Clutch rougness when cold

[DiasDePlaya]

Hello everyone,

My beloved FJ1300AS (AE in USA) have 40.000 km and now have a little roughness that I don't like: When cold the first time that I move the bike in the morning the bike start like a horse with little jumps. Just one minute latter, when the engine get some temperature start to work as smooth as usual.

What is happening with my clutch? Somebody knows?

Regards from Chile, the earthquaked country.

 

[FJRless]

I'm certainly no expert on the AE (having owned one for a month) but it sounds like an oil application issue. You might want to make sure the correct oil and level are in the crankcase.

 

[Silverbullet]

Both my '06 AE (which had almost 40k miles when I sold it a couple of months back) and my current '08 will often have a small amount of "chatter" in the clutch the first time I ride it for the day. It never repeats itself and only does it as I pull away for the first time that day. It doesn't repeat the issue after I stop for the first time (the first stop sign I come to etc) even if it is only a short distance, say less than a mile. I've tried varying the warm-up procedure with no success. One thing that did work for me most of the time was after the bike was warmed up and I was ready to go, I would kick the bike in and out of gear a couple of times. Usually though, I just accepted it was "the nature of the beast" and didn't give it much thought. A few other AE owners have reported the same condition and while it may be a bit un-nerving at first, it doesn't seem to be an indication of anything amiss with the clutch. My '08 does it a bit less than the '06 but still has the same condition on occasion. On my '06 I had the dealer look at it when it was new but they had no real idea of the cause and at the time Yamaha didn't have any ideas either from what the dealer told me. They bled the system as a precautionary measure but it didn't make any difference. I thought about doing the "clutch disc soak" but never bothered as I wasn't all that concerned about it. From what I read in your post however, this is a condition that has only recently occured on your bike. If it doesn't change or get worse I'm guessing you have what is apprently "typical" operation for a lot of the AEs and for whatever reason it has only now shown up with your bike.

 

[302]

When was the last time you replaced the spark plugs?

 

[Fred W]

I'd second the oil question. What kind'a whale jizz you running in there? Try changing it to something else, preferably unused oil.

But FWIW, the A's don't do this.

 

[DiasDePlaya]

When was the last time you replaced the spark plugs?

Just some weeks ago. Today I replaced the oil for another brand, but nothing changed.

 

[DiasDePlaya]

I'd second the oil question. What kind'a whale jizz you running in there? Try changing it to something else, preferably unused oil.




But FWIW, the A's don't do this.

Sorry, but I'm not good with English and I didn't got what did you mean

 

[Fred W]

Sorry. I was trying to be humorous and didn't notice you were not an Amurican.

"whale jizz" is a euphemism for the (expensive) oils marketed by Yamaha, especially the synthetic gear lube recommended for the FJR final drive. In any case, I do think you should check (and change) the type of engine oil you are using to be sure that isn't causing the clutch shuddering.

[edit] I just noticed that you already have done this. What sort of oil are you using?

My other comment was a(nother attempted humorous) dig, this time at the AE's (auto clutches). The regular clutch bikes don't have these juddering problems when cold, but I'm sure being manually operated they are less sensitive.

Good luck with your problem.

 

[FJRless]

When was the last time you replaced the spark plugs?

Just some weeks ago. Today I replaced the oil for another brand, but nothing changed.

OK, now I'm thinking you may not have gotten one of the spark plug cables back on the plug fully. Make sure they're snapped on. Could happen to antone. Happened to me many moons ago.

 

[DiasDePlaya]

I never used the Yamaha oils. I'm mechanical engineer and I worked in Shell oil company years ago in the technical area, then I have professional experience about motor oils and I know how oils are produced and how brands like Yamaha buy oils from main oils companies and sell the oils like "original brand" when the oils are produced by Exxon, Shell or any big oils company, I will never pay for Yamaha oil if I can buy the same or better oil directly from the oil company.

I reviewed the spark plugs cables and found one loose, and all the others wasn't fully back on.

 

[copron]

Mine does the same thing if I try to take easy for the first time. If I just give it a healthy bit of throttle on take off it doesn't do it.

 

[FJRless]

I reviewed the spark plugs cables and found one loose, and all the others wasn't fully back on.

Did re-installing the cables fix the problem?

 

[DiasDePlaya]

I reviewed the spark plugs cables and found one loose, and all the others wasn't fully back on.

Did re-installing the cables fix the problem?

Not, the problem didn't change. Anyway the bike run very much better now.