I have a minor but annoying problem.





The clutch hose needs to be rotated in the opposite direction to get it off my handlebars.

I'm a complete noob with this stuff, but I'd prefer to take care of it myself.

My question is, can I loosen the banjo bolt just enough to rotate the banjo 270 degrees, without needing to bleed the system?

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'10 Vee Adv
Multiple Farkles :
Stebel Horn with Screaming Banshee,Gorilla Alarm, Madstadt Bracket, RichlandRick's fork brace, accessory shelf and mirror extenders, PCV (Get one from b.layton@svracingparts.com) You'll wish you had sooner!, Twin 12v outlets, Twisted Throttle and PC8 Fuse Blocks, Admore Light Bar, GPS and Contour Camera Ram Mount, Bark Busters, 8k HIDS & an Omni-Cruise Throttle Lock.

The short answer is:

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L2V -- she's a stocker!

Yes, you can usually get away with this sort of thing. You won't need to loosen the banjo bolt much.

The problem is that rotating the banjo fitting all the way around is going to put a twist in the clutch line, which probably won't work -- the braid is VERY stiff and will resist twisting. If it just so happens that there's already a twist in the line the opposite direction, it might work. Odds are low...

Unfortunately, the only right way to deal with this is to take it all the way off, rotate it the 30 degrees or so to the correct side of that projection, reinstall with new crush washers, and bleed with a Mityvac. The good news is that bleeding a clutch line is dead easy compared to brakes.

Many times you can get away with re-using crush washers, so many will tell you that replacement is somewhat optional. Personally, I much prefer not to gamble -- a leaking clutch line is an excellent shortcut to a grim demise.



How in the world did it get installed all wrong like that?

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2002 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom, Dark Metallic Space Blue
1983 Suzuki GS850G, Cosmic Blue
2005 KLR650, Aztec Red - Turd II, the ReTurdening

Great. Definitive answers are the best!

BWRinger: It's just one of many ways the dealer showed off their mechanical prowess.

Multiple hand-tight bolts in the forks and triple tee

Tire pressures somewhat low at 25 front and 32 rear.

And this...

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'10 Vee Adv
Multiple Farkles :
Stebel Horn with Screaming Banshee,Gorilla Alarm, Madstadt Bracket, RichlandRick's fork brace, accessory shelf and mirror extenders, PCV (Get one from b.layton@svracingparts.com) You'll wish you had sooner!, Twin 12v outlets, Twisted Throttle and PC8 Fuse Blocks, Admore Light Bar, GPS and Contour Camera Ram Mount, Bark Busters, 8k HIDS & an Omni-Cruise Throttle Lock.

The problem with definitive answers is that:


Definite answers in a situation with indefinite outcome lead to false hope.

May I be of any more assistance?

.

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L2V -- she's a stocker!

Thanks for taking the time to reply

__________________

'10 Vee Adv
Multiple Farkles :
Stebel Horn with Screaming Banshee,Gorilla Alarm, Madstadt Bracket, RichlandRick's fork brace, accessory shelf and mirror extenders, PCV (Get one from b.layton@svracingparts.com) You'll wish you had sooner!, Twin 12v outlets, Twisted Throttle and PC8 Fuse Blocks, Admore Light Bar, GPS and Contour Camera Ram Mount, Bark Busters, 8k HIDS & an Omni-Cruise Throttle Lock.

You're just looking to rotate the fitting down, 30-45 degrees or so, right?

I would wrap the fixed piece of 'pipe' at the banjo fitting with a rag, grab it with a pair of channeloks or such and attempt to rotate the fitting (use some sense) while loosening the bolt slightly (just enough to allow you to rotate it).
Then snug that bolt up, be careful, it just needs to not leak--don't get all bad ass on the end of the wrench or you'll be looking for a replacement master cylinder.

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L2V -- she's a stocker!

That's exactly what I had in mind, except I have to go ~270 degrees the other way to miss the "stop" on the bottom.

As was mentioned above, that would put a hell of a twist in the hose.

I'll probably just have the dealer do it at the next service, as I'm not equipped to bleed the system if it needs it.. It really annoys me to look at it, and there's a little rust/crud patch where it touches the handlebar.

__________________

'10 Vee Adv
Multiple Farkles :
Stebel Horn with Screaming Banshee,Gorilla Alarm, Madstadt Bracket, RichlandRick's fork brace, accessory shelf and mirror extenders, PCV (Get one from b.layton@svracingparts.com) You'll wish you had sooner!, Twin 12v outlets, Twisted Throttle and PC8 Fuse Blocks, Admore Light Bar, GPS and Contour Camera Ram Mount, Bark Busters, 8k HIDS & an Omni-Cruise Throttle Lock.

Nice frog.


One thing I just thought of to deal with the twist... unbolt the slave cylinder (but leave the hydraulic line connected). Careful -- there's a spacer and the two bolts are different lengths, and it's CRUCIAL you get these back in the right places.

The other thing you'll need to do is secure the piston in the slave cylinder somehow or else it will ooze out -- I've used a small c-clamp or a pair of large vise-grips with a small piece of wood as a spacer. The idea is to hold the slave cylinder piston in place -- you don't need to compress it.

(The usual "factory manual" method of securing the slave cylinder piston is to tie the clutch lever back, which covers the bleed hole. However, this leaves pressure in the line which will be less than ideal when you crack the banjo bolt loose...)

Anyhoo, with the slave cylinder hanging sort of free so it can twist, you should be able to slightly loosen and rotate the fitting at the clutch lever to the correct position as outlined above. The line should twist around and rotate the slave cylinder to match, or you might need to help it a bit.

A second set of hands would come in handy here to help support and twist the slave cylinder as needed. The stainless line is much smaller than the stock rubber line, so it will have plenty of room to twist as needed in its path.

Hope this made sense...

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2002 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom, Dark Metallic Space Blue
1983 Suzuki GS850G, Cosmic Blue
2005 KLR650, Aztec Red - Turd II, the ReTurdening

How about covering it with black, 3/8 in. Split Flexible Tubing? Available at hardware stores, Wal-Marts...

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Austin

2002 DL1000 - New to me...
1978 GS1000 - One owner, still putt'n