Hey guys...thanks in advance for your feedback, and forgive me if my maintenance practices aren't as good as your own. I have a white '93 VFR with about 30K miles and I ride it in the summer months in Alaska. During the off months, I leave it in the basement. For the last couple seasons, I've had to bleed the clutch at the beginning of the year...which I did this year too, adding a little fluid. Is the fluid clean and pretty? Not really. Today I left for work, pulling out of the driveway without issue, shifting up to 2nd, back to 1st, then stop sign. Sitting at the sign, an opening appears in the traffic, I dump the clutch and try to dive into the hole, and nothing. Nothing! The clutch does not engage at all. First time I've been late for work in probably 15 years! After I got the bike out of the street I noticed that the clutch lever will no longer pull in. That is, it is stuck in it's normal position. So...lever won't pull in, and clutch remains disengaged. I got the bike home and tried bleeding the system again. When I did, the lever would pull in, and fluid squirted from the bleeder. But the clutch still will not engage and the lever doesn't 'firm up' like usual after a bleed. I have ordered rebuild kits today for the master and slave cylinders, and I promise I will clean the hell out of everything. Does anyone know what happened? Why the clutch would stick 'open' or whatever (not engaged) and the lever would be rock hard? Thanks again.
I believe a blockage in the tiny compensation port at the master will be the cause; this would result in the clutch pumping up pressure so that it remains disengaged no matter what you do. A big clean should sort that. You could also have corrosion in the slave that is holding the piston out.
