hello chaps, 1) my clutch lever is heavier than it used to be. What could cause this? 2) i now have to pull the lever a very long way before reaching the biting point. I don’t exactly have small hands and i have had to adjust the lever so I can only just reach it. Wasn’t like this before as far as I can remember. What could cause this? Hope someone can help as yesterday it got to a point where after a while riding the bike was very very painful.
Thanks! I have no idea how to do that (zero mechanical skills). Will see if I can find it on YouTube.
Zero mechanical skills and brakes .... get someone who knows to do it for you! 10 min job! Better safe than sorry! P
Clutch .. not brake. So it seems that the way to do it is to pump the clutch a few times and while holding the clutch lever in to loosen the bleeder nipple thing briefly which is right next to the lever. Can someone confirm that is right?
That sounds about right, but normally have a pipe connected to bleed nipple when you loosen it with other end in a jar or something, as fluid will probably come out when it’s loose.
if you pump it before releasing the bleed nipple you'll just mix the air and fluid again...and make it harder to bleed. so first of all has your original fluid level gone down at all? if not and its just looks black and dirty, then get a piece of pipe ideally clear so you can see the fluid come out. attach it to the save cylinder bleed nipple open the bleed nipple a little take the top off the reservoir and remove along with the rubber gasket. squeeze the lever in and out a few times and see what comes out the pipe. Dont let the reservoir get too low before topping up or you'll just add more air. when the fluid is clean and clear of air bubbles hold the lever in and tighten the bleed nipple. top up fluid again and test lever feel.
Not picking on AndyB’s auto correction mistake here just trying to help you not get confused if you’ve not done it before. Andy’s instructions are good but AndyB meant slave not save. The slave cylinder is the one on the left hand side of the engine just above the gear lever; at the other end of the line that comes from the clutch lever.
If you can borrow one, I find something like a Mityvac is a good way to bleed the clutch (which I have to do regularly on my 1198S...).
Got the clutch checked - dealer said it felt normal Have ordered some weights so I can get stronger arms lol. Got the oberon slave fitted while there. See if that helps. As for the biting point getting closer to the bars during rides .. he said it could be the master cylinder but advised I leave it for now and see how I get on.
Wow either having the oberon fitted or the fact that they will have likely bled the system when fitting it has transformed the clutch. Been out all day and no arm ache! Still got the other problem but I’ll start a new thread for that.
Dealer said it "felt normal" but the biting point moves towards the bars????? Bit an aside, but I have a similar problem on my 1198S - have to bleed the clutch quite often as the biting point moves towards the bars (sound familiar?!). I'd be interested to hear if your biting point still moves with the Oberon slave fitted.
Dealer said the stiffness was normal. Re the moving towards the bar.. in my case this is happening while I’m at the lights. Once I’m moving again it returns to normal and works fine when changing. The problem occurs when I’m holding on to the clutch for several seconds, not when I briefly use it.
That sounds like a master cylinder issue. Fluid slowly leaks past the seal when the clutch is engaged for a period of time. Works normally when moving because the clutch usage when changing gear on the move is very short lived.
