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Clutch

7K views 48 replies 20 participants last post by  G-Dub 
#1 ·
Is there a new aftermarket clutch system for the new 1000?
 
#3 ·
They have one of the best "slipper" clutch setups in them from the factory. They can be fine tuned by changing some thicknesses in the hub assembly. Have yet to see any issues with the clutch discs or plates.

If you are talking about the clutch basket, yes, there are upgrades available. Tell us what you are looking to improve and I can probably tell you if the clutch basket will help.
 
#4 · (Edited)
The clutch doesn't fully disengage and causes grinding of the gears during up and down shifting especially 1 to 2 and 2 to 1. Also a few times when put into first gear the bike takes off with the clutch lever fully pulled in, you have to hold the brakes on to keep it from moving forward. It has heavy clutch drag.
 
#12 ·
Either have the dealer show you that the other new DL 1000's in stock do this, or find another dealer. Possibly just needs the clutch system bled to get air out. But not normal or correct.
 
#13 ·
Remember there was another guy on this forum that had the opposite problem? His clutch would hardly engage and the dealers fixed it but I think we were none the wiser what had caused it. Definitely not right and the dealer should be able to fix. Have you tried another strom?
 
#15 ·
My 2015 DL1000 does it as well. Dealer bled it in the first service. It made a little difference so it's a bit better than the op but not quite right. I have about 10,000 miles on mine since I bought it end if July so it's broken in just fine. When the riding season slows down (sometime in December up here in Canada?) il drop it off at the dealer and get them to take their time and try and bleed it real good.

..Tom
 
#17 ·
Tom, I didn't know you were having that problem as well. Are we finally discovering a possible issue with the V2? If so it hasn't affected many bikes because I'm pretty sure this is the first time most of us are learning of this. Hopefully this is something that is a simple fix and nothing like the clutch basket epidemic haha
 
#23 ·
On my case the lever is adjusted plus I put a litte spacer in such a way that when I fully pull in the clutch lever it doesn't quite touch the handlebar. In other words it is using up all the possible travel that it can use. It still doesn't fully release.

It very much feels as if the clutch pushrod isn't quite long enough so that it doesn't release the plates fully. It's more of an annoyance than a major issue but it isn't right and I will get it taken care of. It's the only thing on my bike that I don't think is perfect.

..Tom
 
#20 ·
Not stating the obvious or anything, but there is definitely something wrong with the two examples in this thread. Would take back to the dealer and tell them to let me ride another V2 and see if it does the same thing.

I've actually modified my stock clutch lever assembly so that it crabs closer to the handlebar which is opposite of what these two bikes are doing.
 
#21 ·
The question is there another Clutch to change out to. All the suggestions have been done. The bike was taken to the dealer the second day after picking it up new with the problem, they bleed the clutch again and said it was fine, it wasn't. It got worse so we again took it to another dealer and asked to have a Suzuki rep figure it out. He said it was fine if it was shifted within Suzuki's parameters which is shifting into second gear by 2,000 RPM. Also that we didn't know how to shift and were wearing the wrong boot probably. Called Suzuki customer service and was told to take it to another dealer. So it was taken to the original dealer bought from again and they had a tech recognize the poor shifting and clutch drag. They involved Suzuki to get authorization to repair, Suzuki now says it's a wear problem and won't authorize them to repair it. So much for standing behind a warranty, they use the wear problem on everything possible. This bike has been in the dealerships 60 day out of 8 months of being new. It is there presently but no one knows what to do.
 
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#22 ·
I understand your frustration for sure. How many miles are on this bike?

If I feel I was truly done wrong which it sounds like you are, it may be time to take it back to the original dealer of purchase and make a scene with their managers. Don't let a dealer push you around!

Are you mechanically inclined? If you don't get what you want out of the dealer then it may be time to take matters into your own hands.

The last thing I would want to do is see you pay a ton of of money on a new clutch system, and still let a dealer install it, and end up with the same problem uncorrected due to poor troubleshooting.
 
#24 ·
A good description Tom, however grinding almost every time going in and out of second gear is way beyond an annoyance. What will those gears be like in a couple of years?
 
#25 · (Edited)
There are not a lot of parts in the clutch on these bikes really. It being hydraulic you have the lever that moves a plunger at the top, which moves the oil through the tube and moves the clutch push rod at the bottom that pushes the clutch plates out. If the push rod is not extending far enough you will have clutch engagement with lever fully depressed. Possible causes

- poorly designed clutch lever, incorrect in some fashion.
- air in clutch fluid line, or possibly it is not a sealed system.
- loose clutch master slave at bottom.
- clutch push rod too short.

To troubleshoot you could

- Borrow a clutch lever from another bike to test
- Replace clutch fluid and bleed correctly
- Pull out clutch master slave and check for proper screw orientation, possible fluid leaks, other tests?
- Clean off push rod. I haven't looked at mine yet, is it the same as the V push rod where it can get a buildup on it? Possible to check the length of it, compare with another bike.

If you verify all of that, and no issues found, then it would likely be an issue inside the clutch itself. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

You should be able to tell your dealer to swap out the clutch master cylinder and pushrod to see if that makes a difference, and the lever as well. No leaks in the delivery system i guess?

Do you have a Lemon law where you live? I would definitely look into that if this was my bike and dealer refused to fix it.
 
#26 ·
#27 ·
In my case clutch lever is not the issue. I have it setup that fully depressed it doesn't touch the handlebar (ie something in the master cylinder has reached it's limit, perhaps the piston reaching the end of its travel, and stops the lever from moving further.) A different lever would not change that. When riding season ends I will have my dealer take a good look at it.

..Tom
 
#31 ·
Mine fully releases in probably the first 20-25% of travel. Took some getting used to as the 650 friction zone is much closer to the bar, maybe half way or a little more.
 
#28 ·
i wonder if you have two seperate issues, Ihad the problem with grinding between 1/2 and it was because of the position of the shift lever. It wont fix all of your issues but you may have more then one.
 
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#32 ·
Looking at the parts diagrams, the clutch actuation hardware from the slave cylinder to the part that pushes on the pressure plate are the same. Clutch basket is the same. The difference in these is the all new clutch hub assembly. This has the slipper components built in, and has been used for SV's as it can be adjusted and it MUCH lighter than the BTL assembly from the SV's. But I don't think the adjustment would help release point or the problems this post is about.

Even in the first generation DL 1000 the 1-2 shift was horrible. Crunchy noises were normal. Yet I don't recall any failures. The examples in this post where the clutch is dragging was not a problem in the early models even though the clutch seemed to take up late in travel of lever.

I figure the old DL 1000 style inner hub and components would interchange with the current model. If someone was really not pleased with what they have now, I would try to install the early version as a test. There could be something causing drag in the current style hub? Obviously not a warranty claim to try this, but if there is an owner with the skills to swap out to an early style, get in touch with me. What you would give up is the lighter clutch pull of the new bike, the older ones depend on spring pressure only to hold the torque load, the new version uses the ramps on the hub to apply more pressure under load so they have a lighter spring set in the pressure plate.
 
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