Clutch has no resistance.

[YamaDuck]

I put a new clutch slave unit on today. It was leaking before and the clutch lever had no resistance. I replaced the slave unit with a new unit. The clutch lever still has no resistance. I have bled and bled and bled the system and still no resistance.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Harry

[dvuch1]

I bled like this.....fill clutch cylinder leave lid off..... use a cable tie on clutch handle to open reservoir. Apply suction tool from harbor freight---20 bucks---to clutch slave bleeder....keep reservoir full...suck.....fill,,,, suck .....fill.....suck.....fill .....close clutch bleeder... top off ...lid on cylinder......done.... good luck

[sarges46]

I left mine over night before all the micro bubbles finally surfaced and I got pressure back. It was aggravating as all get out.

[YamaDuck]

Thank you both. I will let it sit overnight and if that doesn't work it is off to Harbor Freight tomorrow.

 

Harry

[djh3]

Be VERY careful if operating the clutch with lid off. It may spray fluid up and end up on the fairing or lowers. I take old towels or t-shirt and cover everything. You will probably have to turn the handlebars to far right to get the clutch resivoir level. DOT 4 fluid also. Try the pull lever down an tie off. Let sit over nite.

[YamaDuck]

Seems I have got some resistance in the clutch lever. After letting it sit a wile I would squeeze the clutch lever with the cover off being very careful. The small hole next to the larger hole would have air bubbles come out. The clutch lever does not have as much resistance as it did but that may be a combination of things. 1) a new slave unit, 2) all new fluid, and 3) I may still have a little air in the system which I will check tomorrow.

 

[djh3]

For whatever reason (I surely dont know) but the clutch seems to be a particular PIA to bleed. But the clutch on the FJ1200 I had in a legends race car was also and it had a "real" master from a VW beetle. Just is tough getting them to bleed.

[YamaDuck]

For whatever reason (I surely dont know) but the clutch seems to be a particular PIA to bleed. But the clutch on the FJ1200 I had in a legends race car was also and it had a "real" master from a VW beetle. Just is tough getting them to bleed.

Well I hope I don't have to do that again. It was completely dry so I had to get brake fluid into the whole system.

[aharbi]

Agree, I missed a met & greet in AR for same reason, couldn't get pressure to bleed clutch. Except I replaced with SS lines and added a speed bleeder. I let it sit all night with a wire tie holding in the clutch lever and I tapped each hose connection with a large wooden dowel and rubber mallet to "encourage" the little bubbles to leave. AFTER I got assistance posted here. Yes a PIA and very frustrating also makes you feel stupid not being able to complete such simple task. :-( Keeps you humble.

[dvuch1]

Its exasperating....initially getting that clutch slave in and then bleeding....I definitely remember its was harder to bleed then put the slave in...but it was that constant squeezing ...then i got the vacuum....which with the master lid off and the clutch lever engaged/cable tied shouldn't splash BUT you need to assume the worse and cover up...the reason to leave it off is so it WONT go dry and pull air in....I reliving the saga thru you...let us know how it goes

[YamaDuck]

Yea the slave was easy you just had to figure out which way to turn and when so you could get it back in there. The hardest part was hooking the line back up. The two copper washers. The one on the back side. I got lucky and somehow got it on the second try. I was on top of the world until I tried to bleed that stupid line. I went from on top of the world to oh crap here I go again. I bought a new speed bleeder and I could not get it to work, I tried the old bleeder and I could not get it to work. I finally got the new bleeder to work after much persistence and some advice from a few people here. Since I did not have a pump I made one. Take a piece of tubing and put it over the bleeder, take the other end of the tube and put it between your lips and start sucking. Boy that stuff taste nasty.

 

The important thing is I have pressure and you can here something moving inside the engine when you pull the clutch lever. That is a good sign. Now I will see if there is anymore air in it in the morning and I should be good to go. I will leave well enough alone and not swap out the bleeder for the speed bleeder at least not yet.

 

Yep you have to be real careful if you are going to squeeze that clutch lever with the cover off. Not to bad as long as air bubbles are coming up but once the air bubbles stop then watch out or you will be squirting brake fluid all over everything and you do not want that. So squeeze very gently once you have the air out.

[Marcarl]

If you turn your handle bars all the way to the right so that the master is above the hose connection at the master and then slightly work the handle as you tap the connection, you'll find that the air will be encouraged out of the master. This should only take you about 5 minutes of work. As mentioned, keep everything covered. Also, slightly means slightly, only move it a little, not enough to push any fluid down to the slave, just enough to compress that little bit of air at the top. It might also help to put a jack under the bike to raise the left side a bit more so that the master is that much higher.

[YamaDuck]

If you turn your handle bars all the way to the right so that the master is above the hose connection at the master and then slightly work the handle as you tap the connection, you'll find that the air will be encouraged out of the master. This should only take you about 5 minutes of work. As mentioned, keep everything covered. Also, slightly means slightly, only move it a little, not enough to push any fluid down to the slave, just enough to compress that little bit of air at the top. It might also help to put a jack under the bike to raise the left side a bit more so that the master is that much higher.

 

Thank you! I have the handlebars turned all the way to the right and I have two 1X4's under the kickstand. I will check now for to see if there is anymore air.