No clutch after winter storage

[magnuskgc]

OK so I went to take the bike out for the first time in several months. The clutch felt very weak. I pull the lever in and put it in 1st.. the bike lunges forward and shuts off.
So I put it up on stand and the rear wheel spins through out the gear but the clutch does not seam to be engaging. Fluid is fine and I even loosened the conection at the bottom of the line and fluid come out.

Anybody have any idea? The clutch was perfect when I stored it away for the winter

 

[wv rider]

Sounds like the clutch plates are stuck together. Try to get the wheel to spin with the transmission in gear and the clutch pulled in. If the lever feels soft, you probably need to bleed the clutch cylinder and find the leak.

 

[Highliner]

Seems odd that it went bad just from storage, but I would start with bleeding the clutch; especially if the lever feels weak.. If it was shuddering/grabby, but the lever felt good I would say that you may just have some dry clutch plates.. You could check the oil level and tilt the bike to the right somewhat to try to wet the clutch as a quick check first.

 

[BusaWhipped]

The friction plates can stick to the steels when the sit for a while. Put it in gear, pull in the clutch, and rock it back and forth a few times to break it loose.

 

[Highliner]

The friction plates can stick to the steels when the sit for a while. Put it in gear, pull in the clutch, and rock it back and forth a few times to break it loose.

Ahh yes.. This makes more sense...

 

[JGGUNS]

Seems odd that it went bad just from storage, but I would start with bleeding the clutch; especially if the lever feels weak.. If it was shuddering/grabby, but the lever felt good I would say that you may just have some dry clutch plates.. You could check the oil level and tilt the bike to the right somewhat to try to wet the clutch as a quick check first.

Not strange at all. My lawn mower always runs great when I park it each fall and seems that it never fails to require significant repair to get it started in the spring. Anything mechanical will run better and last longer when used regularly.

Over time all of the oil has drained from between the clutch plates and they are seized. It may rehire taking the plates out of the basket and soaking them oil to free them up.

 

[magnuskgc]

This all validates what I was told by my friend (who works on my bike when i need it)... I am going to try it when I get home. It also may be worth mentioning that the bike had been on the stand all winter too so it was "upright" rather then leaning on the kick stand... not sure if that makes a difference or not.

 

[magnuskgc]

Ok so I ran it for about 10 min on the stand in 1st jumped around every so often but still locked up.
Should I run it longer? I took it off of the stand and have it leaning on the kick stand right now.

 

[JGGUNS]

I would pull the clutch basket and break the fibers and steels apart and oil them. It should take you more than a couple of hours or so unless you have done it before and then it will be about 45 minutes. If you haven't done it before, just make sure that you put the fibers and steels back in the same way they came out.

 

[busaman195]

i am going through this right now. here in oregon it was a super wet winter so my bike sat all winter, like six months. i had just replaced the plates and put in hd springs along with fresh full synthetic castrol. i had only soaked the plates as per the ebc srk instructions and took the bike around the block before i parked it. i just took it out for a ride and everything seemed fine until i got on it in 4th to get on the freeway. it is slipping pretty good.
im hoping that once the plates have time to soak up the oil that it will come back. i will say i have terrible luck so odds are they will not.

im wondering if filling the case with oil and keeping the lever compressed overnight will help?

i hate to have to rip it apart again. it sucks with no lift.