clutch clutch and more clutch

[kawani]

here is the full picture of what is happening, a while back we rode the timberline ridge road ride heidi and I and we got stopped in traffic on a hill and the clutch started feeling mushy eventually I had no clutch at all I pulled over let the bike cool and got it home changed the fluid because it was black and nasty looking and immediatly had my clutch back never noticed any issues then on the TNR never had any trouble till we got up in the hills and then then the exact same thing happened my guess is it is slipping under load in the hills and maybe slipping ever so slightly all the time and cooking the fluid. So this leaves me with the delimma of do I have a problem with the master cylinder for the clutch that is causing this and if so then I would think that the plates have probably been damaged and at the least need inspecting as well. If I have to replace my clutch plates and am wondering what others experience is OEM or aftermarket far as what is the best bet to put in there I have a 87 connie with 47K that I am quite sure am going need to replace the plates. What I think happened is the star spring broke and I didn't know it and the clutch slipped and things got very very hot by the time I nursed it home.

 

[jaxrider]

My star spring went bad too on my '97 with 60k miles on it. I just rode it home (5 miles) and parked it until I could get the parts for a fix. I would take it apart and see how bad they are (since they are running in oil) before ordering any replacements. I'd go with stock if they are close to the cost of the aftermarket, but otherwise would go with the Vesrah. I've not used them but that's how I would approach it. David in Jax COG# 7898 NE FL AAD & COG Vendor www.dreamjobresumes.com preparing resumes for COG members and friends I ride a KAWASAKI ZZR1200 - it Euro Review http://www.motorbikestoday.com/reviews/Articles/ZZR1200.htm US Review http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/roadtests/2002_kawasaki_zzr120

 

[kawani]

thanks yeah kinda what I thought was just waiting on some money before I tore it down cause one way or another I will need parts of some kind the only thing I couldn't decide was what was best I had heard some horror storys about the kevelar aftermarket stuff in regards to heat. Would be nice if all I needed to do was deal with the star spring. How did your bike act when that happened? I was a was a ways from home when it happened but it never got like totally overheated but it was very definetly running hot. Todd

 

[jaxrider]

I was about 5 miles from home and on a 45mph road that went to 55mph. As I accelerated in 3rd around 45 my engine revved up about 1k rpm higher than usual. I needed gas so I stopped and filled up. Pulling out of the station onto the 55mph road it slipped in 2nd and 3rd so I rolled off the throttle and kept the rpm's lower and up shifted. The clutch would not cleanly disengage and it was dragging. I replaced the spring with murph's parts kit and everything was fine afterwards. Good luck with it! David in Jax COG# 7898 NE FL AAD & COG Vendor www.dreamjobresumes.com preparing resumes for COG members and friends I ride a KAWASAKI ZZR1200 - it Euro Review http://www.motorbikestoday.com/reviews/Articles/ZZR1200.htm US Review http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/roadtests/2002_kawasaki_zzr120

 

[Paulie]

It's possible yer clutch plates are AOK & ya jest haveta do the star spring. I'd open it up & check before buying anything. At ~130k? I had a bit of slippin once in awhile. It turned out to be worn plates, the star was fine. I went with EBCs & new OEM springs. EZ PZ! 01 Conc, Mijami Floriduh OTP 06: http://tinyurl.com/2vk9o2 route map: http://tinyurl.com/4p7pmd

 

[kawani]

Lets hope I get lucky I guess either way it could be worse so I will tear it down tomorrow and see what I find thanks for the input. kawani

 

[MAN OF BLUES]

if the spring broke and wedged in somewhere causing clutch slippage, and you travelled some distance with the clutch slipping, it is probable you did damage the friction plates...(glazing/burnt)...hopefully it didn't overheat and damage the steel ones... I'd open it up and get the spring stuff taken care of, and while there if the frictions are discolored and toasty, simply replace those only, and use the OEM plates.....this will allow a swap without dealing with stack dimension variations. Check the steel ones for warpage on a glass plate or mirror, and if slightly discolored, buff them on a piece of 400-600 grit wet paper flat on the plate, and clean them before re-installing. Using aftermarket stuff just invites additional p.i.t.a. problems as not all manufacturers hold the thickness specs, and those must be correct in order for the stack height to effectively utilize the camming action built into the mechanism to prevent lockup when decellerating in gear. There are like a dozen different plate thickness available, so if you have to replace the whole thing you will need to mic the steel ones and get the correct ones to make the stack right. The stock plates should be soaked in oil overnight before installing for best results, at least soak them a couple hours prior. should run you about $80

 

[kawani]

well interesting enough the clutch spring is fine as well as the clutch plates they look in really really good shape soooo I have determined it has to be hydraulics so I have ordered a rebuild kit for the master cylinder but now that I sit hear and think about it I think that I may have wasted my money I think the real culprit is the RELEASE-ASSY-CLUTCH I am betting money I have blown seal there and that this is allowing the clutch to suck air this giving me the squishy lever. THoughts from anyone?

 

[jaxrider]

I think you mean the slave cylinder? I've not heard of it causing the clutch to slip but maybe if it's so gunked-up that it does not return to its' normal position? I'll let the experts weigh in on this further. Did you change oil recently? Maybe an oil problem is causing this to happen? David in Jax COG# 7898 NE FL AAD & COG Vendor www.dreamjobresumes.com preparing resumes for COG members and friends I ride a KAWASAKI ZZR1200 - it Euro Review http://www.motorbikestoday.com/reviews/Articles/ZZR1200.htm US Review http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/roadtests/2002_kawasaki_zzr120

 

[kawani]

no what happened I got my vocab wrong the clutch will not engage when you pull the handle so in otherwords when you are stopping the engine is still pulling on the wheels so it wants to keep going, the fluid is nasty nasty nasty I changed that and bled the hell out of the system and it will be fine for a while , a while being about a month and then the same problem all over again, change the fluid and all is fine again this tells me I am sucking air somewhere so, I ordered the parts to rebuild the master cylinder after I did that I got to thinking about the slave cylinder and my bet is the seal around the pistion on the slave cyclender is broken, Ihave no leaks that I can see anywhere so in wither case I think the problem will be fixed with this. kawani

 

[kawani]

by the way did I mention you guys are all awesome what a great place to talk through stuff with fellow connie owners I just got mine back in june and I am absolutely in love with it. Already plotting and scheming to get another one.<LOL> kawani

 

[MAN OF BLUES]

replace the spring and the seals in the slave, the springs do take a "set" after time, and refreshing them should force the piston to retract properly. disassemble and clean the parts well with a solvent, and reassemble with new stuff.