Clutch lever needs pumped after bike sits awhile.

[McBride]

If my bike sits over night, I always have to pump the lever a few times to get it to release the clutch properly. More than once I Have forgot to pump it up and nearly fell on my ass because the bike lurches fwd before I'm ready. I took it to the dealer and they bled the lines and that didn't help. Just wondering if any one else has had similar problems.

 

[caillou]

Yes, same for me.
It seems that if I push the lever forward completely, it becomes OK. I'm in a middle of a trip so do not spend too much time but will investigate when I'm back. Please keep us posted.

 

[pmcwil619]

I have the same issue. I have done the extended lines, and bleed it with no problems.

 

[Andylaser]

Same with me. I had the dealer bleed it during the last service, but it has returned.

 

[OldRider]

A lot of times the normal pump and bleed procedure won't work on the long clutch hose. The air stays up high in the hose and doesn't get down to the bleeder. I would put some pipe sealer tape on the bleed valve threads and suck the fluid through with a vacuum pump, something like a Mity vac.

 

[ace50]

It's cheap and easy to rebuild the clutch slave cyl. It's similar to the Royal Star ones. It made the clutch smoother/easier on my/that bike.

 

[Juan]

Is this an occurrence when the clutch/hose/reservoir is serviced? Mine was never serviced and I do get the usual forward jerk when engaging 1st gear with a cold engine, but nothing spectacular that throws me off the bike. This little jerk is caused by the clutch plates not slipping properly due to the oil being cold.

 

[McBride]

No, it releases all the way, but when releasing, it only moves about
A 1/4 inch and engages

 

[bigbob]

My 2014 does the same. Vacuum bled replacing the stock dark fluid with new clear dot 4. Could tell when the new made it down when the color changed. Was fine at the start of my Colorado trip but now it is back.

 

[Spaggy]

My '15 does it too. I thought it was just the engine oil being cold. Other than checking for leaks, I haven't messed with it.

 

[Dogdaze]

Well that happened to me today too, almost threw me off, luckily I always pull the brake when engaging gear, but today was particularly harsh, never normally like this. I did try later again during the ride and it was fine, maybe something to do with the new '14 clutch basket, steels, friction plates and diaphragm spring I installed last week....... I'll have to keep an eye on it, really don't like that first gear engaging. I've had countless shaft driven bikes and this is by far the harshest.

 

[Squibb]

Sounds like air in the system somewhere to me. Suffered this on my KTM. Twas the clutch slave allowing air back into the system. It was a regular problem & the only solution was to replace the slave - short term though it just needed about a half dozen pumps each morning to compress the air bubbles briefly, then it would drop into gear OK.

However, with these late S10s, it sounds like a bleed job for the dealer - it can be the devils own job to get every bit of air out. Topping up the reservoir & pumping fresh fluid through manually, loosening off the slave bleed just doesn't seem to work reliably. The trick on the KTM was to back fill the system, pumping fresh fluid through from the slave bleed, back up to the master cylinder, which needed pro gear ideally.

Hope you get it sorted soon ....................... KEN

 

[BaldKnob]

I just installed the '14 clutch basket and flushed/ bled the system to have that scenario happen. Bled the system again and lever feel has been good for 1000 miles.

Never tried the back flush procedure but was willing to give it go if the bleeding wasn't working. I can't figure out how to contain the fluid overflowing the reservoir while flushing from below.

 

[taskmaster86]

Every motorcycle I have ever owned does this and it is by no means a problem.

All that has happened is that the oil on the clutch plates drips off over time and then they stick a little. When you go to down shift that first time after the bike has sat, you get that big clunk and lurch. The longer you let the bike sit the worse it will be. The problem is made even worse with a powerful, high torque motor like the S-10 has.

All you need to do to stop it from happening is to pump the clutch a few times and then rev the engine a few times, then go ahead and down shift. You are freeing up the clutch plates and slinging some oil on them when you rev the engine a little. With the clutch plates less stuck and some oil splashed on things, the shift should be much smoother and have little to no lurch. It works for me every time!

Is this your first motorcycle?

 

[Checkswrecks]

Every motorcycle I have ever owned does this and it is by no means a problem.

All that has happened is that the oil on the clutch plates drips off over time and then they stick a little. When you go to down shift that first time after the bike has sat, you get that big clunk and lurch. The longer you let the bike sit the worse it will be. The problem is made even worse with a powerful, high torque motor like the S-10 has.

All you need to do to stop it from happening is to pump the clutch a few times and then rev the engine a few times, then go ahead and down shift. You are freeing up the clutch plates and slinging some oil on them when you rev the engine a little. With the clutch plates less stuck and some oil splashed on things, the shift should be much smoother and have little to no lurch. It works for me every time!

Is this your first motorcycle?

Sorry Taskmaster, this is a completely different issue.

 

[Xt1200zsupertenere]

Take the clutch leveler off ... Clean it , put on new silikonet Grease on bolt and A little bit around ... The leveler must go VERY Easy so it goes all the way back 100% .... Then it take in " new " brakefluid in the line ....

Olmost like the hard chiffting gear with gear pivot .... New Grease is the melody.... BUT silikone Grease on levers !

 

[McBride]

This has nothing to do with the clutch plates sticking, it s a problem with the length of travel that the clutch release mechanism releases. If I push the lever fwd and then take a couple pumps on the lever it will be fine the rest of the time I'm using it. It only does it after sitting for several hours or over night.

 

[McBride]

This hasn't naything to do with sticky plates, it is completely releasing my clutch, but not far enough. I have been riding for approx 45 years. I rode mostly dirt bikes till well into my late 20s , and then bought my first road bike. So I have plenty of experience on riding and working on them. I just don't like having to work on a new one. I took it to the dealer and they bled it, but after sitting a couple of hours it does it again. I know it is an air issue, just trying to figure out why my dealership couldn't fix it. I would rather ride it instead of work on it.

 

[AVGeek]

This hasn't naything to do with sticky plates, it is completely releasing my clutch, but not far enough. I have been riding for approx 45 years. I rode mostly dirt bikes till well into my late 20s , and then bought my first road bike. So I have plenty of experience on riding and working on them. I just don't like having to work on a new one. I took it to the dealer and they bled it, but after sitting a couple of hours it does it again. I know it is an air issue, just trying to figure out why my dealership couldn't fix it. I would rather ride it instead of work on it.

Do you have a vacuum pump? I've read on other threads here that air can still be trapped after a conventional bleed.

 

[STenitus]

McBride, I have this same limp clutch lever issue on my 2014. Like you, I discovered the whole 'lever forward pumping' thing so just addressed the problem that way and kept rolling. Eventually that got on my nerves so I bled the stock line with fresh Lucas DOT4 synthetic. That worked like a champ for maybe my first 4 or 5 rides to work but the need to pump has returned. I have zero interest in leaving my bike with either of the local shops and even less interest than that in losing riding time. My bike still has factory warranty.

There was an earlier suggestion in this thread to remove and then relube the clutch lever pivot area. With the forward pumping (pushing, pressing, whatever...) of the lever seemingly being a solid albeit intermittent fix, I do wonder if just a little lever lube is the cure. It sounds almost too easy and given the garage queen condition of my bike, I can't imagine the factory lube being compromised but it may be worth a shot.

If it's not something in that pivot area, then I guess the next, most likely suspect could be the master cylinder?
How does pressing the lever forward work to either engage the clutch or even pressure the lines?

Thoughts???