Bad Clutch on 86 vf500?

Was riding home today and had some open road so i gave it some gas and did a high rev shift from 4th to 5th. It didnt go into gear and then seconds later it slapped itself in to 5th without me doing anything. I rode the rest of the way home in 5th. I was able to get it to down shift clutch-less but getting through the gears is challenging. I lost all firmness in the clutch and it almost feels as if it was a mechanical breakage in the system. I put a quart of lucas in the oil and it has almost got rid of the lifter tick before this incident happened, it was the smoothest shifting bike youve ever seen. I dont see any leaks or anything out of the ordinary. Fluid level seems to be fine its just colored brown.

 

bump for some much needed advice...thanks

 

Check your clutch master cylinder for fluid. If there's not enough fluid when you actuate the lever, you'll be compressing air more than anything else.

Though, I don't know how to explain your automatic shift. Hmm.

 

there appears to be plenty of fluid. It doesnt seem low or drained. It defiantly comes up to the rubber insert.

 

well heres what im going to do. I guess I screwed up bad. Talked to a honda buddy of mine and with me being a newb to sport bike repair or maintenance I put in a 30% ratio of lucas. And it possibly did some screwy stuff to my clutch. Im going tomorrow and getting some honda 10w40 oil and draining the lucas after i warm the bike up real good. I might as well change the filter again too. I remembered the bike running a little hotter than usual and that was possibly thanks to the lucas. I also am gonna bleed the clutch anyone have any recommendations for that?

 

Yeah, the Lucas oil didn't do anything. By that I mean it probably didn't DO anything, that's for hydraulic lifters in car engines, this is a different beast. No lifters!

It might have hosed your clutch eventually, but I doubt it was the cause of your problem. I'd say you broke a piece of your clutch basket. I've had this happen before, you'll need to pull the clutch to check it out. It's not going to be the outside basket but probably one of the internal cast aluminum parts. It sounds like you are going to be getting dirty!!!

 

thanks jamie, tommmrow im changing the fluid and when that doesn't work im gonna tear into it. I finally got a honda manual, so hopefully that well help me out

 

Way to stay positive! Just kidding, let us know what you find out.

 

I have read this liek four or five times trying to get the picture of the situation in my head. so let me address some points here and see if I get it right.

The first point - you shifted into 5th but it didn't go, then a second or so later it did. I got this one as it sounds more like a missed shift.

Next is the clutchless downshift. Not sure why one would want to do this as this increases the chance of shift mechanism damage. With this technique, you may have damaged the star gear and/or the tension spring. The clutchless downshifting will make it dificult to change to a lower gear.

As far as the firmness in the clutch goes, it's possible a clutch spring or two broke. But I would first check the master cylinder for leaks or damage. I would also pull out the clutch rod (the rod behind the master cylinder) and check to see if it is bent in any way.

I would definately drain the oil and put in either regular dino oil or a synthetic. And make sure it does not have friction reducing additives as those are bad for your clutch.

Hope I have been some help, even though I may have repeated some info previously posted. I also hope you can get this fixed without a lot of expense.

 

It's highly unlikey that a spring broke, there is nothing the user can do to make this happen and the spring stresses on these parts are so low that a fatigue failure is out of the question as well. The pushrod is supported almost throughout it's entire length. The buckling forces needed to bend this part are huge, ruling it out as well.

The more likely culprits for failure (due to abuse/misuse) would be the shift drum or shifter forks. Based on what was described I don't think this is what's going on either. Again, it sure sounds like a part of the clutch assembly broke. I've had this happen on my VF's before so I can say from personal experience that it can happen.

I guess the bottom line is that it could anything. I feel that it's best to look at the likely culprits first, but you need to investigate until the source is found!

 

All good advice, but you meant "slave cylinder", right Vin?

And as far as the Lucas stuff is concerned, all it does it thicken your oil up. I don't know what kind of effect it has on motorcycle clutches, but I think that at the very least you're gonna have to tear into the slave and the clutch on the other side...

 

Yeah, slave cylinder, that's what I meant. lol

 

ive been so busy lately i havent had time to even get oil. I defiantly have the feeling im gonna have to tear into that clutch. I did one on my ford ranger so hopefully its not as bad as that. I had to replace everything, that thing was fried. I have a manual so Ill start tearing it apart and im sure ill be asking a few questions along the way asking which dodad or thingamagigger im taking off. It took me 3 hours to figure out where a hose went after it blew off due to shitty clamps. I have a good digital camera so maybe i can do some pics

 

oh and the reason i was doing clutchless downshifts was because.......well i had no clutch.

 

well luckily we got some decent storms here in Speedway,IN. I don't believe honda is open to get my oil and with my line of work we don't work in storms. So I think my Dad and I will give er shot sometime this afternoon. After i finish this post im gonna try to read everything useful in the manual before i start.

 

Wow, you're really scaring me now! Comparing this motorcycle to a Ford Ranger is a bad thing, they are very different. You'll find that the clutch system on the 500 shares nothing with the Ranger, so you are better off forgetting about the truck all together.

At least you have a manual, keep it close and you should be ok.

 

well i took the bike for a ride around the block. And i was able to get it to shift gears. The clutch just felt very weak but better than what i experienced before. I stopped at the honda shop bought some oil and a filter and then i went to advanced auto and got some brake fluid and a pretty good bleeding tool.

I took one look at the clutch system in the manual and yes it reveals that its nothing like my ranger. But im just stating i think i can do it because i had no experience before with clutches and ending up saving 500 compared to having a shop do it on my truck. I guess its better to start doing bike repair now and learning something compared to spending big bucks somewhere else.

Everyone keep your fingers crossed i just hope it was bad oil and air in the hydraulic system causing this

 

GREAT NEWS GUYS..changed the oil and took it for a ride. The clutch felt weak but it was so much smoother than when i took it out earlier today. And I was able to get through the gears just fine. So next i bled the fluid in the system. There was all kinds of gobbley goop in there until I flushed it out with all the air in the system. NOW THE BIKE SHIFTS AND FEELS PERFECT.
Im thanking god tonight, especially since i dont have to rebuild a 20 year old clutch.

 

Wow, you really dodged one there! That's great news for sure. It just goes to show you how important maintenance is on motorcycles.

 

yeah a couple things i learned is don't use Lucas on high perf bikes. When i warmed the bike up i revved it a few times then drained the oil. The first bit of it was a nice foamy bubbly liquid. And the oil was real sticky and thick. I drained it as good as possible. Including a quick cycle of the engine. Which did help get the rest of it out after a couple of hours of draining.

Also i learned that air in the clutch really helped firm up that handle. I will forever check that before making another thread. I PROMISE.

Thanks and I hope a couple of you guys are coming to the Motogp race this September here in Indianapolis. I think everyone i know that is into any type of racing will be going. I would love to see some of your guy's bikes. The Honda dealership by my house did not have much in the vfr category.