[Poppy 904RB]

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1985 Goldwing Interstate 1200, 80,000 km

Started up the old girl in neutral and let her warm up. Pulled in on the clutch lever and it felt really free. I felt something was wrong but shifted anyway. The old girl lurched ahead and stalled.

It seems like there is something wrong with my clutch lever. I could not find any leaks and ecverything looked normal. Any help would be appreciated.

Mike
Poppy RB904

 

[hoss1200]

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have you looked at the slave cylinder !it might be leaking plus look inside your master cylinder it might be full of crud !

 

[Poppy 904RB]

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I am not very mechanical inclined. Is themaster cylinder theone by the lever. Where is the slave...

Thanks again

Mike

Poppy 904RB

 

[Oregonwinger]

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Assuming "tight" clutch lever, this is a problem with cold, thick oil, because of the fact that the clutch is a wet clutch. Warm it up a bit, if you need to, then shut off with kill switch, then kill switch back on, pull clutch, press towards 1st, and hit starter at same time. Works perfect, and probably saves some hardware, too! Don't need chips in oil, anyway. Hope your starter has the power to do this.

 

[hoss1200]

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master cylinder is at the top near the lever the slave cylinder is at the back of the motor you can see a flexy pipe going to it







hoss 1200

 

[RedWinger]

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[exavid]

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It also helps if you break the banjo bolts and the bleeders loose before you start, just break them loose a tiny bit and resnug. If you have one stuck and try to open it with pressure applied on the fluid the stuff will go everywhere. So just make sure none of the fittings are stuck or frozen first.

 

[twisty]

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Poppy 904RB wrote:

1985 Goldwing Interstate 1200, 80,000 km

Started up the old girl in neutral and let her warm up. Pulled in on the clutch lever and it felt really free. I felt something was wrong but shifted anyway. The old girl lurched ahead and stalled.

It seems like there is something wrong with my clutch lever. I could not find any leaks and ecverything looked normal. Any help would be appreciated.

Mike, if this is the first time you have used the bike after a long storage it probably just has air in the hydraulic clutch line. You might have to do a full clutch bleed as mentioned above. BUT, you might first try using a tie strap & tie strapping the clutch lever in (tight to the handle bar), then turning the handle bars all the way to the right & leaving like that all night. In a lot of cases that will allow the air in the clutch to work it's way out the top.

If your bike has been operating good all along then this problem just popped up overnight you have a more serious problem & probably have a failing hydraulic seal on your clutch master or slave cylinder.

Sometimes cold thick engine oil can cause a poor cold clutch release but that usually doesn't also give you that soft feeling clutch lever. A soft mushy feeling clutch lever usually means air in the hydraulic system.

Twisty

 

[Poppy 904RB]

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A big thanks to all of you who offered your opinion..it is greatly appreciated.

I will try the bleed process as the problem may be where it has not been used for 8 months....

Mike

Poppy 904RB

 

[GWNorman]

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Welcome to the forum Mike. Take your time bleeding the clutch, it can take a little while to do it right on the GL1200.

 

[Poppy 904RB]

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I tried your suggestion by tyingback the lever but that did not help.

Before I start the bleed process?

I took the top off the master cylinder (fluid level was ok, fluid was a little dirty), I pumped the lever several times, still no pressure or neither did it feel like it was building any pressure. [Normally if air was in a line, (for example in car brakes), you would feel some pressure and then some fading.]

Should I feel some pressure or see air bubbles in the master cylinder when I squeeze the lever:?:

Mike
Poppy RD904

 

[twisty]

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Poppy 904RB wrote:

I tried your suggestion by tyingback the lever but that did not help.

Before I start the bleed process?

I took the top off the master cylinder (fluid level was ok, fluid was a little dirty), I pumped the lever several times, still no pressure or neither did it feel like it was building any pressure. [Normally if air was in a line, (for example in car brakes), you would feel some pressure and then some fading.]

Should I feel some pressure or see air bubbles in the master cylinder when I squeeze the lever:?:

Poppy RD904

Mike, you ask-- "Should I feel some pressure or see air bubbles in the master cylinder when I squeeze the lever".. Not necessarily so, if there is (was)air in the lines you probably would build some pressure by using the above, but that air would probably have come out with the lever tie back procedure. It sounds like you have a massive amount of air in the slave (lower) cylinder so just pumping the lever probably won't build any (or very much) pressure. You will probably have to do a full clutch system bleed. That will have to be done at the lower slave cylinder bleeder (accessible from the L/H side on the rear of engine)..

Twisty

 

[Poppy 904RB]

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I love this site. Great feedback. I am glad i stumbled across this site.

Thanks

Mike

Poppy RB904

 

[GWNorman]

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Mike, the quick but messy way is to inject new fluid throuh the open nipple on the slave cylinder, using a syringe and rubber tubing (like fish tank tube). Crack open the union bolt on the master cylinder (plenty of plastic to protect the fairing plastic) and inject fluid until it runs clear from the union, then get a helper to nip up the union bolt. Usually results in an instand hard lever. There are several threads describing this on the forum. Good luck with it. :waving:

 

[Poppy 904RB]

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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)



PS...by the way..I am expecting my first grandchild (girl) tomorrow

 

[Budegan]

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Well done Mike. It just proves how there is always some air trapped in the system, you did well to get it all out.

:walker:Congratulations on being a Grandad tomorrow!:walker:

[align=center]I hope the little girl is plump and healthy from day 1. [/align]

 

[Guest]

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Poppy 904RB wrote:

PS...by the way..I am expecting my first grandchild (girl) tomorrow

Hey Poppy904RB :waving:Welcome to the best Goldwing Forum on the net. :clapper:

This is the first time i have ever heard or read :stumped:that you Canadian Males can have babies, :baffled:but maybe you are a female, :?if so Congrats and the very best of good Irish Luck. :clapper:

:walker::18red::walker:

 

[Grouchomax]

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Hi Mike and congratulations. I too wish your granddaughter arrives healty and happy. It will bring back loads of memories of when your own children were small, it's just like being a dad all over again. As Redwing said, the best of Irish luck to you.

Hey Redwing, that last post of yours was the 26,000th post on the forum. You've managed to post almost 10% of all the messageshere. That's probably enough to fill a book. :goofygrin:

 

[Guest]

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Grouchomax wrote:

Hi Mike and congratulations. As Redwing said, the best of Irish luck to you.

Hey Redwing, that last post of yours was the 26,000th post on the forum. You've managed to post almost 10% of all the messageshere. That's probably enough to fill a book. :goofygrin:

Hey Grouchomax :leprechaun: Jesus you fellows keep a sharp eye on the figures. :doh:

Now you tell me i could fill a book, :skipping:dont forget about exavid he is not far behind me, at least all his mesgs are useful :clapper:to the members, but then he is a "Guru" :weightlifter:and on a Big Salary from wingnut

:walker::18red::walker:

 

[Jason]

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Well done Mike, you've just discovered how hard it is to bleed a Wing and you tamed the beast. Congratulations on the good news of your grand child. I'll wish you and the baby well. :waving: