Hey all! I wanted to give an update on this and toss in a few lessons learned from the experience in case someone else has this issue.
I got the slave cylinder replaced, however couldn't get to the oil gasket, that thing is in there deep and I couldn't find a pick that would reach it, so i did as close of an inspection of it as i could with an endoscope and it looked good, so i left it there.
Lessons learned:
- buy allen sockets. just freaking do it. life will be a million times easier.
- after you pop the clutch line off, pop it out of the holder under the bike and unscrew the other holder that's further up. this will allow you to move that line out of the way.
- remove the bleeder screw before you try and wiggle that thing out of there. do the same to the new one before you try and wiggle it back up in.
- after you've gravity flushed the line, you are going to pump the clutch lever what feels like a thousand times before it builds the pressure it needs to actuate the piston. it takes forever to build the pressure, this isn't like the brakes on your car that have a booster.
- a 2x4 under the kickstand and the handlebars turned far right will get you about as close to level on that reservoir as possible without a stand. just be careful, it's awful close to tipping point, so don't go pushing on anything, in fact, i did all removal and install without that 2x4 'cause it made me nervous, but definitely used it when keeping it full during the bleed.
- when you're pulling that oil drain plug, position your wrench so that you're pushing towards the kickstand when trying to break it loose. I was laying down on the floor pulling towards me, away from the kickstand, and when it tried to lift up off the stand from my efforts, i had one of those moments where i wondered if I was wearing my brown pants.
Anyhow, HUGE THANKS to everyone here for helping me get this sorted out. took it for a 100 mile shakedown after changing the cylinder and the oil, no leaks, fluid levels look good through the sight glasses. hope to see ya'll on the road!
-Russ