of the problem. The basic attitude around the shop was that it was normal, it was my fault, or I had caught it by reading about it on the internet. Pi55ed me off but I tried to stay mellow.

I had also had a problem with the clutch not releasing at around 3000 miles. On several occasions I had to hit the brakes to get the clutch to release when I pulled up to a stop with the clutch lever pulled all the way. This was scary. It went away when I changed the oil with Mobil 1. I think the Mobil 1 just covered up the problem of sticking clutch plates.

He pulled the clutch to look and found several clutch plates that were burned/worn. He tried to get it covered under warranty, momma yama refused saying it was a normal wear issue. He gave me the service reps number. I called and did the, "I have had a bunch of bikes, have been riding since 18, have never worn out a clutch, this touring bike should not wear out a clutch every 2nd oil change, etc, etc. The service rep agreed to talk to the service manager again. He got back to me and said the service manager backed me up as a good customer and not a bike abuser. I also have the YES plan and this was in my favor. The end result was Yamaha paid for new clutch plates and gasket and I got a discount on the service. I insisted they soak the clutch plates overnight, they were leaning toward just soaking for an hour or so but they humored me.

It was definitely worth the trouble. The bike shifts great now, goes in to neutral with quiet click, shifts up and down smoothly, and shifts as well as any bike I have ever owned. The improvement was so good that if this happens again I will pull the clutch myself if I can't get it covered under warranty. I think the cost should have been completely covered by the warranty but I am basically happy with the outcome. I love my bike :yahoo: .

 

[jcrouch]

My '07 experience is almost identical to RFULCHER's. My dealer backed me from the start though, so I got to skip some of the irritating intermediate steps some of us have been put through. I did put up with it for nearly 4 K miles before I spoke up. My plates were dry and had some abnormal wear as well. Got a whole new clutch, soaked overnight in oil and installed by a really good mechanic, and voila, PERFECTION ever since!! I have read some of the different theories in the previous pages. My conclusion is some of these FJR's clutches got installed dry at the factory and it's as simple as that. The real shame is Yamaha keeps telling everyone they've never heard of it before, and the rider probably abused the clutch and caused the problem themselves. I don't believe it. I am a repair technician in a hospital, and medical equipment manufacturers pull exactly the same s__t. It's exasperating and I wish I had a dollar for everytime I heard it. Even though the problems eventually seem to be getting resolved, I don't see why they don't simply cut to chase, fix these things, leaving a trail of satisfied Yamaha customers in their wake. Thank you for allowing me to vent.

Jay

 

[rocketman]

[SIZE=10pt]Yamaha just fixed my clutch and its working great, better than when it was new. I called the customer service line in [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]Irvine[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt], [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]California[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] and they said they didn’t know anything about the problem. I brought it to my dealer, he didn’t know either, but he called the service line and they said they have seen it before. They removed the plates and disks, wiped off the black stuff, inspected for thickness and warpage and soaked them in yamalube semi synthetic for 2 days. I tried it today at 32 degrees outside, after its 60 second warm-up it shifted up and down smooth as silk, sounds like clicking a ball point pen and if your really good it's silent. It was very frustrating until now. I wish Yamaha would let everyone know what's going on to save us all some grief. After all it is a safety issue and caused one accident and one broken transmission listed on this board. [/SIZE]

 

[johnniegoldfish]

Bike with less than 6k, clutch replaced is for sale, see sale thread 07 Vermont