Clutch Stiffness?
11-28-2009, 05:17 AM
#1
Junior Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 19
Clutch Stiffness?
When I bought my 98 the clutch Res was empty. I topped it off and was near low after a 60 mile ride. I found some fluid ooozing from the bottom of the plunger plate where the hydraulic line connects to the engine case. I brought it back the shop as its under warranty. ANYWAYS.....
Ive had a 79 gs750 and a 1200 HD sportster (both cable clutch). This is by far the stiffest clutch. It caught me off guard as being Hydraulic I expected it to be the lightest of the 3. Im trying to cut down on wrist soreness. I imagine a leaking line would make the clutch LESS stiff? Can I expect any difference after this problem is fixed? Im afraid after fixing it could be more stiff. The bike has 16k miles so Im going to rebuild the clutch master cylinder assembly just because.
Ive had a 79 gs750 and a 1200 HD sportster (both cable clutch). This is by far the stiffest clutch. It caught me off guard as being Hydraulic I expected it to be the lightest of the 3. Im trying to cut down on wrist soreness. I imagine a leaking line would make the clutch LESS stiff? Can I expect any difference after this problem is fixed? Im afraid after fixing it could be more stiff. The bike has 16k miles so Im going to rebuild the clutch master cylinder assembly just because.
11-28-2009, 07:02 AM
#2
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Skurup, Sweden
Posts: 6,109
The gs has less torque and hp... wimpier clutch by far... The sportster has torque, but runs out of revs where the VTR starts to pick up speed... Again far wimpier clutch...
End result... If you want a twin with gobs of torque and that revs like the VTR does... Then you get to exercise that clutch hand...
End result... If you want a twin with gobs of torque and that revs like the VTR does... Then you get to exercise that clutch hand...
11-28-2009, 08:47 AM
#4
Senior Member
SuperBike
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 1,051
wrist soreness may be different that your hand getting a workout. in riding position, while covering the clutch check the angle of your forearm & wrist.
it should be straight. if your wrist is turned then rotate your clutch lever until it is.
tim
it should be straight. if your wrist is turned then rotate your clutch lever until it is.
tim
11-28-2009, 09:36 AM
#5
Brooks' Cycle Centre'
Back Marker
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Centreville, VA
Posts: 166
This is excellent advice. More often than not, I find my customers complain about arm pump and they have a 90 degree angle at the wrist. Adjust the clutch so that when you are upright, your fingers are stretched out in a straight line. Also, try adjusting your cluth where you only have about a 1/8 inch of play before making contact. The less that you have to pull, the less work that you need to do. If you feel that it is still stiff, try and find a buddy with a Superhawk (or RC51 since they have the same clutch) and compare the two. If it's pretty bad, you more than likely don't need to rebuild the whole clutch, but only the slave cylinder on the left hand side of the engine. It's the round thing where you see your cable going in to. Just take it off, pop out the piston and clean out the inside with brake cleaner. Flush out the line and replace the O-ring in the clutch caliper. That should loosen it up pretty good. While you're in there, take out the shaft that runs through (it just pulls right out) and make sure that it is not bent or scorched or anything crazy like that. If you do all that and it still feels stiff to you, pull off the right side cover and inspect the springs and plates. If it still feels to hard to pull, then go to your local CVS and pick up some Tam-Pax.
11-28-2009, 09:59 AM
#6
Senior Member
SuperBike
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Essex, UK
Posts: 1,707
Just to ad +1 to first off refurbishing the slave cylinder.
I had a slow leak and thought I sorted it with a new seal, but after a while the leak returned. On closer examination the cylinder was scored (originally grit or sumfink had got in) so with fine wet'n'dry and a polish I sorted it by giving it a mini-rebore!
Give the clutch a good bleed to 'tighten' the bite point (when bleedin' make sure you keep the resorvoir topped up as it's a smaller volume than brake res') and ride it often. Learn to do clutchless changes and it won't seem like pumping iron.
Tip 41) Squeeze a tennis ball in your hand whenever you have an extra few minutes to increase your hand strength.
I had a slow leak and thought I sorted it with a new seal, but after a while the leak returned. On closer examination the cylinder was scored (originally grit or sumfink had got in) so with fine wet'n'dry and a polish I sorted it by giving it a mini-rebore!
Give the clutch a good bleed to 'tighten' the bite point (when bleedin' make sure you keep the resorvoir topped up as it's a smaller volume than brake res') and ride it often. Learn to do clutchless changes and it won't seem like pumping iron.
Tip 41) Squeeze a tennis ball in your hand whenever you have an extra few minutes to increase your hand strength.
Last edited by Wicky; 11-28-2009 at 10:05 AM.
11-28-2009, 11:02 AM
#7
Junior Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 19
Just to ad +1 to first off refurbishing the slave cylinder.
I had a slow leak and thought I sorted it with a new seal, but after a while the leak returned. On closer examination the cylinder was scored (originally grit or sumfink had got in) so with fine wet'n'dry and a polish I sorted it by giving it a mini-rebore!
Give the clutch a good bleed to 'tighten' the bite point (when bleedin' make sure you keep the resorvoir topped up as it's a smaller volume than brake res') and ride it often. Learn to do clutchless changes and it won't seem like pumping iron.
Tip 41) Squeeze a tennis ball in your hand whenever you have an extra few minutes to increase your hand strength.
I had a slow leak and thought I sorted it with a new seal, but after a while the leak returned. On closer examination the cylinder was scored (originally grit or sumfink had got in) so with fine wet'n'dry and a polish I sorted it by giving it a mini-rebore!
Give the clutch a good bleed to 'tighten' the bite point (when bleedin' make sure you keep the resorvoir topped up as it's a smaller volume than brake res') and ride it often. Learn to do clutchless changes and it won't seem like pumping iron.
Tip 41) Squeeze a tennis ball in your hand whenever you have an extra few minutes to increase your hand strength.
The bike has 16k miles and minus the pipes it appears completely stock. The Clutch Cylinder rebuild is on a long list of maintenance planned for the winter. Wear items are top priority. Brakes, Lines, Chain, Sprockets. Already have CCTS and a Pair removal Kit. But I wont touch the PAIR until it shows a problem.
11-28-2009, 11:06 AM
#8
Junior Member
Squid
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 19
This is excellent advice. More often than not, I find my customers complain about arm pump and they have a 90 degree angle at the wrist. Adjust the clutch so that when you are upright, your fingers are stretched out in a straight line. Also, try adjusting your cluth where you only have about a 1/8 inch of play before making contact. The less that you have to pull, the less work that you need to do. If you feel that it is still stiff, try and find a buddy with a Superhawk (or RC51 since they have the same clutch) and compare the two. If it's pretty bad, you more than likely don't need to rebuild the whole clutch, but only the slave cylinder on the left hand side of the engine. It's the round thing where you see your cable going in to. Just take it off, pop out the piston and clean out the inside with brake cleaner. Flush out the line and replace the O-ring in the clutch caliper. That should loosen it up pretty good. While you're in there, take out the shaft that runs through (it just pulls right out) and make sure that it is not bent or scorched or anything crazy like that. If you do all that and it still feels stiff to you, pull off the right side cover and inspect the springs and plates. If it still feels to hard to pull, then go to your local CVS and pick up some Tam-Pax.
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