Hydraulic Clutch issues

OK so I flushed the clutch of all the old brown muck that passed for fluid and made it work to nice clear DOT4 fluid.. No air coming out of the bleeder, fresh fluid in the res and no feel on the cluth and it does not work now... what am I missing? It must have air in it somewhere...

That would be my guess, keep pumping.....

Good luck

I just changed the clutch fluid on my 6th gen. Didn't have the bleeder tool, so I followed the instructions in the service manual that said to "pull the lever in, hold, open the bleeder 1/4 turn, close and slowly release the lever". Did this several times (like 20-30) and simply could not get any pressure to build. So then I just pumped the lever feverishly, and low and behold the pressure built. Once it built up I did the bleeding technique described in the manual. Works fine.

Knute is right...pump feverishly.

[image: View Post]Jmmymc750, on 24 July 2010 - 11:23 AM, said:

Knute is right...pump feverishly.


WRONG. All this does is move the air that's trapped at the banjo down the line to the slave! This can also lead to a nasty spray or spill of brake fluid on your bike!

The best way I've found to quickly fix this problem, is to remove the m/cyl from the handlebar, with the cap and diapragm OFF the m/cyl.

Hold it in one hand and tip it so that the drain hole where the fluid enters the system from the reservoir is the highest point in the system(point the banjo down).

Gently "pull in" the lever just enough to click the clutch(or brake) switch.

As you do this, you will see the trapped air come up through the drain hole into the reservoir. Repeat lever movement until the bubbles cease to surface.

Reattach the m/cyl to the bar, and you will have pressure that you can bleed at the slave.

If the MC has been drained or had seals replaced it helps to bleed it first before hooking to brake line.

Bleed MC separately by placing finger over MC hole until you pump a firm handle, then hook up banjo bolt and washers while the handle is still squeezed.. Minimizes air bubbles.

Also helps bleeding if slave cylinder is removed and held fully retracted by a C-clamp.

IT would be good to clean out the slave cylinder after popping out the piston if you have the time since crud in there could take out the seals.

Anytime you are doing brake or clutch hydraulic work and things aren't going well, bleed the master first, then the rest of the system. If the master isn't pumping fluid, nothing is going to happen. This applies to cars and bikes both.

[image: View Post]Jmmymc750, on 24 July 2010 - 11:23 AM, said:

Knute is right...pump feverishly.




WAIT ! He's trying to fix his clutch, :cheerleader: not his marriage..........!

[image: View Post]SEBSPEED, on 24 July 2010 - 01:35 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Jmmymc750, on 24 July 2010 - 11:23 AM, said:

Knute is right...pump feverishly.


WRONG. All this does is move the air that's trapped at the banjo down the line to the slave! This can also lead to a nasty spray or spill of brake fluid on your bike!

The best way I've found to quickly fix this problem, is to remove the m/cyl from the handlebar, with the cap and diapragm OFF the m/cyl.

Hold it in one hand and tip it so that the drain hole where the fluid enters the system from the reservoir is the highest point in the system(point the banjo down).

Gently "pull in" the lever just enough to click the clutch(or brake) switch.

As you do this, you will see the trapped air come up through the drain hole into the reservoir. Repeat lever movement until the bubbles cease to surface.

Reattach the m/cyl to the bar, and you will have pressure that you can bleed at the slave.

Thanks for the tip. My solution came by way of frustration, when the manner described in the manual wasn't working, I simply pumped the lever repeatedly and when the pressure started to build I figured ah-ha! Once I got pressure I bleed the heck out of it to be sure no air was in the system. Any way, it worked... all is good in the garage again Posted Image