08 FJR R&R Clutch Plate Soak

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billfjr

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2008 FJR CLUTCH PLAT SOAK PROCEDURE

Before disassembly run engine until crankcase/clutch cover is warm to the touch.
DISASSEMBLY
1. Remove right fairing and side cover. (optional)
2. Remove crankcase/clutch cover, 10 allen head bolts. ( pic 1)
3. Before removing 6 hex bolts, observe pink index lines on lined clutch plates ear
Notice, there are two triangles embossed on the clutch basket and the ear on the lined plate
with the pink line is centered between the triangles. (pic 2 )
4. Loosen the 6 hex head bolts in a criss-cross pattern until all fasteners are loose.
5. Remove retainer plate and 6 bolts
a. clutch spring, clutch spring plate, and pressure plate. (pic 3 parts are located at
the top of tray)
b. remove clutch plates in order, note lined plate alternates with steel plate.
(pic 3 clutch located on the bottom of tray)
c. after the last steel plate is removed there are two approx 5” diameter rings.
One is conical with a white identifying dot and the other flat. (pic 3)
6. Soak clutches in clean engine oil. Cut open a plastic anti-freeze container and
place clutches vertically in order of disassembly.

ASSEMBLY
If you mixed up the lined clutch plates, there are 3 different types.
The lining on the first and last plate are identical. The 7 lined plates
between the first and last are identical. ID of first lined plate installed 5.31 “.
The remaining have an ID of 4.88”.
1. Install 5” flat ring then 5” conical ring white dot faces out. (pic 3 pen shows white dot)
2. Install lined plate with 5.31” ID then steel, alternate stack up until all clutches are installed.
3. Install pressure plate, spring plate, clutch spring, retainer plate and bolts.
4. Snug bolts in a criss-cross pattern until seated. (torque bolts to 8 Nm, 5.8 ft/lb)
5. Install cover with gasket. (torque bolts to12 Nm, 8.7 ft/lb)
Gasket part # 5JW-15461-11

Photos by Mel
Post clutch discussion by Bill and Mel
(Two car guys) DISCLAIMER: “ We know nothing”

The clutch plates are indeed wet plates but are not submerged in oil. The clutch is mounted above the crank. Unless there is an internal lube hole in the clutch basket, the clutch plates are lubed by splash from the crank and rod. The clutch basket prevents an excessive amount of oil being deposited on the plates. The black material in the bottom of the clutch basket is clutch plate lining. This occurs from seating plates together and sometimes slipping the clutch. Disassembly of my clutch revealed oil on the first lined plate removed and the last lined plate in the stack-up. The seven plates in between were dry.

When installing new clutch plates the technician would install the plates at random and runout would also be random unless you (Mel) measured runout for each plate and select fit them. Thus reducing clutch drag. (Mel has done this on his dirt bike, Bill will not) Unless runout is excessive, I doubt that any clutch drag will occur.

There are two 5” rings at the bottom of the clutch basket, one is flat and the other conical with a white dot that faces out. The rings dampen the clutch apply; if you wanted to change your clutch feel, different hardened rings could be installed, provided the clearance between pressure plate and clutch disc remains the same.

The pink paint on the lined plates indexes between two triangles embossed on the clutch basket. However, there are other paint marks on the lined plates. We believe the indexing is an attempt to achieve zero runout on plate stack-up resulting in less clutch drag. The diaphragm spring (belleville spring) is a good attempt to distribute pressure evenly to the stack-up.

Probably the best solution for FJR Yamaha clutch problem is a redesign. Clutches should be lubricated in a remote sump independent of the engine oil. OR use a single disc dry clutch.

SORRY for the length of the post (I needed to vent)

Remember, keep rubber side down
Bill

cc1a-1.jpg

FJRClutchPIC1-1.jpg

ClutchplatesPIC3-1-1.jpg


 
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Good post. If I'd read this earlier I might have saved myself £50 ($70?) getting my dealer to do this.

 
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OK, is there a story here? Why messing with the clutch on a 2008? :unsure: What happened?
Hi,

There have been a number of FJRs assembled with dry clutch plates causing clutch engagement and disengagement problems. (check the posts) Mine would not disengage the clutch at idle and sometimes while changing 2, 3, and 4th gear. A friend has an 07 and it was perfect from day one.

Bill

 
There have been a number of FJRs assembled with dry clutch plates causing clutch engagement and disengagement problems. (check the posts) Mine would not disengage the clutch at idle and sometimes while changing 2, 3, and 4th gear.
OK, that's definitely worse than no Locktite on the bag lock screws....

 
My 07 started showing clutch engagement issues after the first oil change to the recommended jiz.

next change and everyone after been using synthetic. no more problems.

nice post will be very helpful if needed in the future. thanks

 
I know this thread is two months old...however, I wanted to share my recent (as in today) experience with my local Yami-dealer with regards to this specific clutch issue.

I took my bike in today to have the ignition recall taken care of. While there, I explained to them the annoying clutch issue I was having (to which this thread is the solution) hoping I could get them to take care of it via soaking the clutch plates for me under warranty.

First thing the Service Manager asked was what oil I was using. I told him Rotella T. He responds by saying that Rotella doesn't have friction modifiers, so it is not recommended to use Rotella as it could be causing the problem. :dribble: I remained positive.

I politely said "that's one of the reasons folks with wet clutch bikes use Rotella - aren't oils with friction modifiers to be avoided in bikes with wet clutches? The whole point being that it could cause severe issues"?

He stammered for a second, and then responded "well...now we're getting into chemical theory..." yada yada yada.

I remained positive and explained the oil didn't matter, because it was doing this before I added Rotella.

I mentioned that this clutch issue seems to be pretty common, and the solution is to soak the clutch plates.

He responds chuckling, "the clutch is constantly soaking in a bath - they're always soaking".

Ok. Yes, it is a "wet clutch"....but constantly soaking in a bath??? Has he even looked at an FJR?

They took care of the ignition recall (hopefully they were competent enough for that). I didn't argue the clutch any further, as there was no way in Hell I was going to let them work on my clutch, even if they offered to under warranty. I'll do it myself - with much thanks to this and many other posts on this issue. I said thanks, and was on my way. I'll be soaking my clutch plates this weekend.

Thanks for letting me vent. And thanks for this thread.

 
thanks for the great info -

did this require a full oil drain?

by "soaking" do you mean leave the clutch plates in the oil for a period of time? or just wet them good with oil?

thx/ al

 
I know this thread is two months old...however, I wanted to share my recent (as in today) experience with my local Yami-dealer with regards to this specific clutch issue.
I took my bike in today to have the ignition recall taken care of. While there, I explained to them the annoying clutch issue I was having (to which this thread is the solution) hoping I could get them to take care of it via soaking the clutch plates for me under warranty.

First thing the Service Manager asked was what oil I was using. I told him Rotella T. He responds by saying that Rotella doesn't have friction modifiers, so it is not recommended to use Rotella as it could be causing the problem. :dribble: I remained positive.

I politely said "that's one of the reasons folks with wet clutch bikes use Rotella - aren't oils with friction modifiers to be avoided in bikes with wet clutches? The whole point being that it could cause severe issues"?

He stammered for a second, and then responded "well...now we're getting into chemical theory..." yada yada yada.

I remained positive and explained the oil didn't matter, because it was doing this before I added Rotella.

I mentioned that this clutch issue seems to be pretty common, and the solution is to soak the clutch plates.

He responds chuckling, "the clutch is constantly soaking in a bath - they're always soaking".

Ok. Yes, it is a "wet clutch"....but constantly soaking in a bath??? Has he even looked at an FJR?

They took care of the ignition recall (hopefully they were competent enough for that). I didn't argue the clutch any further, as there was no way in Hell I was going to let them work on my clutch, even if they offered to under warranty. I'll do it myself - with much thanks to this and many other posts on this issue. I said thanks, and was on my way. I'll be soaking my clutch plates this weekend.

Thanks for letting me vent. And thanks for this thread.
Premonition or what -I am about to head down that very same path with my dealer {ignition recall/clutch}. When I first mentioned the clutch isse during the first 800 miles, I was told the oil was dirty and it would disappear..a few changes later and it's still there. I have tried strapping the clutch lever in while warming up - helped a bit.

Happy trails.

 
thanks for the great info -
did this require a full oil drain?

by "soaking" do you mean leave the clutch plates in the oil for a period of time? or just wet them good with oil?

thx/ al
Hi,

I soaked my clutches overnite, submerged in Yamaha recommended oil. I used a clean anti-freeze one gal container. I changed engine oil 3 times in 1200 miles, the clutch was never right until I soaked the clutches. I did not change oil after clutch soak. Pls read follow up.

(https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=115350)

Good Luck

Bill

 
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Picked up my bike last September and thought that it shifted like a box of rocks - very out of character for an otherwise refined machine. Figured it would get better with some wear, but a month later I was having some of the classic 'dry clutch' symptoms (violently lurching when shifting from neutral to 1st, clutch never really felt totally disengaged with lever in, etc). I read up on the issue in this forum, and actually bought the clutch cover gasket when I purchased the oil filters and crush gaskets for oil change #1.

However, on the advice of one of my gear head friends, I ty-wrapped the clutch lever to the handgrip so that the clutch plates were separated, and ran the bike for 15-20 minutes on multiple occaisions over the long, snowy ohio winter. The idea was to soak the plates in situ. After each run I would remove the ty-wrap, put the bike in gear, move it a foot and redo the ty-wrap to get another part of the clutch plates in the oil. This helped significantly but did not alleviate all the issues.

I just changed over to Rotella synthetic, filled the resevior to the high end of the band, and ran the bike on the centerstand (previous runs on sidestand) with the clutch engaged for 15-20 minutes. This appears to have made a huge difference. The shifting is now much smoother and the neutral to 1st lurch is not really a lurch and is only noticeable when the bike is cold - when warm, just a snick-click.

 
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Folks- my new '08 had some issues with the clutch that I thought a clutch soaking was warranted and almost pulled the trigger on the soaking. But, I kept riding and I guess I don't notice it much anymore (bike has 6K on 'er). But- would doing this anyway be beneficial? Or should I just not worry about it since she doesn't show any signs of an issue anymore (or perhaps... I've just adapted and I don't notice it anymore :nerd: )

thx

zen

 
thanks for the great info -
did this require a full oil drain?

by "soaking" do you mean leave the clutch plates in the oil for a period of time? or just wet them good with oil?

thx/ al
Hi,

I soaked my clutches overnite, submerged in Yamaha recommended oil. I used a clean anti-freeze one gal container. I changed engine oil 3 times in 1200 miles, the clutch was never right until I soaked the clutches. I did not change oil after clutch soak. Pls read follow up.

(https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=115350)

Good Luck

Bill
thanks - i thought i read elsewhere that the oil had to be drained in order to remove the access panel prior to pulling the clutch apart - sounds like that is not necessary. i hate to drain $10/ qt oil and i don't want to wait 3k more miles to do this.

al

 
doing it tonight.

i didn't get a new gasket - mine came off in 1 piece and all of it remained stuck to the cover.

 
Just a semi-weak pisser observation here. Got my new '08 a couple of weeks ago. No riding - still Winter in Alaska. Dealer delivered the new FJR with 0 miles. Could barely move it back and forth in gear with the clutch in from a dragging clutch, and it grabbed when 1st was engaged as a test.

So, I duct-taped the clutch in and have run it up 5 times in gear until 4 bars on the temp gauge since. And then just let it sit with the clutch in. Tonight I moved her around to add the foot shields to the side fairings, and in 1st gear there's no appreciable drag with the clutch in, and no grab upon shifting. Nothing like when it arrived. I had planned to soak the plates soon, but might wait to see if it's a problem when I ride.

Either the clutch pressure plate is toast from being disengaged for two weeks, or the oil has finally been sucked into the plates.

Of course, a good clutch burn-in might have made it all better to begin with.

Gary in Fairbanks

 
i hate to drain $10/ qt oil and i don't want to wait 3k more miles to do this.
al
Ten bucks? a freakin quart? Shit man I don't spend that for a gallon..

:jester:
good of you to let me know - now is there anything else (that i could care less about) that you'd like to tell me?

oh and it's $8.75 p/qt to be exact B)

 
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Folks- my new '08 had some issues with the clutch that I thought a clutch soaking was warranted and almost pulled the trigger on the soaking. But, I kept riding and I guess I don't notice it much anymore (bike has 6K on 'er). But- would doing this anyway be beneficial? Or should I just not worry about it since she doesn't show any signs of an issue anymore (or perhaps... I've just adapted and I don't notice it anymore )
Somewhere in the myriad of clutch threads another member noted that his FJR appeared to become 'worn in' at about 3000 miles. Perhaps there is some kind of sweet spot after which the drive train becomes smoother. Or, maybe, you just get used to it... I'll find out sometime in May or June.

 
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