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99 Adv. Clutch slipping get progressively worse as engine heats up.

1K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  jhulbert 
#1 ·
I've noticed as my 99 Adv gets hot the clutch slips more and more. It got to the point today that I could not move and had to pull over. When the bike is cold the clutch seems perfectly fine. After I noticed this the first time I saw that I my fluid was a tad high. I removed some fluid and got the level correct. On my way home today I went through some typical stop and go traffic and i noticed the clutch lever disengaging the clutch farther and farther out. As a last resort, I tried pumping it and that screwed the pooch and I got stuck. As I let the bike cool I noticed the clutch barely engaged. i could still move the bike but felt a tiny bit of resistance. After about 45 minutes I was able to borrow a wrench and cracked the bleeder. I was hoping for a spurt of fluid but got nothing. Gave the handle a little squeeze and tightened the bleeder. Low and behold the clutch was fully engaged! I rode it the 3 miles I had left to go and it was fine. It was engaging maybe a 1/4 way out on the lever. Felt perfect.

I did my best to replace the fluid last year when I bled the system. By bleeding I did it old school with a hose and a jar of brand new Dot 4 fluid.

Not sure if I should start with a fluid replacement or start pulling the slave apart. The bike has 7700 miles. I got it 3rd hand.

No runs drips or leaks anywhere. i'd hate to start ripping into the old girl unless i had to.

Thanks!
 
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#5 ·
Fortunately I did not mix the two. I ended up replacing the fluid and in turn gave it a really good bleed. I have not run it through the stop and go traffic I encounter coming home from work. I took it out for ride on some back country roads over the weekend and ended up taking my son and then my wife out so the bike was plenty hot when I returned. I noticed that the clutch seemed to slip a bit goosing the throttle in 5th gear a bit at the end of my last ride. Nothing like I encountered when she left me stranded.

I may end up removing the slave cylinder for a clean and inspect. Hate to muck about with something that might be just fine left alone. Always ends up with me swearing and reassembling whatever it is 2 times before I get it right.

Thanks for the help.
 
#7 ·
I'm confused as to what you mean by shifting into neutral might help.

Are you saying that you cannot disengage the clutch? Or, does the clutch engage itself while you're holding the lever in? If that's the case, then it's definitely a problem with the hydraulics, and since it gets worse with a hot engine, probably the slave cylinder.

If the clutch is slipping (engine revs up but bike doesn't accelerate), is the friction zone moving? Do you have less (or no) free play at the lever when it's acting up?
 
#8 ·
WSC, I think he means to say he's leaving the bike in neutral at stops instead of holding the clutch in with it in first. Presumably in hopes it doesn't build up so much heat.

Did you actually disassemble it and clean the white muck up? I had the same experience as you on a Trophy. Flushed it and it was better but not great till I disassembled the slave and cleaned out the pudding like muck. Reassembled and re-bled and problem solved.

If you did, then might be time to look at a master and/or slave rebuild/replace.

Scott
 
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