Fried Clutch anyone?

[ronjrieth]

Ok,

I did it. 1,200 miles on my 06 and I think I fried the clutch. I live on a sand road and we have had no rain in months. The construction trucks are eating our road up and I feathered my clutch in second gear working my way through a sandpit and think I fried it. It still runs acceptably but in fourth gear for example at 3500 rpm when I twist the throttle the rpms increase nicely without the corresponding bike speed increase.

Problem is what dealer do I trust to fix it (Central and Southeast Florida) and will Yamaha cover this under the warranty?

How big a job is it? What would a dealer charge to replace..any ideas? The worst thing is having to lay it up for a while!

Your thoughts appreciated

Ron

 

[Rogue]

Congrats... your the first I've heard of to fry an FJR clutch!

I would say take it to the dealer and don't tell him how you abused it.

Oh, if you have to pay... clutch plates should be $50-$100 and any mechanic should be able to do it in 1-1 1/2 hours easy.

 

[SkooterG]

You didn't fry the clutch.

This wet clutch design is pretty damned indestructable. Even foolhardy. There are FJRs with over 100,000 miles with their original clutch.

You would have to done something totally freakish to fry your clutch.

What makes you think you fried your clutch?

I am sure you may have heated it up pretty good and it probably behaved differently, but I doubt you fried it.

 

[Geezer]

Try changing your oil before you do anything else. Don't use any oil that has anti-friction additives.

A wet clutch can take a lot of abuse and normally the first thing to start acting up is the springs, which can weaken from repeated heating and cooling. That normally doesn't happen until after a lot of hard use.

I gotta ask, why were you feathering the clutch in second gear rather than just shifting into first?

 

[Windjammer]

+1 that you didn't fry the clutch. Most likely you just glazed the clutch plates from excess heat. Do as others suggested, change oil first. Once that's done, I'd try doing a few hard launches on dry pavement, "abusing" the clutch, to see if you can break the glaze off. If that doesn't solve it, a trip to the dealer will be required for them to disassemble and repair the clutch. This should be a warranty repair, and they may elect to replace the clutch plates rather than take the time to manually deglaze them.

 

[ronjrieth]

Thanks guys...first questions first...

Why do I feather it in 2nd instead of powering it in first....in deep sand...literally a couple of feet deep...the torque from first gear will spin the rear wheel sideways and you will dump the bike....don't ask me how I know. taking a street bike thru deep sand is nervewracking..after doing it for three years with ST's BMW LT's and my FJR's I have found the best way to do it is to keep the bike moving, as upright as possible without a lot of torque on the rear wheel..thanks for the thoughts on glazing vs. frying it...that could be it....I will give the dealer a shot at it in the morning. Will give you a follow up just in case I am the first clutch fryer....

Thanks again,

Ron

 

[SkooterG]

I repeat, what make's you think there is anything wrong with your clutch? How is it acting differently?

 

[ronjrieth]

I repeat, what make's you think there is anything wrong with your clutch? How is it acting differently?

Sorry Skooter..took a break. When riding in fourth gear, for example, between 2500 and 3500 rpm a sudden twist of the throttle causes the engine to rev significantly without the bike increasing speed...engine's going faster but the bike isn't. If power is applied gradually the bike responds and speeds up. Fom a standstill the bike will accelerate normally under a reasonable amount of throttle. I didnt try heavy throttle from a standstill.

RR

 

[Bounce]

2' deep sand???

Sounds like a case where you park the bike elsewhere, drive to get it, and ride from there on.

Or sell the FJR and get a V-Strom. or a KTM.

 

[ronjrieth]

2' deep sand???
Sounds like a case where you park the bike elsewhere, drive to get it, and ride from there on.

Or sell the FJR and get a V-Strom. or a KTM.

Bounce...no kiddin!

We live in a horse farm area and I have about a half mile to go before we hit paved roads. There is construction going on around us and the big trucks chew up the road base in certain places where they turn. But what really causes it is no rain- we have had one day of rain since the begiining of the year. A couple of days of rain and the road packs down again.

I have the same situation in New Mexico...about two miles of bad road till I get to pavement. Now there i do keep my bike in a storage unit and drive to it.

RR

 

[ronjrieth]

Dealer confirms bad clutch. I explained to dealer how I rode it...he didnt think that was the issue and we are replacing it next week.

Thanks for your thoughts..

RR

 

[Geezer]

Good. Hope the new clutch works out for you. I thought I had it bad with my gravel driveway. I have never ridden in deep sand.

 

[Toecutter]

Dealer confirms bad clutch. I explained to dealer how I rode it...he didnt think that was the issue and we are replacing it next week.Thanks for your thoughts..

RR

Which dealer? Sounds like a good one!

 

[SkooterG]

Sorry Skooter..took a break. When riding in fourth gear, for example, between 2500 and 3500 rpm a sudden twist of the throttle causes the engine to rev significantly without the bike increasing speed...engine's going faster but the bike isn't. If power is applied gradually the bike responds and speeds up. Fom a standstill the bike will accelerate normally under a reasonable amount of throttle. I didnt try heavy throttle from a standstill.

Yep. That there be a problem. Still don't think feathering it would have done that, but suppose it's possible.

Glad to hear your dealer is being so cooperative.

 

[ronjrieth]

yes, reaffirms my confidence in Yamaha and the dealer in Stuart, FL...Stuart Yamaha....they made a friend..

Ride safe...

RR

 

[markjenn]

One thing about clutches - if they're not abused, they'll last forever. But if you really slip one super hard and super fast, you can toast them in seconds. That's one reason a race bike often gets a new clutch after exactly one significant use (the start). I would think you could find a way to get thorugh this bad spot without being that hard on it (fewer revs), but I don't know your bad spot.

- Mark

 

[raclow]

Ronj:

I would be raising a little hell with the county you live in, or city, to have them start repairing some roads in your area. What ever the case may be...some repairs need to be done :angry:

 

[Penforhire]

Since your dealer is, um, dealing with it my comment doesn't matter. But... it is possible to "glaze" some clutches by excess slipping. This is not a ruined clutch but it can take quite some time to recover its friction properties. How do I know? I owned a Honda S2000 and to perform a sub-6-second 0-60 required a high-rev clutch drop (breaking rears loose to keep engine 'on the cam'). Early on I didn't know enough to side-step the clutch properly. I'd glaze it and it'd slip for a while. Always recovered.

 

[ronjrieth]

Thanks all for your thoughts...I will post the results of the repair. The sand road to my house is actually an easement and goes across all of our property. I wish it was a county road but it isnt...

Ride Safe,

Ron