[goldenbb5]

My clutch's freeplay fluctuates a lot. to the point of partially engaging the clutch. I've got the evoluzion slave cylinder. I've put a ton of fluid through it and am getting no air. I even cracked the master cylinder banjo bolt under pressure.

The problem worsens when i park the bike. It'll be fine when i go into a store or something, but when i come back out the clutch is engaged. (easily fixed thanks to the wrench in my pocket at all times). My only thoughts are that it is just getting too hot. The slave cylinder was very hot after just a 15 minute ride tonight. The clutch line runs right beside one of the cylinders.

What do I do? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[test-reg]

Several possibilities... One is you still have air, try backbleeding. Also a sticking pushrod or clutch discs sticking in the basket can cause this.

 

[goldenbb5]

I'll give back bleeding a try tomorrow. I don't think it's the discs, I bought it two months ago with 2,700 miles on it. She's only got 6,500 now. But i'll take a look if I have to. thanks.

 

[dan900sie]

Possibly a problem with the bearing in the PP? I don't know how hot the slave is supposed to get, but I would think if the pushrod were spinning in the slave, it would get pretty hot, and maybe give you weird lever travel.

 

[Mac900]

I'm not quite understanding this. The clutch in it's normal state (without pulling the clutch lever) is always engaged. When you pull the clutch lever the clutch disengages. Are you saying that after leaving the bike parked for a while that the clutch hydraulics build up enough pressure by themselves to disengage the clutch and you can shift gears without pulling the lever? Or are you saying that you have a lot of freeplay in the lever when you get back to the bike?

 

[goldenbb5]

Ah, thank you, I mixed up my terminology. When the lever is all the way out the clutch is partially disengaged or slipping. And it usually becomes this way after sitting for 10-20 minutes. When i get back to the bike there is 0 freeplay and the clutch is slipping.

 

[dan900sie]

With the lever fully out, there is supposed to be a hole in the pushrod that will let any pressure build-up bleed off into the reservoir, or something like that, I'm sure one of the smarter folks will clarify. I'll bet that someone has tried to adjust it, or it's clogged.

 

[Mac900]

OK, Say you leave the bike for 30 minutes to an hour and when you come back there is zero freeplay at the lever. Then you adjust freeplay so that you have that 1mm freeplay. Then assuming that you have the freeplay correctly set what happens after that? How the the clutch work while riding? What happens after you park it for another 30 mins to and hour? Does it go back to zero free play again?

 

[goldenbb5]

I haven't messed with the freeplay adjustment at all. When necessary I just crack the bleeder to remove pressure from the system. Then the freeplay is where I like it and all is good. Sometimes it stays good, somtimes I can feel the freeplay getting smaller and smaller as I ride. And I just checked on this last night...After 15 minutes I had the same symptoms, but in the morning after sitting all night, it was perfect freeplay and operation.

Right after i remove the pressure from the system, the clutch operates flawlessly, it's just a matter of how long that lasts.

 

[test-reg]

Hokay, now were getting somewhere. It sounds like what Ddan referred to, free play adjustment. If this is the case a minor adjustment will solve the problem.

Remove the cover from the reservoir.
Back off the adjustment screw that preses against the pushrod. It may be covored with epoxy.
Turn in the screw by about 1/8 turn and gently try lever. You should see fluid squirt.
Continue tightening 1/8 turn at a time untill the fluid squirt stops. The port is now blocked.
Loosen the screw 2/3 of a turn. It is now adjusted.

Or you can just make sure you have about 3 mm play.