no clutch after straight run

[dxtans]

Hello,
After my bike (gsa-08), has a had a ( in top gear) straight run of approx 25mins, and I try to down gear as a I slow down, the clutch does not engage. Only after pumping the clutch lever quite a few times do I get back a very low pressure pull on the lever, and thus can down gear.
This happened quite a few times over the last few days in France, and is very scary when you are two up with full luggage and trying to slow down when coming to a toll or exit, and even more embarrassing when you are at the toll/cross-roads and cannot get it in gear to get away.

It's booked in for SLM guys to check it out , but was wondering if anybody else has experienced this.

dxtans

 

[ts2]

Sounds like you have a pocket of air (well gas) in the pipe somewhere. You can get the same effect in brakes. As the gas warms it expands. Most of the lever travel is then spent compressing the gas, rather than moving the fluid.

Hopefully a quick bleed should fix it. Not sure how the gas would get in though.

Toby

BTW take this with a big pinch of salt, as I'm a biochemist. Not even sure why I'm answering, as I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along. TS

 

[rick]

Sounds like your slave cylinder is on the way out.

You may have just been unlucky and had one go or the other thing that might have caused this is if its been topped up with standard brake fluid. The clutch fluid is mineral based, similar to Citroen's hydraulic fluid.

Standard brake fluid will shag the seals. It is written on top of the fluid cover in bright black.

 

[Kev B]

Hi David,
Sorry to hear about your clutch problems when in France.Hope you get it sorted under warranty.I will give you a bell sometime this week.
Kevin

 

[SALTY BALLS]

Hello,
After my bike (gsa-08), has a had a ( in top gear) straight run of approx 25mins, and I try to down gear as a I slow down, the clutch does not engage. Only after pumping the clutch lever quite a few times do I get back a very low pressure pull on the lever, and thus can down gear.
This happened quite a few times over the last few days in France, and is very scary when you are two up with full luggage and trying to slow down when coming to a toll or exit, and even more embarrassing when you are at the toll/cross-roads and cannot get it in gear to get away.

It's booked in for SLM guys to check it out , but was wondering if anybody else has experienced this.

dxtans

Exactly the same problem, after a good 2 hour blast on a m/way in France, came off down into Millau .........PANIC.......... no clutch at all, frantic pumping of lever and it gradually came back. Mentioned it to my dealer but they had never heard of such a problem. I now feel relieved that somebody else has had this fault and it wasn't just me, mind you it's never happened since...........touch wood......

 

[RickG]

Like ts2 says, sounds like a pocket of gas in the line. Given it happens after a long blast it may be water contamination. The heat of the engine turns it to steam and the line becomes compressable rather than solid. Would only take a small pocket to to lose all of the movement the lever generates

Did the clutch action return to normal when the engine had cooled?

 

[SALTY BALLS]

Like ts2 says, sounds like a pocket of gas in the line. Given it happens after a long blast it may be water contamination. The heat of the engine turns it to steam and the line becomes compressable rather than solid. Would only take a small pocket to to lose all of the movement the lever generates

Did the clutch action return to normal when the engine had cooled?

it never happened before or since just the once

 

[davidgibson999]

I lost my clutch about 2 years ago. A new slave cylinder sorted it.

 

[dxtans]

Yes, it is OK, when engine cooler.
I am also glad some one else ( ..salty balls) has had this issue.
Well the bikes in on April 14 at the dealers, I am sure they will find a solution.

Why does it always happen ( getting bike issues) when you are abroad and not at ruddy home !!!

dxtans

 

[Gipsy]

Exactly the same problem, after a good 2 hour blast on a m/way in France, came off down into Millau .........PANIC.......... no clutch at all, frantic pumping of lever and it gradually came back. Mentioned it to my dealer but they had never heard of such a problem. I now feel relieved that somebody else has had this fault and it wasn't just me, mind you it's never happened since...........touch wood......

PLus 1. Riding into Budapest, solo but with camping gear, pretty warm, and not hanging around. Went to change gear and little or no resistance from the clutch lever. Pulled over and poked about, but couldn't see anything amiss. After half an hour decided to head towards the campsite, and lo and behold all back to normal. No problem since. Often wondered what it was.

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Exactly the same problem, after a good 2 hour blast on a m/way in France, came off down into Millau .........PANIC.......... no clutch at all, frantic pumping of lever and it gradually came back. Mentioned it to my dealer but they had never heard of such a problem. I now feel relieved that somebody else has had this fault and it wasn't just me, mind you it's never happened since...........touch wood......

It's never happend to you since because you sold the bloody bike

 

[dxtans]

Hi David,
Sorry to hear about your clutch problems when in France.Hope you get it sorted under warranty.I will give you a bell sometime this week.
Kevin

Kev,
OK on that

 

[jonothan]

I've had an almost identical problem (see seperate thread) but it was so much worse today the bike was becoming hard to ride smoothly.

In the end I took the bike to Astle BMW in Grimsby mid afternoon, and left it with them, and I'll let you know what they find.

J

 

[jonothan]

OK, here's what Astle found.

Yes, there was air in the clutch hydraulics.

The air was creeping in from the union between the hydraulic line and the slave cylinder. It's been dismantled, checked, cleaned, and tightened up. The clutch line has been bled. All is now fine. The technician has seen this twice before and he's happy the problem has been solved.

Just as a tip, he told me that if this happens again, to put the bike on the centre stand, steering over hard right, so that the clutch lever is as high as it will go. Then very gently pump the clutch lever, but NOT the full travel, just pumping in and out using just the first couple of millimetres of slack. This will get the air out of the system and allow the clutch to be used normally for a period of time.

Hope all this helps.

Cheers

J

 

[dxtans]

OK, here's what Astle found.

Yes, there was air in the clutch hydraulics.

Just as a tip, he told me that if this happens again, to put the bike on the centre stand, steering over hard right, so that the clutch lever is as high as it will go. Then very gently pump the clutch lever, but NOT the full travel, just pumping in and out using just the first couple of millimetres of slack. This will get the air out of the system and allow the clutch to be used normally for a period of time.

Hope all this helps.

Cheers

J

Ok, thanks for the tip, will try it.
Glad to hear you problem is now fixed.
dxtans

 

[jonothan]

Ok, thanks for the tip, will try it.
Glad to hear you problem is now fixed.
dxtans

Maybe spoke too soon. Though not anywhere near as bad as before, after having a ride yesterday, I've found that the problem is still there to a lesser degree after a long run at speed without using the clutch. Bugger!

J

 

[dxtans]

sorry to hear that, mine is in on Tuesday.
Let's hope mine gets fixed, as I had issues with it again to-day, I did try the tip you posted, did not make any difference I am afraid.

dxtans

 

[dxtans]

Maybe spoke too soon. Though not anywhere near as bad as before, after having a ride yesterday, I've found that the problem is still there to a lesser degree after a long run at speed without using the clutch. Bugger!

J

Mine went in to-day(SLM), the master slave ??? needs replacing. So it is booked to go back in at the end of the month for replacement.

Yesterday I took the bike up the A12 for a good run in top gear, never had an issue then ??, however I did try your tip again, and pumped the clutch lever several times to the halfway mark. Before I was just slightly pulling it.Go figure!

dxtans

 

[bowser]

Sounds like your slave cylinder is on the way out.

You may have just been unlucky and had one go or the other thing that might have caused this is if its been topped up with standard brake fluid. The clutch fluid is mineral based, similar to Citroen's hydraulic fluid.

Standard brake fluid will shag the seals. It is written on top of the fluid cover in bright black.

I am not sure that the last bit about the brake fluid is correct.
There are really only 2 types of fluid on the market Polyalkylene Glycol Ether based which is Dot 3, 3.1, 4 and 5.1 (the point 1 being very important) and fluid that contains Silicone which is basically Dot 5 only, apart from their wet and dry boiling points, all of the glycol ones are interchangeable, NEVER ever mix silicone and glycol as it will bugger up your system as the rubber in the seals has to be different as they expand at different rates in reaction to the different fluids. Standard fluid is normally glycol ether based fluid and that is exactly what should be used (DOT 4). AFAIK

 

[swissrob]

DO NOT USE NORMAL BRAKE/CLUTCH FLUID - you will ruin the seals, quite a few cases on here about people using normal brake/clutch fluid then having the fluid piss out after a week or 2