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Bleeding the Clutch?

CoachTony

CoachTony

Member
Member
Jumped on my 2015 this morning and noticed that even with the clutch lever at 1, and the clutch pulled all the way in, the clutch is biting a little bit. It makes it nearly impossible to get into Neutral from 1st and 2nd. Neither way wants to go. If I adjust the clutch lever to 2 or 3, the bike dies the second I put it into gear.
Stretched clutch cable? How do you adjust?
 
correct, i have the same issue. need to bleed the lines. that made it work properly. i am in the process of replacing clutch and brake fluids. saw a video of a mechanic who insists that we should always replace the diaphragm inside the reservoir. i order all 3 three and be replacing them this weekend. Wonder if they wear out and cause air leaks after a while.
 
23,700 miles. I thought I had the clutch fluid done about 5000 miles ago when I did the brakes, but the guy who did the work is on vacation (private person, not a shop) so I can't ask him.
 
Looks like the bleeder is under the left hand fairing? Dang, I hate taking plastic panels off.
Seeing some older forum posts on another site saying doing the bleed with pumping the clutch lever doesn't work very well, and that you need a vacuum pump to accomplish it well. Anyone have experience with this?
 
If the system hasn't been opened up, bleeding is easy. I've gotten the job done without pulling any plastic. I carefully pushed it out of the way enough to do the job. Could also be ready for a clutch master cylinder rebuild. Murph's speed bleeders make it easier once installed. HTH
 
You can flush the system the old fashioned way just by pumping through about 2 reservoirs full. Suck out the existing fluid in the reservoir first with a syringe or something, fill and start working the clutch handle. There's a bleeder on the master cylinder that you should do first. That diaphragm in the reservoir will eventually shrivel up so it won't sit on the top edge of the reservoir body, where it acts as a gasket.
 
The clutch can be difficult to bleed I've found, once it has air in it. Reverse bleed is what worked for me.
 
Ended up dropping it off at a shop. Needed some new tires as well, so just decided to let them do it, and bleed the brakes while they are at it.
Thanks for the tips.
 
I've had this problem. on a minor level, since I bought my 2014 C-14.
If it sits for several days I have to pump the clutch lever several , like at least 10, to get it to disengage enough to get it into 1st without stalling.
Then when I put it in 1st It goes in with a bit of a bang.
I know this isn't good for it
So what I try to do now is start it and let it warm
Shut it off and start it in 1st and ride off.
After a few miles of riding and several shifts the system tightens up and all is well. If I'm on a multi day tour it stays good for the duration, It's only when it sits fro several days then the system seems to lose some of its mojo.
Yes it's FULLY bleed correctly BTW.
Nick
2014 C-14
 
I finally got to go for a real ride, not just riding the bike home on new tires, and wow! The clutch feels totally different! The brakes are wonderful. I am putting it on my calendar for 18 months from now to get the fluids done again! What a difference!
 
I use one of these below but a large syringe and plastic tube is just as effective. It's a bit messy with the fluid when you connect the tubing, to have little or no air in it as you do so, so take care and have a water handy.

www.ebay.com.au

Phoenix Systems (2104-B) V-5 Reverse Brake Bleeder, Light Duty One Person, Fits | eBay

Patented Reverse Bleeding removes more trapped air than any other brake bleeder by simply pushing Brake Fluid fluid from the bottom up.
www.ebay.com.au
 
Bleeding the clutch is tricky. It took several tries when I replaced with stainless lines. Definitely much tougher that bleeding the brakes.
 
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