Clutch not disengaging
 

I'm having problems with my clutch. This bike had been sitting for some time and the clutch fluid had gelled, so I rebuilt the master and slave cylinders with new parts and cleaned everything thoroughly. I spent about 4 hours bleeding the system and finally got some clutch action, but it doesn't seem to be enough to get disengagement.

When I put the bike in gear and pull the clutch lever in completely, I cannot spin the rear wheel.

I'm pretty sure I got all the air out now and the lever feels smooth and solid. It's a little bit harder to pull than my other Honda. My other Honda's clutch engagement/disengagement is right away (released grip) and I've found most Hondas are similar.

When I look through the oil filler I can see the clutch pack moving but it only moves about 1/8 inch. Is that normal or should it move further?

Any suggestions?

Bill

Is this a typo? :confused:

When you pulled the slave cylenders did you also pull the push rod out and clean it up?

How are you bleeding the clutch? Bottle trick? Vacuum bleeder? In my experience if you are doing it with the bottle it is damn near impossible to bleed the system correctly unless you have a bleed port higher on the system. With out it then it can be a painful process.

When in doubt bleed the system again. I fought bleeding my clutch for hours on end. Finally broke down and spent the money on a vacuum bleeder and was back up and running with in minutes.

This means you can't turn the rear wheel by hand, in gear and the clutch in?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Braymond View Post
I'm having problems with my clutch.

When I put the bike in gear and pull the clutch lever in completely, I cannot spin the rear wheel.
This means you can't turn the rear wheel by hand, in gear and the clutch in.

Yes, that's right. I have the bike up on stands. I should be able to spin the rear wheel by hand with the bike in gear and the clutch pulled in.

I did pull out the clutch push rod to clean it up before I put the slave cylinder back together.

I've bought a vacuum bleeder because I could get any fluid through the system just following the maintenance manual. The vacuum bleeder worked well.

This happened to me a while back - even with new seals on the slave unit it still wouldn't work. Fitted another second-hand refurbished slave unit from a Honda Blackbird and all was good.

Bleeding is a 5 minute job with a large capacity catheter syringe and topping up little and often at the reservoir.

Is it possible/likely that the clutch plates are just stuck together with cold oil? If the clutch pack is moving as described then I would put the bike (engine off) in gear with the clutch in and rock it back and forth to free the plates.

Cadbury, I guess you were right. It just fixed itself.

I decided to take a break after spending most of yesterday evening bleeding the clutch and worked on the carbs instead. I warmed up the engine and sync'd the carbs using two Snapple bottles, some ATF, and tubing I bought at Home Depot.

When I was done syncing the carbs I tried the clutch again (just wishful thinking really) and it was working! I guess it just needed some lubrication.

i took a very short ride around the neighborhood and found a few more things that need attention. I guess it will be at least another week of wrenching.

Thanks for all the suggestions.