Clutch slip + Oil | GTAMotorcycle.com

Clutch slip + Oil

ashkan

ashkan

Banned
Hey guys hows it going?
I have recently brought the bike back to life after winter storage and of course changed the oil again. But my clutch has started to slip on medium to hard accelerations on almost all gears. I have adjusted it a few times from the lever and the lower end (bolt) and lubricated the cable and although it makes it slightly better, i still have major slipping. Ive been reading about how using some oils can make the clutch slip. I am using MOTUL 3000 10w 40for the first time. ANy clues as to whether this is causing the problem or what should i do?
Im trying to exhaust all the possibilities before having to do change the whole clutch :S.
The bike is a 2002 zx-6r with 65000 km
Thanks.
 
Drive plates are prob under sized/below spec. 65k, original clutch??

Clutches last at most 20k-25k for me...
 
Clutch might be knackered, though sometimes adjusting the clutch cable can be counterintuitive. Make the lever as loose as you can stand it and see if it makes a difference. Motul 3000 won't be the problem, it's JASO-MA so you're fine.

frekeyguy said:
Drive plates are prob under sized/below spec. 65k, original clutch??

Clutches last at most 20k-25k for me...
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Really? I've never once replaced a clutch due to normal wear and I've had a few bikes go past 50k. I'm positive there are tons of people on this board that have done double that.
 
I would adjust the clutch cable to make sure there is no tension when the clutch lever is at the resting position, maybe even leave a little bit of slack. Also, do you notice a burning clutch smell?

frekey, how many burnouts do you do?!! My CBR F2 still has the original clutch at 120,000 or 6x more than your burnt out clutches. And my ZX-9R has the original clutch at 55,000 (almost 3x). I'm not saying a burnt out clutch is out of the question in the OP's case, but 20-25K seems unreasonably low for the life of a clutch unless it's abused (eg. drag racing, burnouts, stunts, etc.).
 
WoBblyCaT said:
I would adjust the clutch cable to make sure there is no tension when the clutch lever is at the resting position, maybe even leave a little bit of slack. Also, do you notice a burning clutch smell?

frekey, how many burnouts do you do?!! My CBR F2 still has the original clutch at 120,000 or 6x more than your burnt out clutches. And my ZX-9R has the original clutch at 55,000 (almost 3x). I'm not saying a burnt out clutch is out of the question in the OP's case, but 20-25K seems unreasonably low for the life of a clutch unless it's abused (eg. drag racing, burnouts, stunts, etc.).
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what do you do with a SS? tour with it all the time? If you do yes, they will last a while.

Burnouts don't really destroy my clutches, it's my attempts to do sit down wheelies is what destroyed clutches for me personally, but thats when I get like 500k or a few hours from a clutch (just shows that im not great at doing wheelies).

But if i am on the back roads going from idle to redline, and 6k - 14k -> 100x of times during the weekends which also wears down clutches for me, add to that a lot of downshifits/upshifts at high rpms....it all add's up. 20-20k of doing that....there goes a clutch

Clutches are cheap, driven plates are $100ish a set, if you know what your doing you don't have to replace a whole set, you can get by and really use all the friction plates up...

I don't see it as abuse though, just normal wear/tear for a SS to go through..front brake pads last 20k-25k as well for me. How long do you get otta brakes??

But if we are trying to help the OP out, really the OP should be looking all the little things first before replacing a clutch...
 
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TwistedKestrel said:
Really? I've never once replaced a clutch due to normal wear and I've had a few bikes go past 50k. I'm positive there are tons of people on this board that have done double that.
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im sure you will find tons that have gotten less than 20k on a wet motorcycle clutch...
 
I bought a Honda VFR a few years back with only 3000km on it. The previous owner had just changed the oil in it using Motul semi-synthetic oil and the clutch would just let go sometimes and slip under hard acceleration.Next oil change I used the Honda dino oil and the problem completely disappeared.After that I began using the Mobil 1 synthetic bike oil for over 50,000km without any clutch problems whatsoever.If I were you,I would just try changing to a different brand of oil, preferably conventional as opposed to synthetic before I went to the expense of replacing the clutch
 
if you burn out clutches that fast, youll never work on my bike let alone ride it!
 
Stewart said:
if you burn out clutches that fast, youll never work on my bike let alone ride it!
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in all the years of riding ... i've changed 1 clutch one 1 bike ... it had 89k on it ... in my opinion the OP should change the oil brand and see if it makes a dif.
 
Hey guys, thank you so much for all the replies and taking your time explaining it. I will try changing the oil first and see if that will fix the problem. If not, it think ill buy a set of plates and open the owners manual. Again, thanks a bunch for the replies and hope you all have a safe season.
 
chiller said:
in all the years of riding ... i've changed 1 clutch one 1 bike ... it had 89k on it ... in my opinion the OP should change the oil brand and see if it makes a dif.
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all about what is bike is doing and what its being used to do. if its a lot of touring like wobbley does, yeah they will last forever. if its being used for something all around, drag/track/back roads...they can only last so long.

do 10+ drag race passes all out on a 600 and there goes a clutch....

[video=youtube;LiozNJynBNs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiozNJynBNs[/video]
 
Since you have a Kawi that uses the exact same clutch as my bikes, I recommend looking thou the oil filler hole, and look at the edges of the steel plates...Look for blue or black discoloring....If they have started to change color then drop the oil and take the clutch out...Inspect it, measure the frictions, and see exactly what needs to be changed and what can be reused...

I go through a clutch about every season or 2 on the stunt bike, and that is how I check quickly without taking anything apart...Personally I always change the complete clutch pack at once, its around $200 for our Kawis for both OEM frictions and steels...

Anyone that is burning a clutch out in 20,000km on the street it doing something or alot of things wrong.....Yes you can burn a clutch out in a matter of a minute or 2, trying to do burnouts or wheelies, but that is only because your doing it wrong...And burning the clutch...Just like in a car, when someone doesnt know how to drive standard they burn out the clutch ...

More then once people have come to the shop for a tire change, and went to the back to do a burnout before taking off their tires. 1 person burnt their clutch already this season doing that on a newish 07+ GSXR just doing that, hey more work for us...His bike was low KM, like under 10,000

I also see alot of bikes come in with no clutch cable free play, which doesnt allow the clutch to fully disengage and causes excessive wear and slipping...Free play needs to be adjusted as the clutch pack wears...
 
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Yes, so true Johnny - people don't realize that as the clutch wears, freeplay will disappear.
More freeplay must then be added back in, or the clutch will slip.
Also, old clutches with many years (but not so many miles) on them can become saturated with oil.
Those friction plates will lose their 'bite', and even though there may still be plenty of material there, the clutch is toast.
A heavy pull (ie. heavier springs) can make a clutch last longer.
Bikes you think would be harder on clutches, often are not.
Like ZX-14 - the front wheel lifts while the rear wheel spins, but the clutch? No problems at all, heheh...
 
Change to a different oil. That will at least eliminate blaming the oil before you mess with the clutch.

/rs
 
Hey guys, does this help diagnose this problem? The clutch has much better grip when i first ride it from the cold. the clutch start slipping much more noticeably when the bike is fully warmed up.
 
My 02 zx6r used to do the same thing, it would slip at high revs when it was warm. I took the plates out and switched about 4 or 5 plates, half friction half steel and no problems now :). pretty simple job, it'll take you a saturday. Only issue is you need to order parts after you see the plates, soooo maybe buy a whole set and use whichever plates you need and save the rest... or just switch them all.
 
Twoth said:
My 02 zx6r used to do the same thing, it would slip at high revs when it was warm. I took the plates out and switched about 4 or 5 plates, half friction half steel and no problems now :). pretty simple job, it'll take you a saturday. Only issue is you need to order parts after you see the plates, soooo maybe buy a whole set and use whichever plates you need and save the rest... or just switch them all.
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cheers man, i think im gonna do it next week. do you recommend anywhere specific to order them from?
 
ashkan said:
Hey guys, does this help diagnose this problem? The clutch has much better grip when i first ride it from the cold. the clutch start slipping much more noticeably when the bike is fully warmed up.
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Warped plates
 
WoBblyCaT said:
I'm not saying a burnt out clutch is out of the question in the OP's case, but 20-25K seems unreasonably low for the life of a clutch unless it's abused (eg. drag racing, burnouts, stunts, etc.).
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111,xxxKm with the original clutch on a 220-240Kg bike with 80fp of torque and 110Hp on the wheel. Those that rode with me know how much I like to accelerate hard and red line it a few times on every ride. Only a few burnouts and some very mild wheelies though. A clutch burned after only 20-25K is a clutch of a heavily abused, very poorly maintained, defective or all of the above, bike.
 
Typically only the drive (friction material) plates are replaced.
The driven (steel) plates are cleaned up and deglazed with fine sandpaper, and inspected.
If warped, deformed or worn they could be replaced too, as required.
Anyone doing a clutch should look at Barnett replacement parts.
Ideally they will have a kit, including stronger springs, for your model.
But not available for all...
Hard launches, with high RPM and clutch slipping, will provide 90% of premature clutch wear.
It's possible to ride hard and fast for many kms though, and get great clutch longevity as Vlad has mentioned, if you launch your bike using more motor and less clutch.
L8R
 
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