08 RSV clutch question

[BigBear]

After an hour of fiddling with installing a speedbleeder to assist in replacing the fluid in my clutch reservoir, I reinstalled the old bleed valve and reversed bled the clutch lines (thanks Condor).

 

Now, when I sqeeze the clutch lever, I don;t get any "pressure" until the lever is approx 1/4" from the grip. Essentially, the clutch lever travels almost all the way to the grip before I feel any fluid pressure.

 

I took the cover off to have a look...I can see the plunger moving and I can see the fluid "swell" over the small hole. Having read on this forum that some folks have squirted themselves with brake fluid by rapidly activating the clutch lever.

 

I took the appropriate precautions to prevent brake fluid spraying every where...but to my dismay...no spray...just a "swell" in the reservoir.

 

It just doesn;t seem like I have any clutch. I can squeeze the clutch, and put it into first gear, but after releasing the lever about an 1/8 of an inch, the bike begins to move.

 

What have I missed?

[Kregerdoodle]

I am not an expert but sounds like you got air in your line. I`m sure that someone with much more exp. on this will post and have you an answer.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

K

 

 

 

After an hour of fiddling with installing a speedbleeder to assist in replacing the fluid in my clutch reservoir, I reinstalled the old bleed valve and reversed bled the clutch lines (thanks Condor).

 

Now, when I sqeeze the clutch lever, I don;t get any "pressure" until the lever is approx 1/4" from the grip. Essentially, the clutch lever travels almost all the way to the grip before I feel any fluid pressure.

 

I took the cover off to have a look...I can see the plunger moving and I can see the fluid "swell" over the small hole. Having read on this forum that some folks have squirted themselves with brake fluid by rapidly activating the clutch lever.

 

I took the appropriate precautions to prevent brake fluid spraying every where...but to my dismay...no spray...just a "swell" in the reservoir.

 

It just doesn;t seem like I have any clutch. I can squeeze the clutch, and put it into first gear, but after releasing the lever about an 1/8 of an inch, the bike begins to move.

 

What have I missed?

[BOO]

Sounds like it's got some air in the line.

Better keep bleeding until all the air is gone.

BOO

[Guest]

I was never a fan of speedbleeders. Go get yourself a MityVac vacumm bleeder and bleed it with that. Also, check inside the master to see if there is any debris that may have settled on the bottom. That will affect clutch play too. Make sure you are also using fresh fluid, dot4 or dot 5.1, NOT 5....

[BigBear]

Well...the speedbleeders for the brake calipers are working exceptionally well! Bled both sets of brakes in about 15 minutes...and that INCLUDED installing the speedbleeders.

 

The clutch speedbleeder is a COMPLETELY different story..even with the speedbleeder crack about 1/4 of a turn, I could see fluid being sucked back up into the clear hose. To me, that means that the checkball didnt seat, and was allowing air back into the system.

 

Anyway...after pumping and cracking the clutch bleeder (more times than I could count), I was able to evacuate all of the air. And I'm using new DOT 4 brake fluid...bought special for this occasion!

 

And now...I'm off for a test ride!

 

Thanks!

[MidlifeVenture]

On my sons Ranger I used a large syringe like you would buy to inject seasoning into a turkey and a piece of tubing that fit on the bleeder to draw the fluid through the clutch it worked great and was inexpensive since I had them laying around. Did this after seeing the nifty pump set up at MD.

[N3FOL]

Well...the speedbleeders for the brake calipers are working exceptionally well! Bled both sets of brakes in about 15 minutes...and that INCLUDED installing the speedbleeders.

 

The clutch speedbleeder is a COMPLETELY different story..even with the speedbleeder crack about 1/4 of a turn, I could see fluid being sucked back up into the clear hose. To me, that means that the checkball didnt seat, and was allowing air back into the system.

 

Anyway...after pumping and cracking the clutch bleeder (more times than I could count), I was able to evacuate all of the air. And I'm using new DOT 4 brake fluid...bought special for this occasion!

 

And now...I'm off for a test ride!

 

Thanks!

 

Glad to hear that everything worked out for you. I was going to suggest that you may have been given the wrong 'speedbleeder' for your bike - sounds like this is not the case. That reminds me, I also need to replace my clutch fluid since the fluid is starting to turn a little more amber. A perfect opportunity...snow is forecasted this coming Tuesday.

 

Ride Safe.

[BigBear]

N3FOL;

 

The clutch speedbleeder I purchased was the one listed for my 08 RSV in the SpeedBleeder fitment guide on their site. I think the valve may be defective.

 

Anyway....all is well!

 

Good luck on changing your brake fluid! BTW: The new fluid seems to have "increased" braking presssure....seems like an added incentive to keep the fluid fresh/clean!

 

hahaha...Enjoy the snow!

[RandyR]

I had the same thing happen to me last summer. Bought a K&L speed bleeder, worked fine on the brakes, then I moved it to the clutch and after a few pumps, it didn't close properly and started letting in air.

 

The bike was 10 years old and it looked like the clutch fluid hadn't been changed in a long time. Lots of crud in it. I expect that a piece of crud got caught in the speed bleeders valve. So I went to the manual method too. I had to run a lot of new fluid thru the clutch to get it to stay clear, after wiping out the bottom of the reservoir carefully.

[Seaking]

I bought one of those minivacs to evacuate the fluids out of the reservoirs and replenish with fresh fluids at 'least' once a year.. I do the clutch twice a year, dependent on conditions and loads I put on the clutch etc..

 

One thing I did come to realize though is to NOT store DOT4 brake fluid on the shelf once you've opened it, unless you're going to be using it within a few months again.. So when I do my bike's brakes, I call my buddies up and offer to do their brake fluids just to get rid of the left overs.. a small container can go quite a ways depending on how you bleed the system. I also bought some speed bleeders for the RSV for the brakes and clutch, but am I right to assume to it's "not" a good idea to use a speed bleeder on the clutch system, and to preferably force the fluid UP from the bottom via turkey baster procedure?

 

Cheers