clutch slipping.

[boston]

So about a month ago my clutch cable snapped, no biggy tho i was stuck. had it replaced at a shop and ever since then i thought my clutch has been slipping, until yesterday when i was bagging threw gears and it slipped at low rps.it seems fine at high rps.so any idea, need new clutch? can something be adjusted?

 

[mowgoli84]

I had a similar problem when mine snapped. When they adjusted the play in the lever they made it too tight, I backed the adjusment out a bit and that solved my problem.
maybe start there.

 

[boston]

How and where do I adjust, on the lever?

 

[RT Performance]

you need to adjust both the clutch through the primary window and then the cable.
you have to back off the cable.
the adjuster is under the boot below the lower triple near the voltage regulator.
the images help in the service manaul i think the mnauls are still in pdf at the top of this page

 

[skyroket]

Here's a picture of the rubber boot you can slide up to reveal the adjustment. It is NOT what the red arrow is pointing to. That is just another thing from another clutch cable thread I was posting in. Mine snapped about a month ago and I had to deal with this.

The important part of replacing the clutch cable is putting everything back the way it was. Sounds like the guys in the shop did not do exactly that. Inside the Primary, there is a screw that adjusts how tight the clutch is (A). If it is loose, obviously it will not grab. Check out the manual for how to adjust it, but basically, you're going to be digging around inside here:

I am not an expert or "mechanically inclined" but I was able to replace my clutch cable, and thankfully it didn't need adjusting, but I would've done that, too. It's just a bitch to empty your primary oil every time, but I think you can get around it by standing the bike up straight or even leaning it over to the right so all the oil doesn't spill out the little circle window.

 

[user_deleted]

boston: just do the complete clutch adjustment as it's an easy 20 minute job with a few simple tools. slide rubber boot up off cable adjuster. with 1/2 and 9/16th open end wrenches, loosen jam nut and twist barrel clockwise. you will feel alot of slop or slack at clutch lever. remove round window on primary cover. it is the picture that skyrocket posted with letter B on it. remove spring and cam. turn slotted adjuster CC or OUT until it gets taught, turn in 1/4 turn and replace spring and cam. put cover on. go back to cable and turn barrel back out to take slop out of clutch lever and perch. you want about 1/4 inch freeplay between lever and perch. tighten jam nut, reinstall rubber boot and you're done. it's an easy job.

 

[skyroket]

Nice summary. Can you explain how to do this without draining the primary oil each time? Can we just set it up straight or tilt over to the right and open the access hatch without losing fluid?

That would be nice so you can ride it and see if it needs more adjustment, then adjust it again if necessary, without blowing $10 worth of juice every time.

 

[RT Performance]

rear stand makes it the easiest.
the oil level needs to be check while up right should just cover the chain.
or lean it to the right on something

 

[boston]

What is primary fluid? Where can I get it. I know its an oil but what grade.

 

[Stevenc150]

It's your trans. oil - 20W50....same as your Engine Oil. Should take right around a quart checked with the bike held upright.

 

[boston]

Wow nice guys. So If it's engine oil, that means that if I'm low on engine oil ( which I am cause I have a oil leak) then that could cause the clutch to be slipping correct?

 

[boston]

I don't think it's Turing the barrel clockwise cause it's not loosing

 

[boston]

Ok something **** up here. Now my Clutch grabs right t the end of where the lever stops(meaning that it just starts to grab at the point of full release) and I can't get it into neutral it's a bitch to get out of first with it running and the clutch cable adjustment doesnt let the lever get loose enought for the lever to be loose.

 

[Stevenc150]

So If it's engine oil, that means that if I'm low on engine oil ( which I am cause I have a oil leak) then that could cause the clutch to be slipping correct?

No...the Engine oil & Primary are in 2 seperate compartments. I'm saying, most everyone uses the same oil in Both (20W50 - Bike-specific Full synthetic). You really need to open up a Service manual and adjust both your clutch adjustments.

 

[boston]

Alright new up date. Now it grabs fine and at the correct point of lever relese. But it's hard to get into neutral, it requires so much force to get out of 1st it that when it does it goes right into 2nd.

 

[boston]

So does anyone know what would cause it to be hard to shift while not moving?

 

[user_deleted]

the primary/trans share same fluid. holds 1 quart to fill from fully drained. drain plug is under primary, has 5/8th head meaning 5/8th box wrench or socket removes it. is same drain plug as installed from factory in swingarm. the swingarm plug is for engine oil. personally what i would do is drain the primary fluid, let it drain for at least 20 minutes. you'll find small amount of shavings on plug magnet. clean off and make sure o-ring on plug is in good shape. if not replace it as it forms the sealing surface for plug to primary. i use either bel-ray #80 trans fluid, motul synthese trans fluid, or any 20-50 wt. motorcyle oil such as castrol act-evo, mobil v-twin, they're all primary wet clutch approved and excellent. everyone has their own preference. amsoil also pricey but excellent. refill primary thru upper or lower windows, doesn't matter. check primary chain adjustment while you're at it. specs for same listed on this site but amount of freeplay or slop is 3/8th to 1/2 inch. then go back and do the clutch cable complete adjustment as i described earlier and you should find alot of improvement on shifting. like sportsters, i've found that when the bike and the fluids are cold, that buells can be a tad notchy shifting and take a bit of coaxing to get into neutral when idling in first gear. with correct adjustment and fluid they shift nicely. IMO

 

[boston]

It's works fine now(shifting) but every once in a while when I'm at a stop sign or red light it will be inpossable to shift into neutral idk why. But after all those adjustments my clutch still slips so I guess it's time for a new clutch.