Clutch lever

[VegasDan]

I bought my Vmax with after market adjustable levers
I ordered stock Yamaha levers and switched them out
Found a design flaw in the oem clutch lever
It doesn’t push the plunger in far enough to engage enough clutch especially during down shifting
Put the adjustable back on works perfectly again

 

[one2dmax]

The aftermarket levers actually tend to be the ones with flaws. You can search threads on this forum to see where the pivot point is wrong and causes the clutch to be partially disengaged even at full extension causing the system to slip and heat up and eventually fail. The fix was to sand down some of the push rod to regain some lever play and no preload.

When the clutch is working correctly, has a good brass pivot bushing in the lever, properly bled, good clutch with good oil, then you can have the bike in gear and not have it turn the wheel with it on the centerstand which means that it's fully disengaging the transmission from the clutch.

 

[VegasDan]

Stock clutch lever is too close to the grip
I have stock grips
It is not pushing the plunger far enough in
New oil
Bled properly
No issues with the adjustable lever
Clutch works perfectly with no slippage
I either received a new Yamaha clutch lever not made right or it’s a design flaw
I’m at a loss it really doesn’t make sense

 

[VegasDan]

The aftermarket lever is farther away from the grip on the # 1 setting and is fully engaging the clutch
It starts about a half an farther from the grip where the stock lever should be

 

[02GF74]

Stock clutch lever is too close to the grip
I have stock grips

We are talking gen 1?
That doesn't sound right, my clutch lever is close to the limit of my grip and I don't have hobbit hands. It is possible the new one is incorrect or some modifications were done to the rod, most likely to accommodate the after market lever.

BTW is the clutch master original?

The OEM lever with OEM master works perfely, It's definitely not a design flaw.

 

[VegasDan]

I think you bring up a good point
Maybe they did do something to the rod
I didn’t think about that
It’s hard to believe the lever was made incorrectly being it is a Yamaha lever or so they say it is
I ordered it from a Yamaha dealer
The bushing is fine
It’s the original clutch master
Gen 1 bike
I thank you both for your input
I suppose it will remain a mystery and I am stuck having to use these levers
Thanks again gentlemen

 

[02GF74]

There is no immediate rush to investigate providing the current lever functions.

There should by some freeplay so the clutch is not being started to be disengaged else you get the problems Sean mentioned

Likewise when pulled in, perhaps not fully, the clutch must be fully disengaged to allow clean gear changes.

It wouldn't harm to bleed the clutch so you have fresh fluid (not sure what the service interval is) but it probably won't fix your problem.

 

[JMax92]

I would be tempted to service and replace all seals in master and slave. While you are there check the length of the push rods. I suspect that the system is leaking and the after market lever just allows you to pull in deeper so either a) the leak is not apparent, or b) the previous owner shortened the rod(s) to match. Good luck

 

[DreamV4]

I ordered stock Yamaha levers and switched them out

dealership could sell you aftermarket levers.

 

[VegasDan]

dealership could sell you aftermarket levers.

 

[VegasDan]

Thanks for the help !!! I’m waiting to hear back from Eric the person I bought the bike from on this forum I believe he is the 2nd owner and is the one who installed the aftermarket levers
Hoping he can solve this mystery lol
The bike looks like it was in a time capsule with only 9000 miles and meticulously taken care of especially by Eric
I don’t believe there are any leaks whatsoever so I believe there was a modification to the rod which will explain why the adjustable lever works and the original style lever doesn’t
The package the levers came in said Yamaha so I’m guessing that they were the own levers
I don’t think I caused any damage as I only went for two rides and noticed down shifting into 3rd, 2nd and 1st was a bit difficult at low speeds coming to a stop once the bike was at full running temperature
I will post more if Eric gives me some insight as to why this happened
Meanwhile the bike shifts perfectly with the aftermarket lever
Thanks again for the help; this is an awesome forum and I really appreciate the input