Slipping Clutch!

:?:
After a whole load of (normal and not so normal) XJ electrical faults, I've taken bike out today for first time and have found the clutch is slipping really badly.
Have slackened cable right off, but is still v.bad.
Last owner assured me was a good ride up until 18months of storage.

Could this have affected the clutch plates???

 

Have you changed the OIL in it yet ?

 

Normally they get sticky when stored, not slipping.(drying fiber plates) I have a feeling that it was acting like this when it was put it away.

Is there any tension in the cable at all? If not, the arm may be out of adjustment, or a binding cable or bent bracket. I usually use the dime method of adjustment. Loosen the cable until you can freely slip a dime between the lever and bracket where the cable goes through. (I have heard it called the nickel method, too. I just don't like much slack in my cables.)


Personally, I would pop the side case cover off, and check it out. You don't want it to go on the road.

 

Not changed oil yet.
How likely is it to be the oil?

Cable is backed right off - I'm in England, so I guess I'll give it the 'penny test'!!!

Is there a how-to anywhere on here on checking/cleaning clutch plates?

Would taking them out and cleaning the surfaces of friction plates help??

thanks for replies so far...

 

Very likely it's the oil... Change it and findout

 

I have read that synthetic oils can cause clutch slippage. Use 20W40 (or 10W30 colder climes) but non-synthetic

 

Update
Schmuckaholic posted this

Synthetic vs dino has nothing to do with it. As has been stated many times before in many other threads (search for it!), the problem has to do with whether the oil has friction modifiers in it; apparently that is what's bad for a wet clutch.

If you look on the back of the bottle, there should be a little circle logo somewhere. If it has the words "energy conserving" on it, it has the friction modifiers, and should be avoided.

 

I'd try looking at bigfitzs guide to adjusting the clutch first. Well, after changing the oil! Oil, spark plugs, air filter are usually the first things I do when getting a used vehicle.
I run 20w50 in my bike.
And if the adjustment doesnt work pop off the cover and replace those friction plates! Easy to do, and costs bout 100 bucks to replace springs and plates. She'll drive like a champ after that
-Chris

 

just to answer your question. your clutch uses
the same oil as the motor.
an oil that has broken down or has friction modifiers will
cause slippage.
as far as syn or not i can't help. i use reg castrol and have not had
any probs yet.

good luck.
ron

 

+1 SLkid. Start with the simpilest things first. Try to adjust the clutch and if that does not work try to adjust it again and again. As far as the oil goes I have found that one bike may like something different from another. One exact same year and model bike may prefer car oil and the other may prefer motorcycle oil. Try to experiment before tearing into that engine. If I do not run car oil in my shadow the clutch will slip, it likes car oil and will not work properly when I run motorcycle oil in it, go figure.

 

Got the bike nice and warm in the garage this morning.
I know hot oil is thinner than cold, but the stuff that was in it was like water! (Was nice and clean though).
Have changed it for some 20/50 Castrol that I had on the shelf - not 100% sure but think is mineral, semi-synth at the outside.

Initial test seems a lot better, have only tried it up and down the lane by my house, will post again after a proper road test.

Thanks for all the info and support guys.

 

Oh yeah, and it had just over 4 litres in it, should be 2.5 i believe....
I wonder if this overfill could have added to the clutch slipping?

 

It's unlikely that overfilling would cause clutch slippage. However the thin oil (like water) more than likely is the problem. Did the oil smell like gasoline? If it did you may be repeating this post. Gasoline dilution occurs from carb problems and/or petcock issues. This should be repaired to ensure proper lubrication of both the clutch and the engine if it is a cause of the thin oil.

 

If you have absolutely NO tension on the Throw-out and you have a Clutch that's slipping --> Even a little bit ... the best thing to do is to Replace the Friction Plates ... and, depending on their condition, the Steel Drivers if they are warped or blued.

You deserve a New Clutch if you are having issues with the old one.
Slipping Clutches will quickly overheat and damage the Driven Plates.
Avoid needing to replace the Drivers by renewing the Friction Discs ahead of the situation graduating to critical.

New Friction Discs and Pressure Plate Hardware and Springs will make the Clutch work like its Brand New.

 

True story rick! My 700 runs like a bat out of hell after my installation of new friction plates.

 

Ginger_Ninga:

Let's get you up to speed.
Fill-out the SIGNATURE Feature of Your Account with Thumbs about your Bike.

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/myyam ... there.aspx

http://www.bikebandit.com/ebc-ck-series ... 8&t=1&td=1

Year -- Model -- Miles -- Stock or Mods.

Then, add LOCATION to that.

The signature cues us to what Bike you got.
The Location could get you fixed if somebody lives close to you.

 

AAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

Initial thoughts of the clutch slip being cured were a miss-placed belief!!
After a proper roadtest, the slip is most definately still there.

New plates (springs too??) look to be on the cards!

Any recommended suppliers? (am in the UK!)

Whats min thickness for steel plates?
(Can resurface them at work if they are scored)

 

Apolagies for no signature...
... I thought I had done that already!
(I clearly don't read my own posts!!!)

Whats the score with clutch changing?
Is there a how-to anywhere?
(Yes - I am that lazy, I know there's a search button!! hehe!!)

 

I think "Doing the Clutch" is one of the first jobs that Baptize you being a wrenching Biker.

Although it's a job that is very straight-forward, I recommend you get a Manual to use as a reference.

You Drain the Oil and take the Cable and Brake Pedal out of the way.
Remove the Clutch Cover placing the different length Bolts aside for reuse.
Expose the Clutch.
Remove the Pressure Plate Bolts and Springs.

Gain access to the Discs.
Remove the Discs in order.
Replace the Friction Discs
Inspect the Steel Discs and "Dress" the Steel Discs and the Cage Channels as necessary.
Replace the Parts and Button-up the Job so it don't leak and the Bolts don't break or strip-out.

Find a Manual

 

Right!
So I managed to track down some NOS friction plates off this little website called 'ebay'.... you may of heard of it?!!?

Just changed them over, did the 5 spring retention bolts up hand tight + a bit more.
Can't find a torque setting for them anywhere - anyone know?

Again an initial 'down the lane' trial prooves ok (but then, it did before!)

Will post again for a final time on this topic - hopefully!



For reference;-
The steel plates all looked v.good condition - original 'centre-pop' marks visually intact all over. No scoring or warping at all.
Basket was good also - all fingers intact - no damage.
Friction plates all looked good as well - will take to work tomorrow to measure thickness - simply looked glazed over. Thinking of deglazing them with some coarse emery paper for an 'Emergency' spare set.

 

you may have checked this already but JFstewart made a good point
about poss fuel in the oil.

how did the new castol smell as it came out? it would'nt be thin and the smell may be faint, but you mentioned twice the amount that should be there and thin as water.

as for oil type..castrol has worked well for me. 20w50 in the summer.
10w40 the rest of the year. although last winter i got off work between 12 & 3am with temps in the low to high 20's. switching to 15w30 seemed
the help with start/warm-ups.

 

After the oil change and new friction plates all appears good at last!

I'm on the 20-50 castrol, but think may go for a 15-40 until some slightly warmer weather comes along - is taking a long time to warm up, dont think the neighbours are impressed, with just a stubby sebring endcan with no baffle, its a touch on the noisy side!

Do have some running problems at top end, (I think partly down to me expecting too much! I'm used to a tricked up Honda hornet with BAGS of power and acceleration, but this 28 year old-man cant quite cut it against the 10 year old wipper-snapper!)

Hoping its just due to it being in storage for some time - will run it for a week then see what its like.
Where do i start first?
Carbs balanced? Jets clean etc I presume?

Thanks guys!

 

1st,valve adj.

2nd, thorough carb cleaning ( vise-versa if you prefer).

3rd,bench then stick synq the carbs. if any one of the 3 are neglected
you are likley to have a lack of optimum performance.

 

is there a 'how-to' for valve adjustment anywhere?
is it a 'bucket & shim' type setup on my '81 xj650?

'stick sync'?????????
i assume this means 'balance'...?
how-to for this too?

cheers for suggestions guys!

 

yes, lots of threads dedicated to valves and carbs.
check the archives or "posts by" in the profiles of the
experts on this site, you won't be disapointed