Where best to post a question about a V-Star 1100 Clutch?

[Semi-retired]

Not sure what category this should be in, but.....HERE it is!

 

My wife said she felt a couple of "lurches" under her while doing about 40MPH in 4th gear on her 1100 V-Star this morning.

 

She glided to a stop at the side of the road, and sure enough, when I got off my Venture and onto her bike to see what was wrong, I released the clutch slowly in first gear.....only to see that the bike moved forward, ever so slightly, then stayed exactly where it was, with the clutch FULLY engaged.

 

DOH!!!

 

Do you suppose the clutch is "fried", "broken" or ......"otherwise"?

 

Any and all suggestions greatly appreciate.

P.S. And if you've had this same experience.....did you replace, repair, use aftermarket, genuine Yamamama etc, etc, etc.

 

Thanks a lot for any help guys. Really appreciate your help on this one.....cause, as you know, "Happy wife.....happy life!!"

:-)

 

Michael

Edited July 6, 2012 by Semi-retired

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Seafoam!!

 

 

No just kidding of course...its kindve a running joke around here.

 

Sounds like the clutch is fried, but maybe someone else will chime in with an actual educated guess, not like mine.

 

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

[Sylvester]

Does the 1100 use a hydraulic clutch? If yes, then I would start there.

 

[msshearin]

Seafoam!!

 

 

No just kidding of course...its kindve a running joke around here.

 

Sounds like the clutch is fried, but maybe someone else will chime in with an actual educated guess, not like mine.

 

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

and whats wrong with Seafoam????????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Squidley]

If it's a hydraulic clutch, then it will be very similar to what is in the Ventures. Sounds like perhaps the spring might be a bit weak. If it's a cable clutch, then it might need a bit of adjusting. If i get a chance I'll see if the clutch is hydraulic or cable.

[jonesy]

Its cable, wife has a vstar 1100.

[MiCarl]

Pull the oil fill cap and take a sniff. If the clutch if fried enough to do that it'll stink to high heaven.

[wes0778]

How far out in left field would I be to ask if you checked the drive belt?

[Caveman]

The V-star 1100 is shaft drive. They went to belt drive on the newer 950's, but good thought Walter. I had an '08 1100 V-star custom and had to make an adjustment at about 12 or 13,000 miles. I rode that bike hard though.

[Semi-retired]

Thanks for the input so far, guys.

 

YES: It's definitely a cable clutch (as opposed to hydraulic) - so I'll take that little side cover off down below first and see if the adjuster at the bottom end has somehow slipped out of adjustment. (There's no knurled nuts or anything resembling an adjustment at the top.....just a nice clean lever.)

 

YUP: It's definitely a shaft drive - and because the bike WILL creep forward ever so slightly when the clutch lever is released, I don't think it's anything "serious" like a broken gear or shaft. Pretty sure it's either an "adjustment" or a "consumable".....like clutch plates. (there's also a bit of noise when the clutch is "engaged"......more like a "rubbing" than a "grinding", if that makes any sense!

 

Will give you updates as the coffee kicks in and the covers come off! (Hate the thought of ruining the effect of my two cups of coffee......but I guess I'll take MiCarl's tip and see how smelly it is under the oil filler cap FIRST......since that's the single EASIEST thing to do. :-)

[MiCarl]

I wonder if that rubbing noise is broken final drive splines.

 

Since the drive shaft is exposed you can have her get on, let the clutch out, and see if the shaft is turning.

[msshearin]

Thanks for the input so far, guys.

 

YES: It's definitely a cable clutch (as opposed to hydraulic) - so I'll take that little side cover off down below first and see if the adjuster at the bottom end has somehow slipped out of adjustment. (There's no knurled nuts or anything resembling an adjustment at the top.....just a nice clean lever.)

 

YUP: It's definitely a shaft drive - and because the bike WILL creep forward ever so slightly when the clutch lever is released, I don't think it's anything "serious" like a broken gear or shaft. Pretty sure it's either an "adjustment" or a "consumable".....like clutch plates. (there's also a bit of noise when the clutch is "engaged"......more like a "rubbing" than a "grinding", if that makes any sense!

 

Will give you updates as the coffee kicks in and the covers come off! (Hate the thought of ruining the effect of my two cups of coffee......but I guess I'll take MiCarl's tip and see how smelly it is under the oil filler cap FIRST......since that's the single EASIEST thing to do. :-)

 

TWO CUPS????? I'm already on my second POT!!!!!!!!

[Yammer Dan]

I've seen V-Star with the rear gears out. Hope thats not it.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

How far out in left field would I be to ask if you checked the drive belt?

 

Pretty far out in left field!

 

 

 

 

 

[Semi-retired]

Thanks for the input so far, guys.

 

YES: It's definitely a cable clutch (as opposed to hydraulic) - so I'll take that little side cover off down below first and see if the adjuster at the bottom end has somehow slipped out of adjustment. (There's no knurled nuts or anything resembling an adjustment at the top.....just a nice clean lever.)

 

OK.......first off.......my bad: there IS a pair of knurled adjusting nuts at the lever. (My excuse for not seeing? they were VERY nicely concealed in the tightest/neatest dustproof/waterproof rubber boot I've ever seen.)

 

And, to POSSIBLY make matters worse, this is the first time I've noticed that there really WASN'T any play at the lever at all. NOT GOOD, and a VERY possible/probable contributor to the problem.

 

By this point, I already had the cover plate off at the bottom end of the clutch cable. So, I just undid the nuts at the lever, putting some play in the action, and tried starting up the bike to see if I had the instant fix. NO SUCH LUCK, of course! I'm still hearing the rubbing/scuffing sound....as though something is seriously not good on the OTHER side (clutch basket side) of the motor.

 

My worst suspicion: that her clutch has been slipping for the last thousand miles.....and that she never really noticed because of her "light" touch on the throttle.....and that the clutch is BAKED.

 

Does anyone know of or think there is a solution to this WITHOUT buying a new clutch kit? (Like taking the current one out and UNbaking the plates somehow? It's been so long since I've SEEN a cooked clutch, I can't remember how bad they get and whether I'm dreaming to think they could be salvaged with some sort of TLC?!?!

 

Input greatly appreciated.

[Semi-retired]

This guy... http://youtu.be/7Ds5bGGCWIo....says to "scuff up the old steel plates with 180 sandpaper before reinstalling with new friction plates."

 

Make sense to you?

[Semi-retired]

Holy Smokes!!

 

All bets are off on the clutch, guys.

 

Just thought I'd try adjusting it one more time before getting serious about removing the clutch housing etc.

 

THAT's when I noticed the DRIVE SHAFT is actually turning (between the engine and the back wheel) when I let the clutch out.

 

YIKES!! Things are looking totally different, now!

 

Hopefully it's just a case of a broken cotter pin or something inside the back end......but, we'll see when the rear wheel comes off I guess.

 

Thanks for your clutch answers. Any experts on rear ends out there? DOH!

[playboy]

Seems like I read where the Vstar has had problems with the splines stripping on the drive shaft.

[Semi-retired]

Seems like I read where the Vstar has had problems with the splines stripping on the drive shaft.

 

She won't wanna hear that!!

[wes0778]

Seems like I read where the Vstar has had problems with the splines stripping on the drive shaft.

 

Well that's kinda the same thing as a broken drive belt, just more expensive...

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Holy Smokes!!.....I noticed the DRIVE SHAFT is actually turning (between the engine and the back wheel) when I let the clutch out.

 

 

 

First, try NOT letting the clutch out.

 

 

Then, try a 55 gallon drum of Seafoam.

 

 

Hey...I can kid ya a bit, cuz I dropped a drivebelt at the Sturgis Rally one year. $760, and 2 days later, I was riding again.

 

And I thought that switching to a shaftdrive bike...this could NEVER happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yammer Dan]

Ask captainjoe about it.

[JohnMidnight]

First, if you've let the clutch out in first gear and you see that shaft drive is spinning, and your going nO WHERE. Get a damn tow immediately, and yank the drive shaft out. There are three peices of metal that couple together, wrong lub and they strip. Which would explain the funky shifting too.

 

We used the wrong lub in my shaft drive of my 650, damn splines shredded coming around a curve and dumped me out of power. Took six months to get a new shaft cheaper than 500, got the whole darn thing for 310$. >.>

 

 

 

 

Annnnnnnyway. Removing the clutch cover isn't as much of a hassel as it lets on (I removed the 650's clutch cover five times, still wasn't bored.) You might as well check >.> and get it over with.

 

 

Oh yea, if you ever happen to strip a tranny gear, its less than lethal to the engine, but makes the bike howl! (I stripped my 5th gear)

[Semi-retired]

Evidently, the O-ring that was supposed to keep the water out of my rear hub FAILED.......miserably at doing its job.

 

Also, Yamaha failed to design this assembly in such a way as to keep these parts protected from the elements.

 

The V-Star is only 8 years old and has less than 6,000 miles on it. (Oh, and it wasn't down in Katrina, either! LOL)

 

The replacement hub is $160......and the "offending" O-ring.........a BUCK!!

 

P.S. If anyone can find this part in the Yamaha manual.........I'd love to hear/see the page number........cause I can't find it!

[JohnMidnight]

AS FAR AS I KNOW, you cannot parts the stuff, you actually have the buy the whole rear end.

 

And that's odd, I have a 2000 650 and the only thing I did was ruin the 5th gear setup, shear off a left foot peg, bust the front fender, break the left turning signal lights three times, and shear the splines on the 2nd shaft and the coupler.

 

Overall, she's now under powered--she can no longer exceed 75 MPH. Downhill she'll do 80. Used to do 90 just fine tbh. Not anymore. And she can't be ridden without the Kuryaken big arse bag. Makes her unstable at highway speeds, hahahahaha.

 

But yea... we could not find any seperate peices in the 650 parts mag, except WHOLE parts.

 

 

I also noticed something horrible. WHERE IS THE GREASE?! THat WHOLE thing should be lubbed up with grease man! ITS BARE! Utterly! 650-1100 need lots of lub, preferably the water ignorant and high temp. NOT high pressure. That kind of lube is what actualyl keeps that drive shaft going!

 

(FYI, when we got my 650, in 2008, it sat since 2000, only had 600 miles on it. By the time the drive shaft sheared, it had 32 thousand on it by 2010 when I took the '90 as my Primary--ironicly enough everyone stopped joking I needed to "upgrade" to something bigger to "I needed a newer bike, lol)

Edited July 10, 2012 by JohnMidnight