Re: Clutch Help

Somebuggy said:
My Sabre and my Goldwing act the same ways as your bike. And theirclutches are fine. Other than that, does the bike ride OK. No slipping,just the good grabbing, holding and releasing well, etc? Then it's acting normal.

I say:
I'd be surprised if this is normal. The amount of drag while the clutch is pulled back seems excessive. The friction zone in the clutch is very narrow, and when the bike warms up it's almost impossible to go from standing still to moving forward. Let slowly out on the clutch, and instead of a broad band of friction zone, it's like bang it's engaged.

The clutch drag is more than this bike had last season, and it's more than my wife's bike has now. I understand that maybe there's supposed to be some drag when the clutch is pulled back, but I think what I'm dealing with is excessive. For instance, with the bike off, the bike in 1st gear, and the clutch pulled back, I can move my wife's bike. This is how you start with a dead battery! But on my bike, the bike really does not want to move in this situation.

Still trying to figger if I'm looking at warped clutch plates or a gummy clutch slave cylinder. I figure at least the clutch slave cylinder needs cleaning and new seals.

Thanks for your help!

The Rat


1984 VF500C V30 Red "Katie" (hers)
1984 VF500C V30 Black "Raven" (mine)