[Soulharvester]

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Hi, I am new to the forums but you all have been helping me for the last 6 months just from reading all the great posts here. I have a 1984 GL1200I. It sat for 19 years in a leaking and falling apart shed.I have cleaned it up and have done lots of work on it. I have been riding it for about a week and just noticed that the clutch seems to be slipping when I hit around 4,000 rpm, then as I rode it home it started to slip at 2,500 rpm. I did just replace the oil and filter about 3 days ago,I used Rotella T 15w-40. So I am not sure if that has anything to do with it. I rebuilt themaster cylinderand flushed the hoses and bled it out pretty good when I first got it. I have always thought the clutch handle was a little weak. As in it didn't ingage the clutch until it was almost fully extended. I am dreading the thought of replacing the clutch. But if that is what is wrong then I will do it. It is my first bike ever andI am new at working on abike, so Iguess I am just looking for someone to say yea it's your clutch, replace it.

 

[wda-83wing]

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i could be wrong but----try this first. put it up aginst a solid object , wall , house , tree , curb , truck , anything thats good to push on. put it in 2nd gear and fearther the clutch , add a bit of thottle to keep it running , see if you can get the clutch to slip. if it slips get it hot enough to burn off the glaze thats on the clutch disks . after setting for that lienght of time your bound to have some glaze on the disks. after it cooles off some . change the oil and filter. nothing wrong with the rotella 15-40 . i use it in my 83. when you change oil watch for any friction disk pices. they will be small. also the oil will be dirty looking. thats the glaze comeing off.
thats my 2 cents worth.

if there is a lot of disk stuff in the oil . a clutch change is in order. its do able with the engine in frame . close ---but do able.

 

[Bagmaster]

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Doesn't the 84 1200's also have a hydraulic clutch? Wouldn't hurt to drain the clutch master cylinder, refill with fresh fluid and bleed it.

 

[AlsGoldWing]

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It could be with the age of it sitting around for 19 years the the clutch hose could be rotten and not letting the fluid release back to the clutch master cylinder

 

[highcountry]

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Not much time on it and it sat for a long time? Check all of the points that move when you pull in the clutch. If it sat in a bad barn for that long you could have a little restriction somewhere. Be gentle and observe.

 

[oharaLTD]

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Probably not a bad idea to run some seafoam in the crankcase for aprox 200 mi and then change oil again.

 

[Keystone742]

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You’re on the right track, and there’s plenty of help here on the forum. You can do a search in the search box and find loads of info. You want to make sure you have all the air out of the hydraulic lines (and bleeding the clutch on the 1200 is a pain in the backside). You might want to pull the clutch pack out and take a look at it. (you can do that without removing the engine) Maybe after all the years the material has sort of gotten rotten. It’s possible that the PO used oil with modifiers in it which contain paraffin’s. Since paraffin is a wax, you can imagine how a wax coating can cause slippage. Try adding some MMO to the oil and run it for about 200 miles and see if it helps.

 

[Jeff M]

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You didn't mention if the Rotella was the synthetic. If it is, that could (keyword here "could") exacerbate clutch slippage.

 

[nukeman]

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1. I noticed that the clutch seems to be slipping when I hit
around 4,000 rpm, then as I rode it home it started to slip at 2,500 rpm.

2. It didn't engage the clutch until (the lever) was almost fully extended.

3. I am just looking for someone to say yea it's your clutch, replace it.

I'll address these in reverse order:
3. No, it's not your clutch, (yet). Don't replace it.

2. Hydraulic clutches automatically compensate for clutch wear, unless something is plugged. (hint)

1. Although you didn't exactly say so, I assume it gets better after the bike cools off for a while, then slips more and more as it heats up?


It sounds like when you rebuilt the master cylinder, you missed the return port. Open the reservoir and look for a VERY tiny hole, in line with the piston. If it's clear, working the lever should squirt fluid into the air!:shock: Yeah, that's fun, but don't waste it. If no fluid comes out, use a small pin drill or needle to clean it out. Go gently as you could damage the piston if you get too aggressive.
This port relieves the pressure on the back side of the piston and allows excess fluid a return path to the reservoir. As the engine heats up, fluid in the slave cylinder expands and tries to return to the reservoir, but if this port is plugged, it can only push on the slave piston, slowly releasing the clutch, and giving you that "poorly adjusted cable" feeling.

This is the only thing I know of that will cause ALL of your symptoms. Let us know what you find out.

 

[Soulharvester]

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Wow, thanks for all the great suggestions, first off the oil was not synthetic( read all about that lol).Second I did have to replace all the brake hoses since they were clogged up, can't believeI didn't think that the clutch hose wouldn't clog up too. But I'll check the return port and do the wall test before buying a new hose, and also use the seafoam, definitely couldn't hurt it any. Looks like I will be busy in the next couple of days as long as the rain holds out. I'll post back on what happens. Can't wait to get back out and ride again.



thanks again

 

[DBohrer]

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Jeff M wrote:

You didn't mention if the Rotella was the synthetic. If it is, that could (keyword here "could") exacerbate clutch slippage.

He doesn't need to...................

He stated it was Rotella T "15w-40" , that's the regular.

The Rotella T Synthetic is "5w- 40".

 

[William_86]

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it could be a simple thing as... the clutch lever not relaasing completely, i would take it appart, clean and lube it. that happens to mine some times.

 

[sfruechte]

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There's no way you should go through a clutch in 23,000 miles. Mine has the original at 215,000. Check the hydraulics or cable if it has one. A stiff cable can cause clutch slippage.

 

[DBohrer]

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He has a 1984 GL1200 Interstate, they have a Hydraulic operated clutch. I agree the clutch should not be bad at 23,000 miles, however sometimes a hard pulling clutch lever can mean clutch problems. It just happened to my friends GL1500.

 

[Soulharvester]

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Well thank you everybody, but I have to say nukeman hit the nail on the head. I looked for that tiny hole he talked about and I couldn't find it. So I removed the clutch handle and started poking around and found where the hole should have been. I eventually got it cleaned out and I got to say it is a completely different clutch now. No slippage and feels 10 times stronger, got to relearn the clutch all over again. I am so happy I posted on this forum, if it weren't for you guys I'd be elbow deep in the clucth only to find out it wasn't the problem. I'll now spend that time riding.

thanks again

 

[2slim]

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I use a hand operated vacuum pump to bleed the brakes and clutch
slaves on my 84I's. Never have had a problem yet. Just refreshed the
fluid and bled my clutch slave on one of them on Sunday. It took about
five minutes to do, using the vac.

Speedbleeders should work to take the PITB out of the process, also.

Just my experience.

Glad your bike is on the mend, Soulharvester.

 

[nukeman]

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:cooler: I'm glad you got it working.
My buddy had the same problem a month ago on a v45 Magna. It's pretty common and commonly missed, but the symptoms are always the same and impossible to miss once you know what to look for.
The wrong oil or a glazed clutch will never cause the lever issues you had, and trouble bleeding will usually cause the clutch to fail to completely disengage, causing hard shifting.
How old are your timing belts?
If they are good, it's time to put some miles on to get it loosened up.




:action:

 

[RayandTracy]

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SoulharvesterWelcome to this Great Site!

Pull up a chair and join on in!

Ride Safe, Ray

:waving:

 

[Bike...and Dennis]

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Hi Soulharvester,

With a name like that and a face like the one in your picture...maybe you just scared that clutch into submission.

Welcome to the forum, Dude.

 

[Guest]

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WELCOME FROM MISSISSIPPI