StromTrooper banner

What's up with my clutch

9K views 38 replies 13 participants last post by  guywithchickens 
#1 ·
I own and ride 2010 Wee.
It reached 80,000 KM just now.

A few new symptoms I encountered in the last 3000-4000 KM:

1. When I am at the traffic light and generally when the engine is running it is impossible to place it in nueutral? gear.

When the engine is off then placing it at neutral is smoothly done.

2. When I park my bike on a flat surface on 1 gear and I let the go the brake lever the bike slowly begins to move even though the clutch lever is fully pressed.

The rpm seems to stay at the idle position which is about 1300 rpm .

But the funny thing is that when I completely let go the clutch lever the bike doesn't stall. It keeps running at a constant speed.

I would expect the engine to burp and halt.

I thought that it might got to do the throttle cables but they are at place and the rpm doesn't indicate that they are stuck or slightly pulled.


Bottom line:

What is up with that? Is it normal?

Is my clutch dieing?
Help.
 
See less See more
#2 · (Edited)
It is probably time to adjust your clutch.

Loosen off your clutch a bit at the clutch lever. Then remove the counter shaft sprocket cover which also covers the clutch actuating cam and rod.

Loosen the lock nut and using a bladed screwdriver loosen the adjuster by turning it back a bit (anti clockwise) and then turn it clockwise until all slack is taken up. Then back off the screw quarter of a turn and tighten the lock nut.

Then adjust the clutch cable adjusters to leave a small amount of slack in the cable.

 
#3 ·
It is probably time to adjust your clutch.

Loosen off your clutch a bit at the clutch lever. Then remove the counter shaft sprocket cover which also covers the clutch actuating cam and rod.

Loosen the lock nut and using a bladed screwdriver loosen the adjuster by turning it back a bit (anti clockwise) and then turn it clockwise until all slack is taken up. Then back off the screw quarter of a turn and tighten the lock nut.

Then adjust the clutch cable adjusters to leave a small amount of slack in the cable.


But why does it happens? Just normal clutch wear?

Would you recommend to replace the levers as well?

What is the life expectancy of the clutch?
I know it depends on how you drive yet I want to know what to expect
 
#4 ·
As the friction plates wear away, the far side of the clutch moves closer to the actuator until the plates no longer fully clear. There are too many variables involved to put a mileage number on life expectancy. It's the number of times the clutch is used, the rpms it is used at and the length of time the clutch is slipped, not the mileage that determines wear. An off road rider on a difficult course can put as much wear on the clutch in a few miles in one day as a city commuter will in a month or a long distance tourer will do in a year.
 
#6 ·
Your description fits perfectly.
I commute to work each day about 18 miles in each direction most of it (14 miles) in heavy traffic which forces me to up and down shift a lot.

So is tuning is good enough ? I'm guessing that in the near future I will have to replace it? What is usually done to repair it?

Do you replace the basket or the just the "discs" ( I don't know what they are called)
 
#7 · (Edited)
This, plus the actuator itself will wear with use, and pick up slack if you lose ball bearings out of it. I had to replace mine at 50k miles because I was at the limits of both the coarse and fine cable slack adjustments. Best is to pick one up on eBay, the sv650 part is the same.

Your description fits perfectly.
I commute to work each day about 18 miles in each direction most of it (14 miles) in heavy traffic which forces me to up and down shift a lot.

So is tuning is good enough ? I'm guessing that in the near future I will have to replace it? What is usually done to repair it?

Do you replace the basket or the just the "discs" ( I don't know what they are called)
You should just need to adjust it for now. Maybe a new cable or actuator in the future if you run out of adjustment range.
 
#8 ·
The cable adjustment just determines the friction point at the lever. It cannot adjust for clutch wear. It's the adjustment under the sprocket cover that does that. If you haven't done that yet, you are just at the beginning of the adjustment range unless you do some running with the clutch slipping. It's unusual for a wee to actually need new clutch plates unless the clutch was abused. Then replacing the one #4 and six #5 friction plates is usually enough unless the #6 steel plates are damaged.

 
#9 ·
Thanks for the detailed explanation.
I bought the Bike when he was 4 years old and had 41,000 KM on it so I doubt that the previous owner did any adjustments to the clutch.

The funny thing is that yesterday I went to the delar's garage to tighten the chain until the new chain and sprockets will arrive and he loosen the throttle handle cable. So now they are more loose.

Could it be that the throttle isn't fully closed though I'm not seeing any RPM activity on the dashboard?

And how would I know that I adjusted it correctly? What is the ratio between the lever adjustment and the clutch near the sprockets adjustment?

Plus I need to press the lever all the way and I'm sure this is not the right behavior for a clutch lever , Am I right?
 
#10 ·
The lever should be adjusted so there is some free play and the friction point is at a comfortable place but not extremely close to the grip.
 
#11 ·
Thanks a lot GW.

Not that it is related but do you find it helpful to replace the levers to other levers or just stick with the original?

By the way my front brake lever is also reaching all the way to the throttle handle and it doesn't seem to brake properly.
I mean it brake but I don't think the lever should go all the way so it squishes my fingers and from the numbers marked 1 to 5 it's adjusted to the max "roughness" .

So what's the deal here?
Faulty lever? Air in my brake fluid? Not enough brake fluid ?
Worn out brake fluid?
 
#12 ·
Replacement levers can provide different clutch lever positions and look snazzy. I had them on my Wee but stuck to stock on my Glee. The aftermarket clutch level wouldn't work the switch in the closest position. You probably have air in you brake fluid if you can get the lever to the grip. If you are two finger braking and hitting your little fingers, I'd say the stock brakes a a four finger setup. If you brake fluid is over two years old, it should be flushed with new stuff.
 
#13 ·
Don't get sidetracked with different levers ass that will confuse the issue **unless the lever pivot point is elongated with wear.**

It sounds like you are not that technical.. I suggest you get someone to help you that is familiar with working on bikes (any other Strommers nearby that can help you?)

As has been said make sure you adjust the clutch (by adjusting 18 and locking with 19 in Greywolf's diagram) and make sure that cable slack is all right. When you are adjusting the clutch (using 18 and locking with 19) take a look at the lever at the clutch adjuster end that the bottom end of the cable is attached to. On my 2006 DL650 the spot weld that held the lever attached to the actuator broke and as a result the lever couldn't do it's thing properly. If the actuator was taken apart it is very possible to put it back together 180° incorrectly so it doesn't work right.

If the clutch is adjusted properly and adjusting the cable slack doesn't seem to work properly looked for frayed cable ends at both ends, especially at he clutch lever end.

..Tom
 
#14 ·
Don't get sidetracked with different levers ass that will confuse the issue **unless the lever pivot point is elongated with wear.**

It sounds like you are not that technical.. I suggest you get someone to help you that is familiar with working on bikes (any other Strommers nearby that can help you?)

..Tom
Hi,

The only reason I suggested the lever replacement is because that what the guy at the garage said.

So that's shows you how trustworthy are those grages .
At least when I treat my bike I know what I did wrong.

I have skilled mechanis friends but they work only at certified delear's garages.
One of them works at BMW and the other at Yamaha.
None of them is willing , as a strict policy,
To treat any other bike, especially not Suzuki.

But that's Apples and Oranges so lets put the lever issue aside.

I lack the experience and that's why I'm addressing you guys.
 
#17 ·
What I meant was that my two friends work as their day job at the BMW / Yamaha main centeral dealer which, as part of the delear policy , treats only the bikes which are imported by her.

We are all working people and don't always have the spare time to show some common courtesy to another friend.
So I want to pay money to a qualified master mechanic which will do the job correctly.

But that's doesn't satale with the garage policy.

But I talked to my friend which works at BMW and he is willing to make some spare time.

He lives 50 miles from me but that's a trip I will have to take in order to get a good mechanic.


I will try to manage with all the material you have supplied me here and there is plenty of it.

Thanks a lot to all of you.
I know I can be a drama queen sometimes.
 
#18 ·
Zow, my guy owns his shop but came to my house. I know other mechanics and will take the bike to them for their professional expertise.
Getting it right is important. Not leaning excessively on a friend is important too.
Sausage Boy and Andreas did a clutch adjustment on Andreas' Bike in the campground during the Cache rally and had some success, the bike was able to make it home.
Never heard if he got a new clutch or it was mo bettah after that.
 
#20 ·
Hi,
Long time no see.
Some updates.

First I would like to apologise on behalf of my stupidity.

The problem that I had was clutch drag and not slip.

Other than that I had a 6 inch of free play on my clutch lever. That's a lot!!!

So I tuned up the cable using the two adjusters next to the lever and that solved it.

I was amazed.
Now I know how a clutch should behave.

I can even two finger my clutch like I've always wanted.
At the traffic light and in general shifting from 1st gear to neutral while the bike is running is smoother than ever.


Plus , No more drag when I release the brake lever.

Whoooo!!!

So, once again, I would like to say thank you very much for all of you.

And one last question:

Will it do for now or should I further adjust the clutch using the instructions you gave me in the location where the clutch itself is positioned and not just the cable?




Does a free play of 2 inches is enough?
I read somewhere that a cable that is too tight can also cause damage?
 
#22 ·
6 INCHES isn't 6 CM (Although it may be in another forum.) :)
(And yes 6 cm is way too much!)

Yes you might as well make sure the clutch is adjusted properly as well using the adjuster in the front sprocket area.


..Tom
 
#23 ·
Some good tips

GW and others did a good job IMO of telling you right. My Wee has 56,000 with same clutch and adjustments all I have done and never slips yet. If you do ever take one out lay all your metal plates on a pane of glass to make sure no warp.All ways soak all plates in oil before putting in.If down and many miles I all ways put new fiber plates in.Steel plates should last forever if not any warp. Good luck.:grin2:
 
#25 ·
Two cm is more than enough. The spec is more like one cm but, as long as the clutch is fully engaged with the lever out and fully disengaged with the lever in, any engagement point you like is okay.
 
#27 ·
I can'r tell from a picture if the lock nut it tight but you are showing a lot of thread. Check the adjuster at the other end of the clutch cable and see post #19 if you haven't done the clutch pushrod free play adjustment. Maybe you can use the adjuster at the other end of the cable as well as the adjuster at the lever to reduce the amount of exposed thread at the lever.
 
#28 ·
"4 years old and had 41,000 KM on it so I doubt that the previous owner did any adjustments to the clutch."

My 04 Wee has 93K miles on it and the clutch has never needed to be adjusted.
I don't remember messing with any of the cable adjustments either.
My Brother-in-law's first wife used to destroy clutches in their VW van. Some folks use the actuator differently with the resultant outcome.
 
#29 ·
My bike just now crossed the 80K Kilometers.

I initially bought the Wee for commuting to work and traveling on the weekend.
Very quickly it become commuting only.

I shift up and down between gears very often since commuting all the way to work is like driving through a giant parking lot filled with standing cars.


Long story short the Wee is and overkill for my uses. But I love it too much to let it go.
 
#36 ·
Hi Tom,
That's why I bought the Vstrom to begin with.

Because It's a suppose to be durable and last for a long time.
About 10K Kilometers I've started to change oil every 5000 Kilometers to keep a nice round even number.

My first option was the Kawasaki Versys 650 but once I discovered they had engine problems and saw couple second hand being sold with new engine I decided to ditch the Versys.

Don't regret the decision.
I absolutely love the Wee!!!

3 years on it and enjoy every ride since.
 
#37 ·
For the internet historical record, I thought I'd share how I solved my clunky 1st to 2nd gear issues. Feels somewhat complementary to this discussion.

Background: 2004 DL650, ~20K miles. Last month or so, shifting from 1st to 2nd has been very clunky/crunchy. Only been riding ~4000 miles, so could be user error. Made some improvements collected from internet wisdom and now all shifts are butter-smooth!

Here's what I did:
1. Adjusted chain slack to 1" on side stand.
2. Aligned rear wheel with chain alignment tool.
3. Disassembled, cleaned, greased clutch screw assembly. Also cleaned entire front sprocket area. (Thanks to advice online, didn't drop/lose any of the tiny ball bearings.)
4. Replaced clutch cable
5. Adjusted clutch screw assembly (used a tiny bit more force before backing off, but still gentle. Probably 1/8 turn more "in" than before).
6. Adjusted clutch lever free play to 1/2"
7. User: preload shift lever up before squeezing clutch

These made a HUGE difference. The Wee now shifts like butter. Feels like a different bike. Also noticed that the friction zone seems a little closer to the grip. Before it seemed really far out.

Thanks to the collective for all the tips!
 
#38 · (Edited)
Hello; similar post, for the record.
'05 DL 650 w 41k+ miles;

Started noticing difficulty finding neutral while stopped in 1st/2nd gears;

Tightened the clutch adj screw (at the rod, not just the cable), tested the lever action and adjusted the cable a few times before putting the cover back on, and it seems much smoother now.

Another big thank you to everyone here keeping us rolling

K
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top