Upgrade 2010 clutch to 2016 slipper, results easy pull lever

I have seen the video from Two Wheel Obsession showing the upgrading of the FJR clutch to the 2016 slipper clutch, with greatly reduced pull force on the lever.


Have any of you done this mod? This how-to video is well organized and direct. I have the 2010 Gen2, and am considering doing this mod. Approx $300 in parts (as of July 3, 2018).

Have any of you done this, or have direct experience with this?

Thanks -

Yes, I did the slipper/assist clutch upgrade on my 2014ES. I think it was worth the cost of the parts and relatively minor effort on my part. If I had to pay for the labor I might feel differently. YMMV.

I also did this mod to my '05 and definitely think it is a good upgrade. And the cost was minimal for a slipper style clutch. Highly recommended.

Thanks for posting this question!! Reading the feed back is very helpful.

This is an upgrade I've had in the back of my mind for a couple years now. Next year's upgrade will be a slipper or cruise control,.....if I work the bank account right hopefully both.

Guys on the Ninja 1000 forum have done the same a couple of years ago. It looks like a company called FCC makes all the clutches for the Japanese suppliers and their design changes to the slipper/assist versions make it pretty straightforward to add these new functions to the older models which is very cool. If I recall it was about $300 in that case as well, so quite affordable compared to buying an aftermarket clutch...

I may consider doing this one on the FJR someday

While some arthritis and diminished mobility/strength from hand surgery have made the clutch pull a bit harder than it used to be, I can still manage for now. If I ever have to replace clutch parts, I would probably change everything over to the slipper configuration. I am enjoying the fact that the clutch pull on my "new" 2011 is easier than on the '07 - at least it seems so.

RossKean said:

While some arthritis and diminished mobility/strength from hand surgery have made the clutch pull a bit harder than it used to be, I can still manage for now. If I ever have to replace clutch parts, I would probably change everything over to the slipper configuration. I am enjoying the fact that the clutch pull on my "new" 2011 is easier than on the '07 - at least it seems so.

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You're not imagining it - the 2006 and 2007 models had the exclusive "Charles Atlas forearm exercise" slave cylinder. The bikes before and after have a normal slave cylinder.

It seems that too many are doing this upgrade - some of the parts are backordered for 3 weeks.

Even back when I did it the parts dribbled in over several months after I ordered them. I was an early adopter.

Mr_Canoehead said:

RossKean said:

While some arthritis and diminished mobility/strength from hand surgery have made the clutch pull a bit harder than it used to be, I can still manage for now. If I ever have to replace clutch parts, I would probably change everything over to the slipper configuration. I am enjoying the fact that the clutch pull on my "new" 2011 is easier than on the '07 - at least it seems so.

Click to expand...

You're not imagining it - the 2006 and 2007 models had the exclusive "Charles Atlas forearm exercise" slave cylinder. The bikes before and after have a normal slave cylinder.

.

Click to expand...

Do the 06 and 07 slaves have the banjo bolt pointing towards the pushrod like this?

https://postimg.cc/image/gvc6tb56f/

Mr_Canoehead said:

RossKean said:

You're not imagining it - the 2006 and 2007 models had the exclusive "Charles Atlas forearm exercise" slave cylinder. The bikes before and after have a normal slave cylinder.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

For reference, the non 06-07 slave cylinder is an easy exchange and lightens the clutch pull. I did mine when my original 07 stave started leaking and found you can't buy just a new seal from Yamaha. Yeah, I could have tried to source a seal elsewhere, but the replacement 08 slave cylinder appealed to me and I'm glad I made the change.

That’s what I’m trying to determine, whether the PO swapped out the slave on my bike. Listings on eBay show three different banjo bolt locations, and the pic I linked above is described as being from an 06.

boyitgobob said:

Thats what Im trying to determine, whether the PO swapped out the slave on my bike. Listings on eBay show three different banjo bolt locations, and the pic I linked above is described as being from an 06.

Click to expand...

The slave doesn't look like that on my '07 or my '11. Banjo is on the side, not the front. Have a look at on-line parts fiche.

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/2011/fjr1300a-fjr13aas/clutch

Thanks, that’s a much clearer fiche than the one I saw at Mrcycles. That’s what mine looks like. Just goes to show not to trust some eBay model identifications, it’s an 06 AE, not an A.

I still don’t know for certain whether the PO swapped the slave, looks like I’ll pick up one of the newer ones and swap it in before I start kicking sand in some weakling’s face.

Pretty sure that the 06 AE has the same slave as the A - that's why the A model has such a hard pull.

RossKean said:

boyitgobob said:

Thats what Im trying to determine, whether the PO swapped out the slave on my bike. Listings on eBay show three different banjo bolt locations, and the pic I linked above is described as being from an 06.

Click to expand...

The slave doesn't look like that on my '07 or my '11. Banjo is on the side, not the front. Have a look at on-line parts fiche.

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/2011/fjr1300a-fjr13aas/clutch

Click to expand...

thanks for posting link to parts blowups

deang said:

Thanks for posting this question!! Reading the feed back is very helpful.
This is an upgrade I've had in the back of my mind for a couple years now. Next year's upgrade will be a slipper or cruise control,.....if I work the bank account right hopefully both.

Click to expand...

Do the cruise control if you have any thoughts of long, don't need to shift much riding. Your right arm, wrist, fingers will bless you for it.

AFAIK, the FJR "slipper" clutch a compromise design and not a full-on slipper. Maybe that matters, maybe not.

What do you mean by compromise? Compromise compared to what?

No, it is not a freewheeling, automatic clutch, like a Recluse brand type used on off-road applications, but I dont know what the point of having a clutch like that on a road bike would be. Never heard of any road bike or racers using that type of clutch

The slipper on the FJR is a ramp engaged multiplate clutch design, just like any other slipper clutch on a street bike that Im aware of. It will allow clutch slippage to occur on heavy engine braking to prevent rear wheel hop, and will also increase the clutch clamping power during hard acceleration. The latter feature is what allows it to have softer springs to make disengagement easier at the lever pull.

Here is a video describing what slipper clutches are, which shows one exactly the same as the FJR slipper / assist clutch.

I can't lay my hands on the source of the info explaining the "compromise". In any event, the commentary pointed out the distinction was, as you say, intended, and desirable, for on-road use.

After reading these posts I have a question regarding the slave cylinder on a 2006 Gen II with a stock clutch.

I don't have the money for the slipper clutch upgrade but it was mentioned that the slave cylinder can be changed to get a lighter pull. The Gen I slaves seem to cause issues, so that is not an option for me.

Does anyone know of the compatibility of 2008 and up slave cylinders with a 2006 Gen II? And has anyone done this?

Apologies for the tangential post and thanks.