[Vwjap]

Hiya guys, just got back into motorcycles after a 10 year or so hiatus, coming from 1980’s bikes (rd’s cb’s gs’s k’s xt’s and last was a gpz750turbo) so play nice,
So got a 2017 xsr900, and have a few issues (working out suspension set up) and the clutch
Now the clutch I notice with the engine running and the clutch in, in first, no brake, also has adjustable levers, if I rev the throttle the bike moves forward, is this normal?
Other thing is if I pull off or change gear the clutch feels more like a on/off switch that a smooth pull away, is that the levers or something a bit more sinister? Or even normal,
Any advice guys?

john

 

[MK3Brent]

if I rev the throttle the bike moves forward, is this normal?

Like, pulls you forward significantly?
Double check your cable slack.

 

[Vwjap]

Like, pulls you forward significantly?
Double check your cable slack.

Thanks for the reply
Yep, pulls forward, only way to stop it is with the brakes on, ok on tickover, can even roll back, but as soon as you blip the throttle she pulls away, the lever has 10mm of play

 

[1216bandit]

10mm of free play at the lever is too much which is likely causing the clutch to drag. 3 to 4 mm should be more than enough.

 

[Vwjap]

10mm of free play at the lever is too much which is likely causing the clutch to drag. 3 to 4 mm should be more than enough.

It was on 1-2mm of play when I got it, and I adjusted it to 10mm (as per manal) today, same problems 1-2 or 10 mm

 

[1216bandit]

Adjust your lever so its out furthest from the bar and adjust out all free play then see what happens. If its all good at that point then maybe the lever was adjusted in to the point there was not enough pull on the cable??

 

[Vwjap]

Adjust your lever so its out furthest from the bar and adjust out all free play then see what happens. If its all good at that point then maybe the lever was adjusted in to the point there was not enough pull on the cable??

So I closed the top (lever end) all the way then adjusted the bottom to take up all the slack and let it out a turn or two, then went back to the top and unscrewed about 2 1/2 turns so there was about 2mm of play in between the lever and the handlebar Mount, ok it’s a little better as in it still clonks and jolts forward when you put it in first, but now it creeps forward at 3k rpm instead of 1500, when you look at the arm at the bottom it moves 3/4 inch when you pull the clutch in fully,
Plus the clutch still feels like more of a on off switch rather than progressive,
so don’t think it’s that
I’ve ordered a crankcase gasket so hopefully be able to have a look inside the clutch cover to see if I can spot any problems inside there
Oh the levers are ecotech short, but set on the maximum out

 

[Vwjap]

So replaced the clutch plates and friction plates, tried adjusting the cable 100 different ways, and till all the same,
So I’m thinking it’s not anything to do with that, I’m starting to think the clutch is not pulling the plates apart fully with the lever pulled in, so wondering what could possibly wear or break that the plates are not far enough apart, clutch bearing? Clutch pressure plate, or maybe there’s something catching on the basket/boss/pressure plate not letting it fully come out, I measured all the plates and they we’re definitely on spec so got the right ones,
The biting point seems right, just seems to stop before it should
Also I seem to remember on my old bikes on a Center stand/paddock stand you can stop the wheel when clutch in and in gear, with just holding your boot against it
But this bike does 10mph and you can’t stp the wheel

 

[XSR-900]

... also has adjustable levers ...

Aftermarket levers? Perhaps the lever travel not far enough to fully disengage the clutch.

 

[XSR-900]

Are the clutch pull lever alignment marks (a and b in the diagram) lined up as shown here. If you take all the free play out of the lever that the cable pulls, the mark on the lever should align with the mark on the clutch cover.

Also ...

 

[Vwjap]

Aftermarket levers? Perhaps the lever travel not far enough to fully disengage the clutch.

og levers tried, no joy

Are the clutch pull lever alignment marks (a and b in the diagram) lined up as shown here. If you take all the free play out of the lever that the cable pulls, the mark on the lever should align with the mark on the clutch cover.
View attachment 174433

Also ...
View attachment 174434
View attachment 174435

Yeah set it up like that sooooo many times, still happened,
There are ridges on the clutch basket, but they don’t look to bad, well not as bad as abused bikes back in the eighties I used to play with 😂

 

[Shinyribs]

Clutch lever free play of 15mm? Damn, that's sloppy loose.

Add this to the list of yet another Yamaha FSM spec that is absolutely out to lunch?

 

[Vwjap]

So cleaned off all the fingers, and it feels a bit better, can Rev up to 5-5.5k before it starts pulling forward, and also gone from a on off switch to about 5mm (end of lever) from disengaged to engaged, it may be down to oil now

 

[abe57]

og levers tried, no joy

Yeah set it up like that sooooo many times, still happened,
There are ridges on the clutch basket, but they don’t look to bad, well not as bad as abused bikes back in the eighties I used to play with 😂
View attachment 174438

Those ridges in the pic is normal if the rest look that way you are good on that part .

 

[Vwjap]

Some were a little bit worse, so all that’s been changed, levers, friction and clutch plates, springs and bolts, cable checked (120mm inner 111mm outer) so guessing that’s good, let out clutch and it starts to bite about 20mm from handlebar then it’s fully released about 5mm more (measuring from the end of the lever) and there about 1-2mm of lever play between the lever and pedistal, and from where the cable comes out of the pivot to the edge of the bracket is about 50mm (spec is 47-54mm), and yes the dot-arrow are lined up
Not sure if the clutch needs the oil (yamalube fully synthetic) to soak in more or if there’s still a issue, 🤷‍♂️

 

[XSR-900]

Did you check all the friction and steel plates for any warpage on a nice flat surface? Any signs of any hot spots on the steel plates?

 

[XSR-900]

Clutch lever free play of 15mm? Damn, that's sloppy loose.

Add this to the list of yet another Yamaha FSM spec that is absolutely out to lunch?

That's the distance measured at the very end of the clutch lever. I just went out and measured it on my XSR900 with OEM levers and it was at 12 mm. It's adjusted how I like the feel and works well. The total travel on the stock clutch lever is ~100 mm from fully out to fully pulled in until it hits the handlebar grip. The 12 mm was with the engine cold, and IIRC the free play goes down a hair when the engine is at full temperature.

Of course, if the lever is not OEM length, then that free play distance would change. I've adjusted clutch levers just by feel and perceived free play forever and have never had clutch problems.

 

[Vwjap]

Did you check all the friction and steel plates for any warpage on a nice flat surface? Any signs of any hot spots on the steel plates?

Clutch plates and friction plates are new, old ones were black and one was blue but couldn’t feel any warpage in them,

 

[XSR-900]

This measurement isn't in the Service Manual from what I can see. Just made this measurement on my XSR. If yours is less than this, then could be the aftermarket lever is not pulling the cable far enough. Try adjusting youre aftermarket clutch lever out as far as possible and with as little free play as possible to see if that makes a difference, and to see if you can get a similar pull on the actuation lever on the clutch cover.

The A to B distance also includes the free play in the cable. A is with the clutch lever all the way out, which puts the actuation lever all the way out. And B is with the clutch lever pulled fully in to the handle bar. The lever moving from A to B is the full travel of that actuation lever on the clutch cover.

 

[Vwjap]

This measurement isn't in the Service Manual from what I can see. Just made this measurement on my XSR. If yours is less than this, then could be the aftermarket lever is not pulling the cable far enough. Try adjusting youre aftermarket clutch lever out as far as possible and with as little free play as possible to see if that makes a difference, and to see if you can get a similar pull on the actuation lever on the clutch cover.

The A to B distance also includes the free play in the cable. A is with the clutch lever all the way out, which puts the actuation lever all the way out. And B is with the clutch lever pulled fully in to the handle bar. The lever moving from A to B is the full travel of that actuation lever on the clutch cover.
View attachment 174456

Thanks for that, will check that later (just checked, looks a fraction over 14mm dude), but I’m not sure that’s the problem, as I tried with the og lever, and it feels right (if you know what I mean), plus I checked it with other bikes and they looked the same (although no measurements were made, just looking at start point and where it lines up with the case when pulled)
I’m thinking the friction plates don’t have enough room to give free movement, Im sure I measured the new pack and it was good, but I may measure again as thinking you can adjust plate 1 and 2 by .8mm looking in the manual