Clutch problems??

[21Turner]

Coming home tonight from work my clutch started acting up. Pulled all the way in and it still wasnt disengaged. So I couldnt down shift very easy at all. How do the clutches on these bikes work? I looked when I got home and saw that there is a button that is pused in when the clutch is out. What do I need to look for or how do I adjust it?
Thanks for the help in advance

 

[maleko89]

That's the clutch switch which allows you to start the bike in gear when the kickstand is up. Clutch is hydraulic so would make sure banjo's are tight and no tleaking and then bleed the clutch. The bleeder valve is on left side under the rubber square cover. It's possible the slave cylinder is bad too which causes the same symptoms.

 

[Fire-medic]

That's the clutch switch which allows you to start the bike in gear when the kickstand is up. Clutch is hydraulic so would make sure banjo's are tight and no tleaking and then bleed the clutch. The bleeder valve is on left side under the rubber square cover. It's possible the slave cylinder is bad too which causes the same symptoms.

I bet Mark & everybody else will agree your issue is either the master cyl is bleeding-past internally or the slave cyl is doing the same thing, resulting in no movement of the clutch actuation hardware to release the spring plate in the clutch.

Is anything 'wet' in either the area of the lever livot on the handlebar or in the vicinity of the bottom of the engine sidecover case where the hydraulic line for the clutch goes into the rectangular rubber boot located on top of the sidecover? If so, a deadx giveaway for a rebuild or replacement, assuming as Mark said, it's not a loose fitting. The 'cheap shot' is a rebuild of the component, or replacement, which is better, you can always rebuild the bad part & keep it for a spare. Obviously, you do not want to be using your bike until this is fixed. Start looking at the stickies and searching the ksite using Advanced Search for info on the clutch 'slave' cylinder & the clutch master cyl. Maybe this is the time to get the 'high-zoot' FJR 1300 clutch master cyl which has been recently posted about for OEM replacements for the stock items (clutch & front brake master cyl's). Try 'ronayresmotorsports.com' or I think 'CaptainKyle' and 'one2dmax' on the site offer them.

 

[MtnMax/Magniac]

Had the same symptoms last summer on my '85. Turned out to be the slave cylinder at the lower end of the clutch hose, Rebuilt it and no more problems.

 

[21Turner]

Nothing wet at the lever or at the case. The bike only has 11,000 miles on it so I am a little surprised that it would be going? It has not been beaten on either?

 

[maleko89]

Yeah but it's a '94. Seals will go bad and not changing fluid every couple of years accelerates the deterioration.

 

[ninjaneer]

yep. this was the first thing that i had to address after getting maxxy. the clutch lever all off a sudden went soft--it had no resistance with a pull. turned out to be to the slave cylinder. it was a really simple fix. the master had no drips and it appeared that the engine case was "dry" just like you state. however, after letting the bike stand overnight, i saw a drip puddle under the bike on the floor. not really knowing what was going on, i shined a flashlight up into the crevices trying to follow the drip line. the neutral switch (the plastic white triangle) was wet.

have a look at through the master/boss's window and see if you see any fluid. my hunch is that you will not. if it's empty, pour in some brake fluid, and burp out the bubbles. pull in the lever, if the clutch feel normal, keep pulling and releasing and look everywhere for a leak.

if the master reservoir is full, then an air bubble got into the line--probably a trapped bubble in that finally loosed free. bleed the lines. have a good look at all of the joints and check the bolts for proper torque

since the maintenance schedule said the seals were overdue for replacement, i ended up rebuilding the clutch master and the slave, both the front and rear brake master and calipers, and just to go for gold, replaced the stock lines with stainless-steel braideds

 

[[email protected]]

+1. The older the fluid, the more likely it has absorbed water. The lowest point in the system typically get affected the most. Chances are your slave is corroded and needs rebuilt or replaced

 

[ninjaneer]

Yeah but it's a '94. Seals will go bad and not changing fluid every couple of years accelerates the deterioration.

+1 imo, because seals are exposed to the hygroscopic fuild, they are more susceptible to time than mileage. don't get me wrong--but mileage is not a good indication of "time age" if that makes sense. if you end up dismantling the cylinders, i bet you will find some "eaten up" seals and rusty pistons. this is a good reason to periodically replace the fluid based on the calendar instead of the odometer.

{EDIT}

+1. The older the fluid, the more likely it has absorbed water. The lowest point in the system typically get affected the most. Chances are your slave is corroded and needs rebuilt or replaced

what mike said

 

[[email protected]]

My '93 max had the same type problem. One day it was great, the very next day, the clutch would not disengage. I checked the master cylinder and it was for all intensive purposes, empty. I saw no trace of leakage anywhere, i.e. sight glass, joints from top to bottom. I refilled the master and bleed the line and haven't had a problem since and that's been over a year ago, which no sign of it leaking down again. Go figure. It had to go somewhere, but I couldn't find out where.

 

[ninjaneer]

My '93 max had the same type problem. One day it was great, the very next day, the clutch would not disengage. I checked the master cylinder and it was for all intensive purposes, empty. I saw no trace of leakage anywhere, i.e. sight glass, joints from top to bottom. I refilled the master and bleed the line and haven't had a problem since and that's been over a year ago, which no sign of it leaking down again. Go figure. It had to go somewhere, but I couldn't find out where.

Hmmm. I'll bet it's was one of these garage gremlins I caught last month. It must've snuck into your garage somehow and sipped out the juice.

:rofl_200:

 

[21Turner]

Where can I get a rebuild kit for the slave cylinder?

 

[ninjaneer]

Where can I get a rebuild kit for the slave cylinder?

here let's see what's out there, . or ask captainkyle, one2dmax (those are the two "vendors" on this forum that i know off hand. i think there may be a couple others, but not sure); python motorsports sells a kit; so does v4market. browse ebay, it should have some. if you want OEM, perhaps go to etailers like bike bandit, yamaha stadium, or zanotti and pick from their fiches.

 

[21Turner]

Thanks for all the help!!

 

[one2dmax]

Yep, We have the rebuild kits on hand.