Slipping Clutch

31 August 2016

Hi All:

Problem solved. I harken back to Cadbury64's original comment "Mike you might have a bit of debris lodged in the tiny return port at the master cylinder. I'd clean that out first, then flush the clutch line and bleed, before I worried about the clutch plates themselves."

That was THE issue. The new clutch was unnecessary, so lesson re-learned about a more careful and thorough troubleshooting approach. There was no clutch pushrod problem. The afore-mentioned cleaning of the slave cylinder was not the problem.

There is a hood that covers and shrouds the very tiny return port that opens into the reservoir. Yes, it is VERY tiny. I saw the hood, but was unaware the port was under that. The much larger port has the shroud / hood attachment pressed down into it. Mt brother-in-law, who is an independent mechanic, told me the exact same thing that Carbury mentioned. I pulled off the hood, there was the hole. A paper clip wire is too thick, so I used a fine bristle off a metal brush to clear the whole. Voila!!! Problem solved.

After I completed cleaning up and with new fresh fluid, the resulting test ride was a delight. The clutch was working perfectly within 50 feet of pulling out of the driveway, and the test ride was quite enjoyable. Love that V4 power and sound.

The new owner rode away with the bike last evening. He got himself a nice machine.

My many thanks to everyone who contributed and offered advice and support.

Cheers and many blessings to all,
Mike