Clutch slip

[Bendy toy]

I've had a bike in with the engine filled, and i mean literally filled with oil.
He couldn't see any level in the sight glass (because it was already full) so emptied a whole 4 litre container of oil into the engine.
The bike still ran ok but was spluttering oil out of the exhaust pipe when you revved the engine

That must have been fun! Mine was over filled by no more than a litre probably just a pint too much.

I had a VW 1.9TDI wee its sump all over the drive yet no visible level on the dip stick. An injector fault had filled the sump with diesel!!!

 

[Pukmeister]

My 2008 GSA clutch slipped in high gears at big throttle openings from 10,000 miles, not uncommon it would seem on 2008 onwards models.

I replaced it myself over a weekend for £400 at 18,000 miles, other than slight glazing the old clutch was mint. The new clutch has also slipped a couple of times since, I now have 40,000+ on the odometer.

My guess is a sticky pushrod or slave cylinder when hot. It is clearly not the clutch pack.

 

[Delboy777]

That's exactly what it's doing Delboy.Whats causing it to slip if it's not oil and only done 30000

My 2010 GS did it at 20k, however I sold the bike, and it subsequently had a new clutch fitted. Its quite common apparently.

 

[Tam]

DrFarkoff it's fully out.The clutch seems to work perfect apart from the odd slip in top gear. I think I'm going to leave alone until it starts to be a problem as long as they give a fair bit of warning before going??.Can anybody tell me if you can take out an extended warranty on a bike that's 7 years old.It's had all its services done at motored or does this only work with bikes coming out off there manufacturers warranties. I wouldn't think a clutch would be covered and that's not what I'm after anyway just a bit of backup as we're planning to ride the length of the Alps this year.

 

[mikeyboy]

You will be seriously pissed off with yourself if the clutch plays up and ruins your holiday
If anything is going to give it a hard time I think the alps is a contender!
Just sayin,like!!

 

[bazman]

DrFarkoff it's fully out.The clutch seems to work perfect apart from the odd slip in top gear. I think I'm going to leave alone until it starts to be a problem as long as they give a fair bit of warning before going??.Can anybody tell me if you can take out an extended warranty on a bike that's 7 years old.It's had all its services done at motored or does this only work with bikes coming out off there manufacturers warranties. I wouldn't think a clutch would be covered and that's not what I'm after anyway just a bit of backup as we're planning to ride the length of the Alps this year.

Yes you can take out the Bmw warranty , ( I have on my 08 GSA) kicks in after 30 days then pay monthly or yearly, I also took the breakdown cover as well, roughly £380 a year if I remember correctly.

 

[Pukmeister]

I doubt the warranty will cover the clutch unless its oil contaminated from a failed seal, or has a faulty component. I also doubt from my own experience of a slipping clutch in top two gears that it would spoil an Alps tour as you will be in the lower gears with a greater mechanical advantage and lower speed. Mine only occasionally slipped under hard acceleration in 5th and 6th, easily ridden around just be absolutely sure of your planned overtakes and have a get-out plan as backup.

 

[Tam]

Many Thanks for everybody's input.Will take it all onboard...��

 

[tezz]

my 2012 has just started slipping as you mentioned -its only on 16k -been stood 3 months but i feel the more it slips the worse it will get as it will glaze over,i took the starter of and clutch was dry(bit rusty to) no sign of oil,still got 5.5mm on plate .now heres the thing -i tookthe slave cyl of and all is spotless but the slave must have a powerfull spring to keep presure on the rod as its very hard to push back in and wants to expand straight away but theres a lot of pressure to push back in .i was thinking it must put pressure on the clutch constantly-has anyone else noticed this

 

[Bendy toy]

my 2012 has just started slipping as you mentioned -its only on 16k -been stood 3 months but i feel the more it slips the worse it will get as it will glaze over,i took the starter of and clutch was dry(bit rusty to) no sign of oil,still got 5.5mm on plate .now heres the thing -i tookthe slave cyl of and all is spotless but the slave must have a powerfull spring to keep presure on the rod as its very hard to push back in and wants to expand straight away but theres a lot of pressure to push back in .i was thinking it must put pressure on the clutch constantly-has anyone else noticed this

The clutch fluid reservoir level rises as the clutch wears. If that's over full you will not be able to push the slave piston in.

 

[speedofile]

Not sure if this is helpful, but I had a Hayabusa that had not been used for about a year before I bought it (garage kept). When I started rising the clutch started to slip every now and then, turned out that the pressure plates had rusted and this was the cause...replaced the plates, problem solved.

 

[jwpzx9r]

My 2008 GSA clutch slipped in high gears at big throttle openings from 10,000 miles, not uncommon it would seem on 2008 onwards models.

I replaced it myself over a weekend for £400 at 18,000 miles, other than slight glazing the old clutch was mint. The new clutch has also slipped a couple of times since, I now have 40,000+ on the odometer.

My guess is a sticky pushrod or slave cylinder when hot. It is clearly not the clutch pack.

Exactly what happened with my bike when I first got it. I wrung its neck the first time out and noticed the clutch let go at about 6k in top. I took it back and the tech reckoned it was the pushrod. I took it in to be repaired and although I have no idea what they actually did to repair it and they never told me it has never done it again.

 

[Bendy toy]

Mine has 65K under the wheels with a power Commander. I can't get the clutch to slip.

Famous last words.

 

[Pukmeister]

Exactly what happened with my bike when I first got it. I wrung its neck the first time out and noticed the clutch let go at about 6k in top. I took it back and the tech reckoned it was the pushrod. I took it in to be repaired and although I have no idea what they actually did to repair it and they never told me it has never done it again.

I have heard rumours about different years having different push rods and wondered if perhaps they fitted the wrong ones during production of change-over (MU) models by mistake. My pushrod had some wear burrs on its tip when I did the clutch change and the spines were dryer than a nuns proverbial.

I did wonder about taking a few thou off it on the lathe at work.

 

[tezz]

put the slave cyl back on -after loosening reservior cap -the fluid level looked high so instead of taking fluid out of reservior i bled it - will see if any change -these bikes should be sorted from the factory as the design has been around ages -you expect issues with cheap bikes/cars but not on a 4 year bmw

 

[Bendy toy]

If BuMW were not trying to reinvent the wheel a new clutch would be about £100 all in.
It's nothing fancy except the designers were wedded to a pushrod release design. That demands a bespoke back to front clutch rather than normal arrangement and toroidal slave cylinder used by everyone else.