Clutch soak in situ?

[YummYam]

So when coming to a temporary halt at signals, in traffic, etc etc, if the tranny is left in first gear as I usually do, is oil more able to circulate between the clutch plates and would this have a beneficial effect on clutch operation? I don't have any issues with the clutch operation on my bike, just have a healthy CLUNK when engaging first initially.

I'm assuming this would only apply to AE models and that when in neutral oil can't get onto the plates.....right?

What do you guys think?

Hmmm...just realised this is definetely not a new topic, Sorry.

 

[wfooshee]

There has been discussion on how much oiling there actually is on the clutch. Apparently there is no pressurized feed spewing life-giving oil, it's just a splash from a crank throw, just like your lawn mower lubes its wrist pin and cylinder walls with.I would think that such a splash is minimized while sitting there idling.

But I'm no engineer.

 

[RadioHowie]

Everything 'foosh said, plus, if you're sitting at a red light, in first, then the clutch plates will be separated, i.e., disengaged, so what oil IS being slung around the clutch housing should stand more of a chance of lubing the plate, as opposed to sitting at the same light in neutral with the clutch engaged, squeezing the plates together and preventing oil from getting between the plates.

 

[SkooterG]

Again, you guys are over-thinking this waaaay too much. It's not that big an issue. And by far, most FJRs are not effected and do not need any special procedures for the clutch. Especially the OP who said he didn't have any issues with his clutch..

Aye carumba!

 

[Ignacio]

I don't have any issues with the clutch operation on my bike, just have a healthy CLUNK when engaging first initially.

......

What do you guys think?

Then why worry about it? Leave it alone and ride it! Skooter's right!

 

[RadioHowie]

Again, you guys are over-thinking this waaaay too much. It's not that big an issue. And by far, most FJRs are not effected and do not need any special procedures for the clutch. Especially the OP who said he didn't have any issues with his clutch..

Aye carumba!

I don't have any issues with the clutch operation on my bike, just have a healthy CLUNK when engaging first initially.

......

What do you guys think?

Then why worry about it? Leave it alone and ride it! Skooter's right!

Sometimes ya gotta answer a question, even if the question is never-ending, pointless or recurring.

 

[Ignacio]

Sometimes ya gotta answer a question, even if the question is never-ending, pointless or recurring.

Maybe. But, this particular subject is getting close to the point of following its tire and oil cousins....and just being moved.

 

[YummYam]

Everything 'foosh said, plus, if you're sitting at a red light, in first, then the clutch plates will be separated, i.e., disengaged, so what oil IS being slung around the clutch housing should stand more of a chance of lubing the plate, as opposed to sitting at the same light in neutral with the clutch engaged, squeezing the plates together and preventing oil from getting between the plates.

Well it seems my idle thinking about what MIGHT be happening is not total pie in the sky. Thought there be must be someone out there thinking along the same lines as this old bastard.

Don't recall any frikin' mention about being worried. As I said I don't have any issues as some others obviously do, would be interesting to hear their opinions and temp. stop routines.

 

[mcatrophy]

As far as I can tell, there's no way oil can "splash" in, the cage for the plates is solid. So, maybe we're relying on oil mist?

(Click on image for larger view)

 

[RadioHowie]

As far as I can tell, there's no way oil can "splash" in, the cage for the plates is solid. So, maybe we're relying on oil mist?

So the rest of the forum got together over drinks last night and we voted YOU "Official Clutch Soak Guinea Pig" to take your clutch cover off, crank up your bike, and see if there's oil getting in there besides from the "splash hole" on the right.

You game??? Get plenty of paper towels handy!!

 

[mcatrophy]

As far as I can tell, there's no way oil can "splash" in, the cage for the plates is solid. So, maybe we're relying on oil mist?

So the rest of the forum got together over drinks last night and we voted YOU "Official Clutch Soak Guinea Pig" to take your clutch cover off, crank up your bike, and see if there's oil getting in there besides from the "splash hole" on the right.

You game??? Get plenty of paper towels handy!!

Love to, but [feeble excuse

] my '10 is still under its 2 year manufacturer's warranty (just) [/feeble excuse

].

I still can see no way that oil can splash onto the plates, unless that bit in the cover somehow guides splashed oil into the clutch basket.

(click on image for larger view)

 

[YummYam]

As far as I can tell, there's no way oil can "splash" in, the cage for the plates is solid. So, maybe we're relying on oil mist?

So the rest of the forum got together over drinks last night and we voted YOU "Official Clutch Soak Guinea Pig" to take your clutch cover off, crank up your bike, and see if there's oil getting in there besides from the "splash hole" on the right.

You game??? Get plenty of paper towels handy!!

Love to, but [feeble excuse

] my '10 is still under its 2 year manufacturer's warranty (just) [/feeble excuse

].

I still can see no way that oil can splash onto the plates, unless that bit in the cover somehow guides splashed oil into the clutch basket.

(click on image for larger view)

Aahh, the voice of reason. Had to be another Brit.

Yeah, surely a wet multiplate clutch has to have some positive form of lubrication, kinda goes with the territory doesn't it?

 

[mcatrophy]

...

Yeah, surely a wet multiplate clutch has to have some positive form of lubrication, kinda goes with the territory doesn't it?

Oil must be getting in somehow. Looking in detail at this pic



the bottom left corner shows residual oil in there.

(Excuse the quality, this is enhanced to b*gg*ry from the original)

 

[LAF]

Had this idea been around when I put the Barnett Scorpion clutch pack and spring kit in at 0 miles, I think I would have tried to drill a few holes around the basket top and down the sides a bit.

I do not think you would blow the integrity of the basket by doing this and it might help.

Now I just use Rislone in my oil and hope the ZDP additive helps in whatever amount gets to the clutch.

 

[YummYam]

...

Yeah, surely a wet multiplate clutch has to have some positive form of lubrication, kinda goes with the territory doesn't it?

Oil must be getting in somehow. Looking in detail at this pic

the bottom left corner shows residual oil in there.

(Excuse the quality, this is enhanced to b*gg*ry from the original)

Yes, it's definitely there alright,that's good enough for me.

BTW I've seen a lot of your pics and enhanced or not they are incredibly crisp. How do you do it, or is a trade secret?

 

[mcatrophy]

...

BTW I've seen a lot of your pics and enhanced or not they are incredibly crisp. How do you do it, or is a trade secret?

Off topic, but then it's your topic, and it's Friday, and we're in NEPRT, so what the heck ...

No trade secrets.

I usually use a reasonable camera, currently a Fujifilm Finepix S100FX. It's a so-called "bridge" camera, between a "point and shoot" and a proper TTL reflex. Takes much better pictures than any phone camera.

Its lens is large by many camera standards, much more important than "number of pixels" (10M), although that helps.

The biggest problem with "taking FJR to bits" photos is the light. In bright sunlight, the contrast is too great. If it's dark, my garage lighting isn't exactly photo-studio standard. Flash often gives nasty reflections, hard shadows, or I can't get the flash into the part I want to photograph. So that needs care. Also, in low light, camera shake is a problem (actually it's mcatrophy-hand-shake). In the limit, I'll use a tripod, but that's rare.

Focusing I generally leave up to the camera in its "Auto" setting, as with most of my exposures. So long as I get it to focus on the bit I want to show, the camera does pretty well.

I originally bought it for its lens, which is a 28 to 400 (35mm equivalent) zoom, to try to get wild-life pictures. Most of these turn out nothing like as good as I'd hoped for, but one example is this:

(click on any image for larger view, click on that for the full picture, but be prepared to wait while it loads

.

Wide-angle view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . full zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cropped centre



[edit] The background can also be very important. In the above pictures, I moved for the second so that the birds and nest had the sky instead of the rocks behind. Don't forget to click on the 3rd thumbnail above to get the full size.[/edit]

The enhancing I do tends to be gamma correction, altering the relative brightness of different brightness levels, typified by the clutch pictures in my post above, where I've expanded the dark bits and compressed the bright bits.

I usually inspect my pictures as I go to ensure the focus and composition is OK, and if I need to, and the subject is still there, I will re-take. Occasionally I use the camera's multi-picture mode (like a slow, full resolution movie) and choose the best frame from the sequence.

The camera lens does show significant chromatic distortion with some subjects, but that is a compromise I'm content to live with for some of the better shots.

So, there you have it, a reasonable camera, and a bit of care.

 

[YummYam]

...

BTW I've seen a lot of your pics and enhanced or not they are incredibly crisp. How do you do it, or is a trade secret?

Off topic, but then it's your topic, and it's Friday, and we're in NEPRT, so what the heck ...

No trade secrets.

I usually use a reasonable camera, currently a Fujifilm Finepix S100FX. It's a so-called "bridge" camera, between a "point and shoot" and a proper TTL reflex. Takes much better pictures than any phone camera.

Its lens is large by many camera standards, much more important than "number of pixels" (10M), although that helps.

The biggest problem with "taking FJR to bits" photos is the light. In bright sunlight, the contrast is too great. If it's dark, my garage lighting isn't exactly photo-studio standard. Flash often gives nasty reflections, hard shadows, or I can't get the flash into the part I want to photograph. So that needs care. Also, in low light, camera shake is a problem (actually it's mcatrophy-hand-shake). In the limit, I'll use a tripod, but that's rare.

Focusing I generally leave up to the camera in its "Auto" setting, as with most of my exposures. So long as I get it to focus on the bit I want to show, the camera does pretty well.

I originally bought it for its lens, which is a 28 to 400 (35mm equivalent) zoom, to try to get wild-life pictures. Most of these turn out nothing like as good as I'd hoped for, but one example is this:

(click on any image for larger view, click on that for the full picture, but be prepared to wait while it loads

.

Wide-angle view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . full zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cropped centre



[edit] The background can also be very important. In the above pictures, I moved for the second so that the birds and nest had the sky instead of the rocks behind. Don't forget to click on the 3rd thumbnail above to get the full size.[/edit]

The enhancing I do tends to be gamma correction, altering the relative brightness of different brightness levels, typified by the clutch pictures in my post above, where I've expanded the dark bits and compressed the bright bits.

I usually inspect my pictures as I go to ensure the focus and composition is OK, and if I need to, and the subject is still there, I will re-take. Occasionally I use the camera's multi-picture mode (like a slow, full resolution movie) and choose the best frame from the sequence.

The camera lens does show significant chromatic distortion with some subjects, but that is a compromise I'm content to live with for some of the better shots.

So, there you have it, a reasonable camera, and a bit of care.

Thanks for the info Mac, I'm a bit of an amateur photographer myself and it's always interesting hearing how others achieve their results.

 

[Nitro]

So when coming to a temporary halt at signals, in traffic, etc etc, if the tranny is left in first gear as I usually do, is oil more able to circulate between the clutch plates and would this have a beneficial effect on clutch operation? I don't have any issues with the clutch operation on my bike, just have a healthy CLUNK when engaging first initially.

I'm assuming this would only apply to AE models and that when in neutral oil can't get onto the plates.....right?

What do you guys think?

Hmmm...just realised this is definetely not a new topic, Sorry.

Mine did this, I pull in the clutch, give the throttle a very small blip and then engage 1st gear. It "snicks" right in, even first thing in the morning.

 

[Nitro]

So when coming to a temporary halt at signals, in traffic, etc etc, if the tranny is left in first gear as I usually do, is oil more able to circulate between the clutch plates and would this have a beneficial effect on clutch operation? I don't have any issues with the clutch operation on my bike, just have a healthy CLUNK when engaging first initially.

I'm assuming this would only apply to AE models and that when in neutral oil can't get onto the plates.....right?

What do you guys think?

Hmmm...just realised this is definetely not a new topic, Sorry.

Mine did this, I pull in the clutch, give the throttle a very small blip and then engage 1st gear. It "snicks" right in, even first thing in the morning.

This works on my old 89 Ninja as well.