Clutch slippage?

[Tsherman]

My ‘15 SuperT with under 2k miles is exhibiting clutch slippage. Just noticed it this past week. It clearly sat for a lot of years before I purchased in October with 850 miles. I don’t know anything about hydraulic clutches and have not maintenanced or inspected.

any advice for me?

typicsl scenario is rolling through a stop sign in second. Not sure if I’ll downshift you 1st but at the last second the coast is clear and so I let the clutch out with low revs because of low speed.

also exhibited on steep incline with passenger recently, 1st gear coming off a forced stop.

 

[~TABASCO~]

Have you recently changed your motor oil ?

Any other work performed ?

Flush the clutch fluid first with fresh and go from there..... (unless it's the wrong motor oil)

 

[Sierra1]

. . . .typicsl scenario is rolling through a stop sign in second. Not sure if I’ll downshift you 1st but at the last second the coast is clear and so I let the clutch out with low revs because of low speed. . . .

Are you in 2nd because it won't shift into 1st? If so, clean and lube your shifter pivot. It's well known for causing this symptom.

 

[audiowize]

+1 on the wrong oil.

 

[nd4spdbh]

Yup, probably used standard vehicle motor oil with energy conserving additives which like to make wet sump clutches slip.

JASO MA oils only.

 

[Jlq1969]

apart from the oil….but in principle, a non-JASO oil will cause premature wear of the clutch discs (but I think that 2000 miles are few miles to finish with the discs)….another factor that affects slippage (considering the few miles that this clutch has), is the clutch lever….if it was changed for another from the aftermarket, it may be poorly adjusted, it does not allow the piston to the clutch pump, return completely….

 

[scott123007]

Your post is hard to understand, but it sounds like your clutch is not fully disengaging rather than slipping. Like others have said, change your oil, lube the shifter pivot, and bleed the clutch. Sounds like you are not mechanically inclined, so give those instructions to whomever you choose to work on the bike. That should eliminate everything but the clutch plates.
And...Jiq1969 makes a great point too. Some of the knockoff aftermarket levers would not let the clutch fully engage because they were machined wrong so if it truly is "slipping", be on the lookout for that.

 

[Tsherman]

Clutch fluid? You mean the hydraulic line?

And I’m not sure the motor oil has ever been changed too many bikes and home projects for me and I’ve been a bad owner. While it said to change shaft drive oil at 1k I think the motor oil is still a decent interval…. If it hasn’t been changed is the seasoning of this oil a big concern or just a best to replace?

 

[Tsherman]

Are you in 2nd because it won't shift into 1st? If so, clean and lube your shifter pivot. It's well known for causing this symptom.

No. Describing being in second because I’m approaching a stop. And describing being in a speed on the low end of second on account of considering downshifting but at the last second choosing not to.

 

[Tsherman]

apart from the oil….but in principle, a non-JASO oil will cause premature wear of the clutch discs (but I think that 2000 miles are few miles to finish with the discs)….another factor that affects slippage (considering the few miles that this clutch has), is the clutch lever….if it was changed for another from the aftermarket, it may be poorly adjusted, it does not allow the piston to the clutch pump, return completely….

im not even sure I know how to adjust a hydraulic clutch lever. It has the reach dials on it, so I adjusted to the comfortable throw. Think those are factory. But would 7 years and mileage close to initial break in cause reason to need an adjustment?

 

[Sierra1]

No. Describing being in second because I’m approaching a stop. And describing being in a speed on the low end of second on account of considering downshifting but at the last second choosing not to.

Don't confuse speed with RPMs. RPMs is the best way to determine a shift point. Too low, and you'll lug the motor. Too high, and you'll risk locking the rear wheel.

 

[Tsherman]

Don't confuse speed with RPMs. RPMs is the best way to determine a shift point. Too low, and you'll lug the motor. Too high, and you'll risk locking the rear wheel.

I’m describing my speed/rpm where it would be when I would be downshifting to 1st gear but at the last second choosing not too and therefore next having to build the revs. When I go to build the revs the clutch slips instead of me accelerating smoothly or the engine lugging.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I'd strongly recommend taking the clutch apart to inspect the plates & discs.

1. The bike was 7 years old when you bought it so had spent most of its life sitting. Who knows what oil was in it.

2. It's actually easy to burn through a clutch in one session of walking a bike up a steep long ramp onto a truck or trailer by slipping the clutch. I that lesson many years ago the hard way.

Fortunately it's not hard and doing it yourself is not that expensive even if you need to replace the friction discs. (The last plate sorta hides and is easy to miss.)

 

[TenereGUY]

That motor oil could have a lot of moisture in it if it was sitting for years. That clutch hydraulic fluid at that age is suspect too. Change oil, change brake and clutch fluid. I am about to do brake and clutch fluid and I can do a short video or just do pics in my thread if you need one to watch. As I am not quite sure what is going on here is another scenario.
Is your clutch releasing pressure off of your clutch slave cylinder? If not the clutch will not engage all the way and start to slip. Does your clutch lever have any play in it or is it really tight? Play... as in any give before you start to pull it in. If not it is possible that the pressure release orifice is clogging up and not releasing pressure. It is a very small orifice. On my Honda's (just learning about this Yamaha) I can check this by removing the clutch reservoir cover, remove the rubber gasket so you can see the fluid. Make sure you have a rag wrapped around the reservoir. Now squeeze clutch lever in and then slowly release. Do you see any movement of fluid? If not releasing a little faster will cause a faster release of fluid. If no movement at all no matter what you do you probably will need a Master cylinder cleaning and rebuild because hydraulic pressure is not being released to put enough pressure on the clutch.
If you are in Austin,Tx... maybe a trip to Tabasco's is in order?

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