Clutch Bite Point Erratic

spanner monkey

spanner monkey

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Hi All
Im a new owner of a 2013 1200 GS TE water cooled and Im having some very odd issues with my clutch, the bite point keeps changing whilst riding and can go from being just off the bars to almost all the way out, it only seems to happen while riding and I can feel when I pull the clutch that sometimes the first part of the movement is doing nothing then literally next actuation it's disengaging right from the first bit of movement. The master cylinder has plenty of fluid and the slave has no signs of a leak but I'm finding it very off-putting when pulling away as I have no idea where the bite point will be each time, it has caused me to stall a couple of times too when it surprises me and bites too early. The bite point is not affected by the engine temperature at all and has the same erratic behaviour hot or cold.
has anyone seen something similar and does anyone have a fix? I'm not sure I can live with it as it stands as its so unpredictable, every time I pull away its like I'm on a bike I've never ridden before. There doesn't seem to be any clutch drag but its also incredibly difficult to find neutral with the engine running and the bike stationary.
the bike is a 2013 with 26k miles on the clock.
 
I think you'll find that many 2013/2014 era GS riders experienced a varying clutch engagement point, shall we say a characteristic of the early liquid-cooled models. IIRC, it was dependant upon whether you are on or off the throttle. Your sounds more like air in the line though - pump the lever a few times, the air gets compressed & the clutch seems fine. A few miles down the road, without touching the lever & next time it pulls back to the bar without declutching. It's often indicative of a failing slave in my experience.

However it would be worth giving the hydraulics a flush through with fresh fluid, making sure there is no air in the line, just to eliminate the obvious first.

 
squibb34 said:
I think you'll find that many 2013/2014 era GS riders experienced a varying clutch engagement point, shall we say a characteristic of the early liquid-cooled models. IIRC, it was dependant upon whether you are on or off the throttle. Your sounds more like air in the line though - pump the lever a few times, the air gets compressed & the clutch seems fine. A few miles down the road, without touching the lever & next time it pulls back to the bar without declutching. It's often indicative of a failing slave in my experience.

However it would be worth giving the hydraulics a flush through with fresh fluid, making sure there is no air in the line, just to eliminate the obvious first.

Click to expand...
Got some Mineral clutch fluid on order and Ill give it a flush through to start with. Im guessing if the slave was failing I would be losing some fluid but this isn’t the case.
 
13-14 1200s had awful problems with clutches. I was full time in the dealer network then and it was a very common problem.

These early models had problems with oil over pressurising the clutch rod channel. Making it stick on.

Did you know, when the bike came out , the fill was 4.1 liters. They dropped it to 4L thinking it would help.

2015+ bikes are modified for better oil clearance...

So first thing you should do is check your oil is not over -filled.

You could also have a failing clutch slave cylinder. It could be letting the pressure slip.

You could also have warped clutch plates. Slipping causes over-heating. When a clutch overheats you get a very firm lever followed by a soggy lever.
 
I’ve been out on the bike just now and I think I know the problem now, basically when the bike is engine braking the first 3cm of clutch pull does nothing the rest of the movement is totally normal bit this brings the bite point quite low when pulling away again. When powering up through the gears the clutch feels absolutely perfect and the bite point is much further out. Im guessing the shimming on the gearbox shaft is a bit sub optimal.
Also read that a very slightly longer clutch shaft was added in later models to slightly reduce this problem
 
Another issue on the early models was the clutch rod not fully seating into the slave cylinder. Making the rod "too long". It's quite likely your bike would have been into a dealership for a clutch, rod or slave cylinder in it's early life.

The slave cylinder is generally where most "weird" clutch issues derive from on a 1200LC.
 
I have a spare updated clutch rod which your welcome too if you want to try it. But don’t take it for granted that it hasn’t already been retro fitted as many were.
 
Spooky said:
I have a spare updated clutch rod which your welcome too if you want to try it. But don’t take it for granted that it hasn’t already been retro fitted as many were.
Click to expand...
Hey Spooky that’s really kind of you, have you fitted one of the updated longer shafts yourself? Did you see any difference ?
I cant see anything in the service history that says any clutch work has been done on my bike so Im assuming its stock currently.
Im away at the moment so I can’t get in my garage and pull it apart to check.
Happy to pay you for the part / postage etc if you can send it.
 
Mine already had the updated clutch rod retro fitted. Given the clutch drag I had when hot I assumed it didn’t hence why I purchased one. Although I haven’t ridden one with the old push rod, I suspect the difference is minimal given mine still isn’t great. Any improvement I guess is a bonus. If you let me know your address I’ll send it to you.
 
Spooky said:
Mine already had the updated clutch rod retro fitted. Given the clutch drag I had when hot I assumed it didn’t hence why I purchased one. Although I haven’t ridden one with the old push rod, I suspect the difference is minimal given mine still isn’t great. Any improvement I guess is a bonus. If you let me know your address I’ll send it to you.
Click to expand...
Is there a way to DM my address to you?
 
Not on here I don’t think. Drop me an email on easyfixx123 at gmail.com. That is an email address I’m not bothered about so don’t mind it being in the public domain
 
Spooky said:
Not on here I don’t think. Drop me an email on easyfixx123 at gmail.com. That is an email address I’m not bothered about so don’t mind it being in the public domain
Click to expand...
To send a”dm” click on envelope symbol on the top banner.
 
Spooky said:
Not on here I don’t think. Drop me an email on easyfixx123 at gmail.com. That is an email address I’m not bothered about so don’t mind it being in the public domain
Click to expand...
Have you done a full clutch fluid and bleed? this action of being low and then high points to air in the system.
 
I have the fluid on order but Im pretty confident there is no air in the system. Ill do it anyway as it will at least eliminate that option.
 
Yes I did. Part is all bagged up and will post tomorrow as I have a day off
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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