Exhausts and Engine » Clutch dragging

2015 bike. 44,000 miles. It’s not had a hard life. Very occasionally the clutch seems to not disengage properly and gear changes up into 3rd can baulk. This has been from new so may not be related.
I recently noticed that when pulling the bike backwards out of the garage, in 1st with the clutch pulled in, it was harder work than normal.
I’ve just tried turning the rear wheel in first with a disengaged clutch. It’s not right, very hard to turn.
Has anyone had similar?
First thing will be to try flushing through new clutch fluid. It’s the blue mineral oil. The starter motor needs to come out and that’s a faff.
I’ll update.
Any ideas?

Peter

Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #2

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I don't recall anyone reporting a problem. Sounds like something is bent...

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I can confirm with a quiet confidence that nothing was 'bent'.

A guy on UKGSer suggested that his clutch started to drag before slipping at 42,000 miles. I've more miles than that so I took the bike out and tried to get the clutch to slip. Full throttle in 2nd does lift the front wheel! No slippage apparent.

Bleeding/flushing the clutch requires removal of the starter motor. I found that removing the exhaust system and having a short 30 Torx L tool made that job easier.

I flushed through with new fluid. I didn't have a hose of a small enough diameter (it's a tiny bleed nipple- Magura cycle sized) to look for air coming out and I just bled it into a bowl. The clutch was better. Not perfect but I could now turn the rear wheel by hand in 1st much easier than before. I was struggling to push the bike out of the garage in gear previously.

When cycling the clutch with the reservoir open I could see an emulsion of micro bubbles entering the reservoir when I released the lever. A symptom of failing master cylinder seals.

I rarely use gear shift assist and on the roads I ride I'm up and down the box all the time. So the master cylinder has seen a huge amount of use.

The master cylinder isn't a serviceable item. I bought a low mileage one from a R1250RS from eBay.

Having acquired the correct size bleed hose I went back to removing the exhaust system and starter motor etc.... I pulled the slave cylinder out to check it wasn't leaking and had a shock when oil dripped all over the floor, thankfully it was engine oil, red not blue. So the slave is good. I couldn't get the pushrod to separate from it though.

I fitted the replacement master cylinder and bled though with new fluid. I even back flushed by pushing the slave cylinder in several times, no air!, no micro bubbles.

New seals on the hose, new exhaust gaskets and the bike is all good. In 1st the rear wheel turns quite freely with the clutch held in.

Sorted. Updated in case anyone has the same issues.

Peter

I was out for my first ride since changing the clutch master cylinder yesterday. I good 150 mile route through a variety of Cumbrian roads and weather. It was down to 9 Celsius coming over Shap summit!

Not only has the clutch dragging problem gone, I'm left wondering if a problem I've had with the bike from new is also resolved.

Gear changing is now much cleaner, less 'notchy'. These issues often deteriorate slowly and it become apparent how much so when the fix is both complete and instant.

I rarely use Gear Shift Assist, in part because it is mechanically better the conventional way. I was playing around in town using it from third down to first a few times and it was perfect! I was particularly impressed with 2nd to 1st. Going up 1st to 2nd in low load situations was the usual lurch.

From new I've had an issue with the gearbox that I've learnt to live with. 2nd to 3rd, clutched change, it baulks in 2nd and needs some extra force to move the lever. Others have had this issue and it usually happens about every 10th change as a guess. Yesterday, 150 miles and it didn't occur once.

So I'm very pleased. Bike is going well and I also had a new Metzeler Roadtec 02 on the front (Roadtec 01SE on the rear). It was excellent as I've come to expect from Metzelers in mixed conditions.

Peter