Over the winter I took the clutch slave cylinder off because the part that was holding it was an aftermarket item I didn't want. I never broke the seal on the hydraulic system and the reservoir level appears to be unchanged. Today I finally got around to installing the stock front sprocket cover and even though there was some resistance screwing the slave cylinder back to the sprocket cover, the clutch lever only has the resistance of the lever return spring and doesn't disengage the clutch at all.

What is it that I did wrong and/or don't understand?

 

Sometimes this system can be a pain to bleed. There's a trick to preventing what happened to you but too late now. You should be ok with a proper bleed as it probably needs new fluid anyway? If the standard way doesn't work, try reverse bleeding.

 

But he didn't break the seal on the clutch hydraulic system, Wolvy. Are you thinking having the slave disassembled from the case, relieving the pressure of the push rod allowed air to enter the system?

 

Correct I didn't crack the system open, which I would have thought made bleeding unnecessary. I'll try bleeding it after work tonight just to be sure.

I was wondering whether it's possible for one of the parts on the other end to become displaced. I don't remember moving the rod but I'm not positive I didnt, either.

 

I started bleeding at the bottom and then I realized that if the air came in through the reservoir it's was all going to be up by the lever. I cracked open the banjo bolt, some foam came out and it worked great. Yay!

 

When I remove a clutch slave, I zip-tie the lever to the grip, fully depressed. This moves the pushrod in the master past the little hole and can prevent what happened in this instance.

 

I will definitely be doing that next time.

 

Good to know. Kinda sounds familiar now that you say it. Thanks.