Hard Shifting

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Conrocks

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Mar 8, 2008
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Location
Orange County, Ca
It seems as though I'm having less and less free play or clutch disengagement. I've been told there is no clutch adjustment, when I pull in the lever it seems as though the clutch disengages or slips in the last 1\4 inch of the levers full pull. After about 8000 miles the transmission went from a nice click into gear to a noticeable clunk and accompanied with a lurch. Sometimes the bike would almost want to keep moving with the clutch disengaged and rolling to a stop, only when applying the brake would it feel like the clutch finally disengaged. At about 12000 the transmission was hard (lots of torque applied) to shift in 3rd and 4th gear which went away after riding about 10 miles. Today I couldn't get it out of 2nd at a stoplight, only releasing the clutch and working the gear shift lever would it go into 1st and it was difficult to get it in neutral. Has anyone encountered this problem?

Sure would like some info when I take it to the dealer. The bike has 15500 miles and if its a clutch wear issue it seems as though the wear out is premature. Most of the miles are LDR's and I don't do much stop and go heavy traffic. Just split lanes.

Thanks

 

Capt Bob, Thanks for the link. My next stop will be the dealer to get them for fix this or wave the possiblilty of Lemon Law over their heads. Seems to be a lot of varying opinions on what could cause this. Soaking a wet clutch????? If the lack of soaking the plates causes this problem then its their problem. I don't see any way of adjusting the slave cylinder as I do on my old car as the clutch wears. Maybe some kind of shim???? I have over 15000 miles on this bike surely the trans is broken in or does it break out. Thanks again.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Been there done that and it's an $15 fix with an hour or so of time.

First, make sure the clutch master and slave are well bled out. One bubble and you get a dragging clutch, then the symptoms you describe. So far, you're into it for a $3 can of fluid.

If still dragging, buy a clutch cover gasket, unstack the plates, lightly scrub them with a wire brush, and re-install them. Especially if your bike has been sitting some the plates tend to build a bit of goo between them, making the clutch drag. The clutch cover takes an $11 gasket. Basic allens and metric wrench set, with a bent-tip pick or piece of stiff wire to get out the last plate.

The other buck is for a beer or two.

 
Been there done that and it's an $15 fix with an hour or so of time.
First, make sure the clutch master and slave are well bled out. One bubble and you get a dragging clutch, then the symptoms you describe. So far, you're into it for a $3 can of fluid.

If still dragging, buy a clutch cover gasket, unstack the plates, lightly scrub them with a wire brush, and re-install them. Especially if your bike has been sitting some the plates tend to build a bit of goo between them, making the clutch drag. The clutch cover takes an $11 gasket. Basic allens and metric wrench set, with a bent-tip pick or piece of stiff wire to get out the last plate.

The other buck is for a beer or two.
I bled the hydraulics down. No air. Droped the bike off at the dealer. Its still under warranty otherwise I would have checked the clutch plates myself. See what they have to say.

 
Been there done that and it's an $15 fix with an hour or so of time.
First, make sure the clutch master and slave are well bled out. One bubble and you get a dragging clutch, then the symptoms you describe. So far, you're into it for a $3 can of fluid.

If still dragging, buy a clutch cover gasket, unstack the plates, lightly scrub them with a wire brush, and re-install them. Especially if your bike has been sitting some the plates tend to build a bit of goo between them, making the clutch drag. The clutch cover takes an $11 gasket. Basic allens and metric wrench set, with a bent-tip pick or piece of stiff wire to get out the last plate.

The other buck is for a beer or two.
I bled the hydraulics down. No air. Dropped the bike off at the dealer. Its still under warranty otherwise I would have checked the clutch plates myself. See what they have to say.
Got it back from the dealer last Friday. They said they adjusted the clutch handle from #1 position to #3. Another dealer in the area said this would have no effect on the clutch disengagement. But this dealer insisted that Yamaha said this was the only adjustment. They also lowered the idle speed warm to 900 RPM. They said this was the reason for the crunch going into first and it would help with the hard shifting. The dealer I bought the bike from said when I complained of the bike stalling when coming down off ramps and down shifting. When this happened the bike usually was in gear at well above 20 MPH in 3rd or 2nd gear. So they increased the idle speed to about 1100 RPM. Stalling continued but not as frequent.

The hard shifting has stopped in the last three trips to work. The bike seems to go in first gear after the engine is warmed very easily and clutch disengagement is better when coming to a stop in the morning. I asked about the problem of the clutch plates not being properly soaked. They said after 15K miles if they weren't soaked they never would be. They also said if the problems persists to bring it back and they will squeeze some more out of Yamaha.

I'm hoping to be a happy Yamaha owner once again.

 
...I asked about the problem of the clutch plates not being properly soaked. They said after 15K miles if they weren't soaked they never would be.
My clutch was sticky from new. At 10K miles I had the plates soaked. Made a significant difference in selecting 1st, take-off judder and slicker gear changes (mine's the electric shift model, the symptoms may vary from your conventional shift).

My clutch hadn't improved from new, I don't believe another 5K miles would make any difference.

In other words, as far as my experience goes, these clutches don't self-soak.

Hope you do become a "happy Yamaha owner once again".

 
Been there done that and it's an $15 fix with an hour or so of time.
First, make sure the clutch master and slave are well bled out. One bubble and you get a dragging clutch, then the symptoms you describe. So far, you're into it for a $3 can of fluid.

If still dragging, buy a clutch cover gasket, unstack the plates, lightly scrub them with a wire brush, and re-install them. Especially if your bike has been sitting some the plates tend to build a bit of goo between them, making the clutch drag. The clutch cover takes an $11 gasket. Basic allens and metric wrench set, with a bent-tip pick or piece of stiff wire to get out the last plate.

The other buck is for a beer or two.
I bled the hydraulics down. No air. Dropped the bike off at the dealer. Its still under warranty otherwise I would have checked the clutch plates myself. See what they have to say.
Got it back from the dealer last Friday. They said they adjusted the clutch handle from #1 position to #3. Another dealer in the area said this would have no effect on the clutch disengagement. But this dealer insisted that Yamaha said this was the only adjustment. They also lowered the idle speed warm to 900 RPM. They said this was the reason for the crunch going into first and it would help with the hard shifting. The dealer I bought the bike from said when I complained of the bike stalling when coming down off ramps and down shifting. When this happened the bike usually was in gear at well above 20 MPH in 3rd or 2nd gear. So they increased the idle speed to about 1100 RPM. Stalling continued but not as frequent.

The hard shifting has stopped in the last three trips to work. The bike seems to go in first gear after the engine is warmed very easily and clutch disengagement is better when coming to a stop in the morning. I asked about the problem of the clutch plates not being properly soaked. They said after 15K miles if they weren't soaked they never would be. They also said if the problems persists to bring it back and they will squeeze some more out of Yamaha.

I'm hoping to be a happy Yamaha owner once again.
It's not the soaking that changes things, the delaer is right in that the plates can't get any more wet. It's that the plates tend to collect black goo, especially in some of the bikes that have set for a bit. Wiping the plates off makes the plates stick less, probably because the surface tension of the black accumulations is gone. Changing the idle speed can definitely also help.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Been there done that and it's an $15 fix with an hour or so of time.
First, make sure the clutch master and slave are well bled out. One bubble and you get a dragging clutch, then the symptoms you describe. So far, you're into it for a $3 can of fluid.

If still dragging, buy a clutch cover gasket, unstack the plates, lightly scrub them with a wire brush, and re-install them. Especially if your bike has been sitting some the plates tend to build a bit of goo between them, making the clutch drag. The clutch cover takes an $11 gasket. Basic allens and metric wrench set, with a bent-tip pick or piece of stiff wire to get out the last plate.

The other buck is for a beer or two.
I bled the hydraulics down. No air. Dropped the bike off at the dealer. Its still under warranty otherwise I would have checked the clutch plates myself. See what they have to say.
Got it back from the dealer last Friday. They said they adjusted the clutch handle from #1 position to #3. Another dealer in the area said this would have no effect on the clutch disengagement. But this dealer insisted that Yamaha said this was the only adjustment. They also lowered the idle speed warm to 900 RPM. They said this was the reason for the crunch going into first and it would help with the hard shifting. The dealer I bought the bike from said when I complained of the bike stalling when coming down off ramps and down shifting. When this happened the bike usually was in gear at well above 20 MPH in 3rd or 2nd gear. So they increased the idle speed to about 1100 RPM. Stalling continued but not as frequent.

The hard shifting has stopped in the last three trips to work. The bike seems to go in first gear after the engine is warmed very easily and clutch disengagement is better when coming to a stop in the morning. I asked about the problem of the clutch plates not being properly soaked. They said after 15K miles if they weren't soaked they never would be. They also said if the problems persists to bring it back and they will squeeze some more out of Yamaha.

I'm hoping to be a happy Yamaha owner once again.
It's not the soaking that changes things, the delaer is right in that the plates can't get any more wet. It's that the plates tend to collect black goo, especially in some of the bikes that have set for a bit. Wiping the plates off makes the plates stick less, probably because the surface tension of the black accumulations is gone. Changing the idle speed can definitely also help.
Checkwrecks, I didn't mention this in the note yesterday, after picking up the bike I rode over to the parts dept and ordered a gasket. So even though its under warranty if it all doesn't work out I'll be checking those plates out.

 
Had similar issues with my "07. Let's face it. The clutch sucks. Don't know why. Don't care. All I do know is that when the dealer replaced the clutch with a new one (under warranty) it made all the difference in the world. Go back to your dealer and insist on this. There are enough references on this Forum regarding this issue to keep you busy for longer than it takes the dealer to replace the existing one. I suggest you read through them all, but suspect you will come to the same conclusion. Don't put up with this. You paid very good money for this bike and deserve peace of mind. Get it fixed.

 
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