Clutch problem
 

Whilst out riding over the weekend I began to notice that my clutch was biting much nearer the bar grip and there was a covering of fine black dust over my brake pedal, foot pegs etc.

are the two linked?
what is/has happened?
is it expensive?

the bike was serviced only two weeks ago.

Hi Frank,

As the saying goes, I'm no expert, but I have tinkered with my clutch extensively, with good results.

The biting nearer the grip -

First place to look would be to bleed your clutch - bleed very thoroughly using the bleed nipple on the slave cylinder (in front of the drive sprocket), followed by the bleed nipple on the handlebar master cylinder (if fitted). Also, try tying the lever in to the handle bar overnight, this may allow trapped air bubbles to escape.

Dust on foot-peg etc -

Do you by any chance have an open clutch cover? If the clutch is dragging due to being in need of a bleed, it may be producing excess dust and depositing it in that area if you stop at traffic lights etc with the bike in gear and the clutch disengaged.

Otherwise its termites.

Best of luck sorting it.

Spinoli

As it happens I don't have an open clutch cover.

It is virtually impossible to get the bike in neutral as well with the engine running.

would this have been looked at on a third coupon service?

I would have thought they checked the clutch.
Give the dealer a ring and ask them, if they say yes then you can tell them that they've nadged your clutch.

Just a thought:)

sounds like my bike a little while ago and a friends at the weekend, in both cases whipped off the pressure plat and the friction plates were almost smooth ... sounds like the it may be the case here, I'd do that before bleeding and rebleeding again ... just to be sure ....

its easy ...

1. Remove clutch cover
2. Undo the six spring bolts and remove bolts and springs.
3. Gently pull pressure plate away and the push rod will come with it ...
4. Pull a few plates out and have a look, ou are only interested in the friction plates ....
5. If plates are ok then put back in same order that you removed them ....
6. If plates are buggered then theres your answer, new clutch plates required, order and install ..

whole excecise takes about 10-15 minutes.

If your not familiar with bike clutches i would say that even brand new plates look worn out, thers is very little material on them. Trouble getting into gear is more likley to be hydraulic related. The hydraulic system should take up wear on the plates so the only reason for the biting point moving would be air in the system (probably)

The basic problem is that the lever is disengaging the clutch too close to the bar, so the plates don't separate enough and they drag. The continuous dragging when disengaged at a stop wears the friction material faster and makes it very difficult to select neutral. The stock clutch cover has small vents to eliminate excess friction material debris so that's why you’re getting a lot of dust on the right side, aft of the clutch cover.

If the lever shortened-pull suddenly appeared after a service (that didn't involve the clutch hydraulics) then the likely explanation is that someone changed the 4-position adjustment setting at the clutch lever.

Otherwise, the problem is air in the clutch line as other’s have mentioned. Unlike hydraulic fluid air is compressible, so when you pull the lever the air compresses first before enough pressure can be built-up to move the slave cylinder and pushrod that in turn separates the plates.

If you don't have a bleed valve near the master cylinder, bleeding the system down at the slave cylinder is usually difficult because any air bubble rises to the highest point. The newer bikes now have bleed valves internal to the MS reservoir that makes the bleed process much easier.

stupid question perhaps but does moving the 4 position adjuster on the lever affect the biting point of the clutch then?

Yes becasue the lever wont move as far.

Yes, so if you use the adjuster position that has the engagement point furthest away from the bar, you increase the throw of the lever, the movement of the pushrod, and ultimatly the amount of separation of the clutch plates. More separation, even a millimeter or so, redues the drag between plates when the lever is pulled in.

Of course, smaller hands have difficulty if you move the engagement point too far out.