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Slipping Clutch ... oil impact?

red fox

red fox

Member
Member
Hey, I put on aftermarket levers and, without pre-riding it, went on a 190 mile day ride yesterday with a buddy.    New levers looked really nice, gave a totally different clutch feel, friction zone was way out there. 

On way back the clutch started to slip; it became bad and I didn't think I could make it up my driveway hill.  Stopped and called a C14 friend whose house was a level 5 miles away at that point.  A 30 mph ride to his house,  on the shoulder in a 50 mph zone, with flashers blinking.  Clutch slipped bad, bad; any tickle to throttle = rpms surge.  At end there was no grip; couldn't have gone additional 2 miles even on the level. 

At his house we took off his bike's clutch lever to put on my bike.  Instant fix, and I got home.  My new aftermarket lever hadn't allowed the clutch to fully engage/grip.  Glad I still have the OEM lever.  The aftermarket lever either was installed incorrectly (me) or the clutch 'pedal' rod was too big for the receptical hole in the aftermarket lever - I'll figure out which. 

But, having ridden 190 miles with a progressively worsening slipping clutch, will my oil be contaminated with shavings and debris? 
I've no knowledge of what slipping clutches do to oil - appreciate your input. 
I've 1200 miles on this oil; should I change it?   

Thanks, Cecil
 
Can you let us know the name of the aftermarket clutch lever you used?  Have you compared the "push rod" area on the OEM and aftermarket to see if there are differences yet?  If the clutch was slipping as bad as you say it was I'd change the oil and filter and consider checking the clutch drive and friction plates out for warpage.  These engines make a lot of power :).  Warped plates will just get worse and possibly leave you stranded.
 
I agree that the lever is likely the cause.

Change the oil and filter. Many drag bike engines have been blown up after replacing a burned up clutch and not taking time to change the oil and filter, losing sufficient oil supply/pressure on the next pass due to a restricted filter.
 
Some years ago there were some knock offs that needed the the pivot pin hole where the plunger on the master fits drilled deeper to match the stock lever. It wouldn't let the clutch or the brake fully disengage. On a separate note, When I installed Pazzo levers on mine I failed to seat the plunger properly in the pivot pin and had the same slippage as you speak of.
 
I agree with others. Change the oil/filter.
Will also give you a chance to look {and maybe smell} the oil.
If it smells burnt, {like burnt clutches' in Automatic transmission fluid} it would give you an indication on how hot you got the  clutch.

Ride safe, Ted
 
I bought aftermarket levers... that is what they did.. made my clutch slip.. they do not return back far enough.. I had to grind them down until they worked
 
Daytona Mike said:
"I bought aftermarket levers... that is what they did.. made my clutch slip.. they do not return back far enough.."

gPink said:
On a separate note, When I installed Pazzo levers on mine I failed to seat the plunger properly in the pivot pin and had the same slippage as you speak of.
Click to expand...

So DaytonaMike and gPink both get a gold ribbon at the Been There / Done That COG Forum Competition. Yup it was an installation goof on my part; there were no instruction so I installed them the same way I had done with the functionally identical levers on my GSXR years before (no problem then). 

Now, on this C14, it took me about 1 minute with a 3/16 rod, to help move around the pivot pin hole (trial and error), before the plunger went in a tad more than before.  Seated.

Took it out this afternoon for 30 miles and clutch works fine.  Yeah! 
Thanks everyone for your help!

 
So before test riding my bike I did change the oil.  Centerstand idled it for warm-up and went through the gears. 

My register showed that I had 1800 miles on the Rotella 5W-40 oil (vs. the 1200 I thought).  Out came the cleanest looking of any oil I'd drained out of any bike.  And the magnetic drain plug was cleaner than any prior bike change (90% clean shiney chrome magnet area). Feel much relieved...
 
Daytona_Mike said:
I bought aftermarket levers... that is what they did.. made my clutch slip.. they do not return back far enough.. I had to grind them down until they worked
Click to expand...

Yep! Me too, same experience. On the clutch master there is a small pin that slips into a drilled hole on the lever. On mine the hole was too small so the pin from the master was riding on top of this hole so my clutch had some pre-tension on the clutch system even when the lever was fully out. I went back to stock and no more slipping.
 
I'm glad it worked out for you my friend. I thought diesel oil being high detergent would have been a little dirtier looking. I would have changed the oil too just because. In fact I think I will make that my project for the day. Or maybe tomorrow. It's not like I have anything pressing...….
 
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