[1200bikes]

imported post

hi all,bled the clutch today still not going into first ,it feels as though the clutch is not disengageing fully,infact im sure its not,ive came to the conclusion its a garage job but i would like some idea of the problem as i know one of my fellow wingers will have had this problem,help...bri.

 

[rcmatt007]

imported post

the biggest problem in bleeding 1200 clutches is if you get air into the master cylinder. they are a *&%## to reprime, you can pump and bleed all you want but getting the air bubble out is very difficult. What I have done is fill the resevior. put back on the cap. detach the whole mechnism and hold it up eliminating the "high" spot where the hose goes into the master cylinder and then try pumping the handle.

another fix is to get a reverse bleeder which attaches to the lower bleed screww and use pressure to push fluid back up the line pushing out the bubble.

good luck... after this you will never let the master cylinder get air in it again

 

[1200bikes]

imported post

hi all,once again thanks for the speedy reply,ive phoned my local bike garage and he says its clutch drag and he will have a look on monday,pity i wanted to go to my static caravan in yorkshire and the weathers hot and dry saturday and sunday(hopefully ) but im stuck with the car(doh) anyway he did mention if i had topped up the oil ,i did last sat on my way back from yorkshire,thing is it looked well down so i put about half a litre in? have i put too much oil in?which would apparently cause drag,oh hum the toils of haveing a goldwing:goofygrin:catch you all later,bri.uk.

 

[rcmatt007]

imported post

I still suspect that the problem is air in the system. Especially if it worked before you bled the lines. Yes there is "clutch drag" which is a problem related to having a "wet" clutch. this is most noticible on start up and most of us start the bike in neutral. certainly if the bike had less than optimal oil changes this would be worse.

I would still suspect air right where the master cylinder connects to the line

 

[exavid]

imported post

1200bikes wrote:

hi all,once again thanks for the speedy reply,ive phoned my local bike garage and he says its clutch drag and he will have a look on monday,pity i wanted to go to my static caravan in yorkshire and the weathers hot and dry saturday and sunday(hopefully ) but im stuck with the car(doh) anyway he did mention if i had topped up the oil ,i did last sat on my way back from yorkshire,thing is it looked well down so i put about half a litre in? have i put too much oil in?which would apparently cause drag,oh hum the toils of haveing a goldwing:goofygrin:catch you all later,bri.uk.

Don't think I buy this 'clutch drag' thing. The only reason the clutch would drag or fail to completely release is air in the system. Overfilling with oil isn't going to cause it as far as I can see. Recheck your oil level and it's over full drain some out. I think you still need to bleed out the air. Since I don't know what you've already done some of this will be redundant.

1. Fill the master cylinder, pump the lever, hold it down and crack the banjo bolt on the master for a moment, if any air comes out repeat until it doesn't. This is one of the places it gets trapped.

2. Check the master to make sure it's still full, do the same at the slave cylinder.

3. Check the master, pump and hold and crack the slave bleeder.

If all else fails, get a clean oil pump can, fill it with brake fluid, attach it to the slave bleeder with a short piece of tubing, tie back the clutch lever, turn the handlebars so the top of the master is level. Remove most of the fluid from the master and pump new fluid from the pump can into the bleeder until the master is full. Close the bleeder, put the lid on the master. Be careful doing all this as the brake fluid likes to eat paint.

 

[DJ]

imported post

Hi guys. I've bled a few 1200's and 1500's clutches and they can be a right pain to do. I eventuall gave in and bought a speed bleeder and it's made this job much easier. Well worth the few quid for all the time saved. :waving:

 

[GWNorman]

imported post

Hi 1200bikes. You don't say how the clutch lever feels. Is it nice and hard, or a bit spongy or loose?

 

[Renegade]

imported post

The clutch lever should be smooth and steady when you compress it. No steps, binding, hardness, bumps or tightness... Smooth and steady...

One last suggestion on bleeding the clutch... I've had to do this on two 84 GLs.. Unbolt the slave cylinder from the back of the engine and support it with the bleeder screw pointing upwards.. I did it with a piece of mechanics wire wrapped around the hose and secured to the frame... Bleed it in this position until the fluid runs clear. It's possible that a very small bubble of air is hung up on the top side of the bleeder screw threaded hole and when re-positioning the slave cylinder, the bubble will roll up into the bleeder and flow out...

 

[Poppy 904RB]

imported post

I had a similar problem. You can find the original post searching for "Clutch problem".



Just in case, you might have missed my last post...here it is.....



Thanks to all who offered a solution.

Anyway as you can see from the previous posts, I tied the "tie back the clutch lever' trick and it did not work. So I put the bike on the center stand and removed the top off the master cylinder. Soaked up the old fluid and cleaned the gunk out of the master.

I had my son pump he clutch lever (trying to get some pressire) and I released the bleed nipple from the slave. A large amount of fluid can out but no air. Tried this 10 times...still I could not get any air out of the line.

I tighten up the bleed nipple and took the bike off the center stand (being careful not to spill fluid from the topped up master cylinder). With me on the right side, we tilted the bike to its right side. Turning the handle bars to the right and slowly pumping the lever, we started to see air bubbles rise in the master cylinder. I continued to do that until no more aire bubble came to the top.

As we continued with the process above, I started to feel pressure on the clutch lever. A few more pumps and holding the lever in, I undid the bleed nipple and I saw some air come out. We continued the turning, tilting, pumpingetc until I had a nice stiff clutch lever.

Soa combination of turning the handle bars, tilting the bike to the right and bleeding through the slave solved my problem.

Mike (Poppy RB904)