| Author | Message | ||
     1ofakind |
I installed new, adjustable "shorty" levers. They feel awesome and look nice. The brake works great. The clutch however, began to slip really badly on the highway on the first ride out. It got so bad that I was unable to continue riding even at a steady speed and pulled over to check it out. I yanked on the clutch lever away from the handlebar and the whole assembly swung slightly, closing the gap between the clutch lever assembly and the plastic rod that looks like a switch of some sort. I'm not sure what it is. After yanking it I gently pulled in the clutch and began riding and switching gears without the clutch. It holds well but not completely as it has always done before. Under hard acceleration it still slips a bit. Do I need to tighten the bolt that goes through the whole assembly further? or the nut below the clutch lever? It seems like as it is currently, the metal base of the clutch lever swings just slightly when I depress the clutch lever and remains in that position, acting as if I was slightly depressing the clutch lever all the time. For now, I use the clutch to get going, then yank on the lever away from the bike and ride clutchless. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm also curious as to what that little plastic rod is that the lever assembly pushes up against. Thanks in advance! | ||
| Brokengq |
Could have over torqued the lever when you installed it. Correct torque is 60 IN-LBS MAX. Good place to start. If you over torqued the lever then the m/c can only push it out so far before the lever binds up. Could be coincidence and the clutch needs to be bled. | ||
| Puddlepirate |
Who made the levers? Are they one of the Taiwan/Ebay sets? | ||
| 1ofakind |
thanks guys I will check it out. I left the lever depressed overnight and it seems like the opposite is true now... it doesn't seem to disengage enough. I will bleed it and it should be all set. They are not cheap Taiwan levers... They are cheap Chinese levers! I'm still curious what that little rod behind the clutch lever is on the bike. Anyone know? | ||
| Brokengq |
I'm not near my bike or my manuals, so I couldn't tell you off hand, but it could be the clutch safety switch. The ECM has to read the clutch state somehow. (Message edited by brokengq on April 14, 2014) (Message edited by brokengq on April 14, 2014) | ||
| 1ofakind |
thanks brokengq! | ||
| Terrys1980 |
If torquing the lever hardware doesn't work you might have to file down where the lever makes contact with the piston. | ||
| Mhpalin |
Okay just a thought do you have your old levers if so put them back on and see if it slips. Mike  | ||
| Trojan |
They are cheap Chinese levers! You get what you pay for. | ||
| Puddlepirate |
These same lever sets have been suspected of causing brake lockups in a few instances around here. I'm sure the manufacturing tolerances aren't the same as OEM or the better known aftermarket brands. They COULD be slightly actuating the clutch, causing it to slip under higher load? Isn't there a clutch sensor you can read in diagnostic mode? That may be one way to tell. (Message edited by puddlepirate on April 17, 2014) | ||
| Mhpalin |
I got the cheap Chinese levers and they work great fit great over all good buy Mike | ||
| 1ofakind |
I am not able to read whether the clutch is being actuated. It looks like what happened is that when I replaced the lever, a little air got in the line. I think I messed with the cable too much as I tried to remove the factory lever. Leaving the lever pressed overnight pushed the air and it's good now. Just needed to be bled after that. I had never experienced something like this since the factory levers had not been removed until this point, which is why I was worried. The Chinese levers I got honestly are excellent quality and I was able to choose custom colors for the levers and the adjusters separately. They look great and feel great and I would recommend them to anyone. | ||
| S21125r |
Air in the lines shouldn't make your clutch slip, it should make it drag with the clutch pulled in. More than likely it's the lever itself. Within the master cylinder there is supposed to be a bleed hole in the piston that allows excess fluid (when it get's hot it expands...) to bypass the piston and enter the reservoir. If the levers fit poorly it will depress the piston slightly and cover the bleed hole. Once the fluid heats up, it has no escape path and continues to expand until it overcomes the clutch springs enough to slip the clutch. Same principle happens on the brake side except it continues to actuate the brake caliper which heats the fluid more, wash/rinse/repeat until you have caliper lockup. Brake lockup is more painful than clutch slip so you might want to give that a once over as well :-) | ||
| 1ofakind |
thank you for the heads up S21125r! I can def see how that can be a much bigger problem. I understand what you are saying and it makes sense. However, I tied my clutch lever depressed over night and now it works perfectly, so i don't know how to explain it. Before that, it slipped very, very badly the first day, then I adjusted the lever slightly and it was at least rideable with low load. It wasn't until I put something on the lever overnight that fixed it altogether. I am not sure how to explain it, I got the idea from searching posts on the forum. | ||
| Brokengq |
Hm. Just a thought here, but check your bleeder screw on your clutch basket. Sounds like it might have been loose, or maybe even cracked (over tight). Leaving the clutch pressed over night may have pushed out any air in the system. On the same note, when replacing the lever you might have let air in through the bleeder screw if it was loose. Rapid movements of the lever while trying to take it off would definitely suck some air in. As far as reading the clutch state goes, put your bike in diag mode (hold the mode and toggle buttons on the IC with the key off, then switch the key to "on" with both buttons pressed). Press toggle until it says "clutch state". Should be a 1 or a 0. Zero is engaged, 1 is disengaged. If it is always saying "1" then the clutch is not engaging fully. | ||
| 1ofakind |
awesome thank you!!! | ||
| Nobuell |
The "Clutch State" only indicates that the clutch switch is an open or closed circuit. I do not believe it indicates actual engagement as it relates to a slipping clutch. Going back to the original question, If the clutch started slipping after a new after market lever was installed, it is most likely to be the lever. I would except that the plunger is slightly pressed in causing the clutch to slip. You will not get air into the system from changing the lever. I would measure the lever and determine if the hole for the plunger shaft is deep enough. If it is to shallow or the lever pivot is off as it relates to the plunger shaft, the clutch will be somewhat engaged and could slip. | ||
| Eleventwentyfiveare |
I got cheap levers for my sv (they were really nice) but locked my front brake took me a long time to figure it out, ended up just having to grind them down a bit, haven't had a problem since. I just got some fake Brembo Mc from vietnam I'm bringing back to Canada I paid 40$ not sure if I'll install it though to be honest I would rather not risk it with my 1125. |
