clutch plate soak didn't help. ack!

[dean]

since picking up my 07 new, the clutch has been grabby. it's been especially bad recently. i even think of releasing the clutch and it starts engaging. in the a.m., the bike will pull me forward, despite having the clutch pulled in. it gets better when warm, but still the clutch engages way too early.

i had a buddy of mine, a former mechanic (chris, henry, and eric of the fj list, if you're paying attention, i'm talking about bill) soak the plates overnight. he also checked for glazing and took care of that, as well as checking to make sure the plates were in spec. he brought it over today and said it really didn't make any difference. ack!! he said he'll try bleeding the lines, just to be on the safe side.

i would consider leaving it at the dealer overnight (i have the y.e.s.), but when he went to one yamaha dealer and was talking to that mechanic about the fjr clutch sticking issue, that mechanic had never heard of it being an issue with fjr's. ack!!

he's wondering if swapping out the clutch master of the fjr (14mm bore) to an fj (5/8 i think?) would help.

he also said some m/c-specific oils might help to reduce the problem, but i really don't want to rely on using one specific brand of m/c oil to remedy a clutch issue. he commented he felt there was very, very little oil getting to the clutch when in motion.

any other suggestions?

thx.

 

[ridgerunner88]

Sounds like an air bubble in the line to me.

 

[manwhoride]

I had experienced a similar yet not exactly the same problem. It was a clutch issue all the same. Although, I did not soak the clutch plates I changed the oil exactly on time, and now the part where it may have been coincidence. I moved the clutch lever adjusting ring from the # 5 position to the #3 position and whala, the clutch now engages when and where it should. My problem was downshifting and cold engaging into first gear. See if you get lucky… if you do, spread the word about my genius. Na, dumb luck…

 

[C&C]

I would definitely try bleeding the clutch circuit (as the earlier poster mentioned). You will also have to rule out a bad master cylinder or slave cylinder (perhaps a rebuild of the innards).

 

[JuiceMcGoose]

With the clutch lever adjusted to number 1, the bike running and in first gear, how much lever movement do you have before the bike starts to move? Neither the owners manual or shop manual give a distance but without measuring mine I'm thinking it's about 3/4" to 1". So if you have about 3/4" movement and you can sit there with the clutch in for a few minutes, and it's still at 3/4", then I don't think your problem is in the hydraulic system.

What cold weight oil did he soak the plates in? (as the 5 in 5w-40) I think the lower the cold weight the better.

I did the "soak", but for me it was a "wipe", and I think mine should be better too. I was thinking of leaving the wire out that holds the last two plates together. I don't see the reason (might help with clutch shutter) for it and I think the wire may be holding those last 2 plates together more than the rest of them.

 

[dean]

With the clutch lever adjusted to number 1, the bike running and in first gear, how much lever movement do you have before the bike starts to move? Neither the owners manual or shop manual give a distance but without measuring mine I'm thinking it's about 3/4" to 1". So if you have about 3/4" movement and you can sit there with the clutch in for a few minutes, and it's still at 3/4", then I don't think your problem is in the hydraulic system.
What cold weight oil did he soak the plates in? (as the 5 in 5w-40) I think the lower the cold weight the better.

I did the "soak", but for me it was a "wipe", and I think mine should be better too. I was thinking of leaving the wire out that holds the last two plates together. I don't see the reason (might help with clutch shutter) for it and I think the wire may be holding those last 2 plates together more than the rest of them.

juice,

my buddy still has the fjr, so i can't say. i have the clutch lever at the 5 position (or is it 4? whatever gives me the shortest distance), and literally as soon as i start releasing the lever, the clutch starts engaging. i'll check what the distance is with is in the 1 position when i get it back. i'll also check what weight he used, thx.

 

[JuiceMcGoose]

With the clutch lever dial at 1 there is 1 3/4" between the lever and the stock grip when the clutch starts to engage on my '05 with 8600 miles.

 

[JuiceMcGoose]

Ten days ago wiped my clutch plates with Rotella 15W-40 oil and it made my clutch stickiness a little worse. I don't know what oil was run in it the 8K miles but probably some 10-40.

This time I soaked the plates in Rotella syn 5W-40 for 3 days (one day is probably enough, I got hung up on other stuff) and left the wire retainer for the last two plates out (I don't like it) and the clutch stickiness is much better. I think the biggest reason for improvement is the lighter cold weight of the oil.

The way I test it, besides riding, is use the center stand, put it in first gear, reach to the back tire in front of the left side hard luggage, pull the clutch and see how hard it is to brake the wheel loose initially. I also judge how easy I can get the wheel to turn once broken loose. Every time you let go of the clutch lever and squeeze it again it takes a certain amount of pressure to get the wheel moving again. I think this has to do with surface tension of the oil between the plates. The lighter the oil, the less the surface tension and the easier it is to both get the clutch slipping and keep it slipping.