Clutch bleeding question

[Huggy]

OK I have rebuilt the clutch slave and the clutch reservoir and replaced the copper washers with new. Now my question is this how much resistance should I feel in the handle when I squeeze it to disengage the clutch? I bled it until there was no more air but there is not much resistance when I squeeze the lever:confused24:. But I am able to change gears. Am I good or am I missing something?

Edited July 19, 2013 by Huggy

[wes0778]

OK I have rebuilt the clutch slave and the clutch reservoir and replaced the copper washers with new. Now my question is this how much resistance should I feel in the handle when I squeeze it to disengage the clutch? I bled it until there was no more air but there is not much resistance when I squeeze the lever:confused24:. But I am able to change gears. Am I good or am I missing something?

 

I suspect there is still air in the system. The clutch circuit on these bikes is a bear to get all the air out of. Some have said when you get it to your stage, tie the lever against the grip and leave it over night.

[sarges46]

I am not sure on the first gen but some of our systems are so similar this may apply.

 

Last month I did sort of the same thing with my 2nd gen. But I could not get the all the air out and the clutch worked but barely.

 

Following the advice I found on the site I cranked the handle bar to the right so the reservoir was as high and level as possible. I then (making sure there was brake fluid in there) left it with the cap loose and covered overnight. (I did not tie the lever...there are mixed feelings on this.)

 

This allowed all the micro bubbles to rise to the top. It worded like a charm and the next day I was on my way.

 

The handle shouldn't be hard to pull but there should be some feedback from it to show its working me thinks.

[Huggy]

Thanks for the reply! OK guys I'm going to give BOTH suggestion's a try. I'll do the tie back first and if it does not work I'll leave the cap off/lose.

 

[Snaggletooth]

After rebuilding the slave on mine went thought the same thing. Multiple fill and bleeds one after the other. Lever didn't felt right. Worked..... but not right.

 

Ended up doing what Sarge said excpect I left the lever tied back over night. Filled and bled in the morning and I was good to go.

 

Just remember to protect that fairing at all costs from the brake fluid.

 

You want to feel more resitance on the lever go for new V-Max springs or add a second diaphragm spring to the clutch pack depending on which clutch pack you have. Then you really feel it.

[JohnT]

DO NOT LET ANY FLUID GET ON YOUR PLASTIC!

I had a bear of a time getting mine to bleed. I pumped and opened the bleeder a bunch before even getting real air bubbles to pop. Then it was forever getting it to feel right, or near right. And then I did use a Velcro strap to hold the lever and left the cover loose while I went on the road for work.

Clutch is nice now and oddly enough neutral is much easier to find.

[Huggy]

OK. Will try ALL suggestions until I get it to work. Now there is some resistance when I squeeze. BUT since there was no fluid in it when I got the bike I have no way of gauging how it should feel. Should it offer as much resistance as the brake or less or more? All the plastic has been stripped off the bike while I try to bring this thing back to life. Been sitting 10 years!

 

[lsutley]

The stock clutch lever does not pull very hard, at least as compared to the brake. Replaced the stock clutch with a complete Barnett setup and the pull is much more firm.

[Beau-Kat]

A few months back, my slave cylinder started leaking on my VMax so I rebuilt it.

 

Took me forever, but after I bled what I could at the slave, I pumped that clutch lever rapidly for about 40 minutes. That worked for me. Had to get going and didn't have the time to let it set overnight with the lever tied back.

 

Around here, if you leave the cap off or even loose overnight, that brake fluid will draw so much of our wonderful high humidity in there that I'd expect that you'd be back to square one and changing the fluid again.

 

I worked on a fellow's four wheeler's front brakes the same way and pumped til it worked the air out. All was well after that.

 

I don't have the brake bleed tools to put the brake fluid in at the slave or caliper bleed screw and force it back up to the master cylinder. Sounds like a good way to do it though.

[Prairiehammer]

In addition to the fine points made so far; try tapping with a wrench or other hard metallic object on the banjo union; both the one on the slave and the one on the master cylinder. The intent is to dislodge those clinging air bubbles trapped in the recesses.

 

Also, if you have a Mity Vac, try reverse bleeding; that is, try forcing clean brake fluid from the slave bleed nipple through the slave, up the line and out the master cylinder. The Mity Vac has a pressure pump capability as well as a suction pump. Simply reverse the lines on the Mity Vac and it will pump fluid.

[Condor]

OK I have rebuilt the clutch slave and the clutch reservoir and replaced the copper washers with new. Now my question is this how much resistance should I feel in the handle when I squeeze it to disengage the clutch? I bled it until there was no more air but there is not much resistance when I squeeze the lever:confused24:. But I am able to change gears. Am I good or am I missing something?

 

You're not missing a thing. The clutch lever only has return pressure from the clutch springs. Not a whole lot unless you've beefed up the clutch springs.. As long as the clutch engages and disengages in the right area you're good to go...

[Huggy]

Ok thanks for ALL the input guys. All I can say about the clutch is that the last PO who actually rode the bike is that he replaced it for some reason just before he passed away. Now I assume it had something to do with towing a trailer. The bike came with a tow hitch on it.

 

[usedcyclesales]

I am not sure on the first gen but some of our systems are so similar this may apply.

 

Last month I did sort of the same thing with my 2nd gen. But I could not get the all the air out and the clutch worked but barely.

 

Following the advice I found on the site I cranked the handle bar to the right so the reservoir was as high and level as possible. I then (making sure there was brake fluid in there) left it with the cap loose and covered overnight. (I did not tie the lever...there are mixed feelings on this.)

 

This allowed all the micro bubbles to rise to the top. It worded like a charm and the next day I was on my way.

 

The handle shouldn't be hard to pull but there should be some feedback from it to show its working me thinks.

I DID VERY SAME WORKED GREAT:thumbsup2:

[Randi]

Am I blind? I cannot find the bleeder screw ?????? HELP!!

[RDawson]

Am I blind? I cannot find the bleeder screw ?????? HELP!!

You’ve managed to find an old thread. Look on left side between the stator cover and middle gear cover. Clutch bleeder is under the little square rubber cover.

[saddlebum]

Here is how I bleed the slave. 1st I do not pump the clutch lever. 2nd I open the bleeder screw slowly apply the clutch until it bottoms out then close the screw and wait a few minutes. 3rd I again open the bleeder screw only this time as I slowly apply the clutch then close it when it when the clutch lever bottoms out. I continue with step 3 until brake fluid comes out of bleeder screw. 4th I now slowly apply the clutch with bleeder screw closed, pause for a few seconds then open the bleeder screw and quickly close it again before the clutch lever totally bottoms out. I continue with step 4 until no more air comes out of bleeder screw. 5th with handle bar in straight ahead position so fitting at master is at its highest possible point in comparison to the reservoir, I apply the clutch lever slowly until it stops. I hold it for a few seconds then slowly open and then quickly close the fitting bolt. I continue with step 5 until it no longer spits out air around the banjo fitting. Make sure everything below the the clutch lever is covered and protected from over spray and toss a rag over the banjo fitting while you bleed it to avoid getting sprayed in the eyes. When doing the final part of the bleeding you do not need to look at the fitting so cover it with a rag because you can hear the difference between air coming out or pure fluid. Or if you prefer wear safety goggles.

Edited March 30, 2020 by saddlebum

[Marcarl]

I did not read the 'why' as to the word 'slow', so may I fill that in? Pumping the handle quickly will and can inject air bubbles into the brake fluid or break up larger bubbles and these bubbles are too small to effectively rise to the top quickly, they actually stay trapped in the fluid wherever they might be, and in the process of moving the fluid from top to the bottom, that could be anywhere in the system. Over night all these little guys will slowly congregate towards the top to be let out. So if you move the handle slow you get less of the small bubbles and an easier bleed.

[saddlebum]

I did not read the 'why' as to the word 'slow', so may I fill that in? Pumping the handle quickly will and can inject air bubbles into the brake fluid or break up larger bubbles and these bubbles are too small to effectively rise to the top quickly, they actually stay trapped in the fluid wherever they might be, and in the process of moving the fluid from top to the bottom, that could be anywhere in the system. Over night all these little guys will slowly congregate towards the top to be let out. So if you move the handle slow you get less of the small bubbles and an easier bleed.

See how I deliberately left that part out so you would be able to have some input. And here you always accuse me of not giving you a chance to have your say.

Edited March 31, 2020 by saddlebum

[cowpuc]

After learning to do the final bleed from the master cylinder's banjo bolt I was always blessed with a air bubble free clutch system