Clutch Not engaging

[glassmaster]

My buddies 05 busa's clutch is not engaging. When bike is on the stand and you take the bike out of nuetral with the clutch in the rear tire starts rolling. He installed a aftermarket clutch earlier this season. We just noticed the problem while performing maintenace on the bike. We took the front sprocket cover off and the rod that thats behind it was a little rusted and hard to get out. Cleaned it and replaced it but it seems the pod is not moving any when pushed by hand and it iddnt seem as if the cylinder that pushes it in has that much force so we figured if we couldnt push it in that the hydrolic piece definatley pushing it in. Maybe we are wrong. But has anyone ever had this prob or know what might be causing the tire to spin while you hold the clutch in...

 

[Aquaman]

You should always grease the rod on both ends. Maybe you need to bleed the system. And it could be that the cylinder slave could be the problem.

 

[mike1180]

When you did your test, was the engine fully warmed up?
Does it try and move when it is on the ground and the clutch lever is in?
You should test this with the engine fully warm.

 

[BigBSBusa]

Had this happen a couple times and it has either been the clutch rod or the clutch slave. Take it apart, clean and grease everything (a little) and put back together. Rebleed the system and it should be okay.

 

[glassmaster]

You should always grease the rod on both ends. Maybe you need to bleed the system. And it could be that the cylinder slave could be the problem.

Yeah we bled the system but we are ganna bleed it again tonite. We did grease the rod this time. he had a chain that was rusting real bad last season and we think thats what caused all the rust.Dont have the manual right here what was and where is the slave cylinder I may just not know it by name?

 

[glassmaster]

When you did your test, was the engine fully warmed up?
Does it try and move when it is on the ground and the clutch lever is in?
You should test this with the engine fully warm.

Well the bike had ran maybe 3 or 4 mins but we put my busa on the stands and from a cold start I had no issues at all.

 

[Aquaman]

The slave cylinder is attached to the back of the sprocket cover. It is where the clutch line screws into. Also, make sure the sprocket cover aint broken and flexing, causing the rod not to push in enough...

 

[mike1180]

Try bleeding it again.
My manual (2006) calls it "Clutch release cylinder and Master cylinder" and is page 6-77 onwards.

 

[mike1180]

The slave cylinder is attached to the back of the sprocket cover. It is where the clutch line screws into. Also, make sure the sprocket cover aint broken and flexing, causing the rod not to push in enough...

I agree. The slave cylinder support breaks all the time, and will flex even if it has a small crack.

 

[glassmaster]

The slave cylinder is attached to the back of the sprocket cover. It is where the clutch line screws into. Also, make sure the sprocket cover aint broken and flexing, causing the rod not to push in enough...

Well it did have a small crack so we changed it and it didnt help any??

 

[glassmaster]

Try bleeding it again.
My manual (2006) calls it "Clutch release cylinder and Master cylinder" and is page 6-77 onwards.

Bled it 2 more times and the tire is still rolling when engagin the clutch. Also took all the plates out and checked them to see if they was warped or burnt. The first plate was different had a little more roundness to it on one side. Which is it supposed to face a certain way? If you roll the tire it has a little popping in it.. You can also se the chain jump a little when rolling it by hand. Seems like its coming frome the front sprocket. When you lift the chain the popping gets worse. Any help would be appreciated...

 

[mike1180]

All of the plates are supposed to be straight.
It is important that they go in the proper order, and that the last plate is offset 1 notch.
I would check this as a first thing.

 

[mike1180]

PS If yours is a 2005 that is a K5 so just use the bottom diagram for the plate arrangement.

 

[glassmaster]

PS If yours is a 2005 that is a K5 so just use the bottom diagram for the plate arrangement.

I'm pretty sure thats the same diagram we went by in our manual. we even took the factory clutch plates out of another busa that didnt have any probs and tried it and it done the same thing. Anyone have a clue?

 

[mike1180]

If it is still not disengaging, you are not pushing the rod in far enough with the slave cylinder.
Does he have aftermarket levers? and you may try adjusting them out.
Something is not letting the rod be pushed in enough.

 

[roadthing]

When the rear wheel is off the ground, does the wheel spin with significant force while in neutral?

You are saying that in first gear with the clutch disengaged, the wheel spins. IF the wheel spins with any appreciable force, you have a clutch problem. If it spins slowly, and you can easily stop it with light hand pressure, you have no problem. What you may be noticing is the inertia from the transmission, and spinning clutch shell.

I would suggest following the advice from the other members, and bleed your hydraulics. I would also suggest pulling the clutch pushrod and checking it for mushrooming, or even a bend in it. If you have worn clutch bearings in the hub/basket, or even a bad throw-out bearing, there will be drag on the clutch. One other thing to consider is that you run the right weight, and type of oil.

 

[glassmaster]

When the rear wheel is off the ground, does the wheel spin with significant force while in neutral?

You are saying that in first gear with the clutch disengaged, the wheel spins. IF the wheel spins with any appreciable force, you have a clutch problem. If it spins slowly, and you can easily stop it with light hand pressure, you have no problem. What you may be noticing is the inertia from the transmission, and spinning clutch shell.

I would suggest following the advice from the other members, and bleed your hydraulics. I would also suggest pulling the clutch pushrod and checking it for mushrooming, or even a bend in it. If you have worn clutch bearings in the hub/basket, or even a bad throw-out bearing, there will be drag on the clutch. One other thing to consider is that you run the right weight, and type of oil.

With the clutch in and the bike in first gear you cannot stop the wheel with your hand. The rod is straight we have another busa in there that doesnt have any probs and even tried that rod along with the slave cylinder rom that busa. What do you mean by mushrooming?

 

[glassmaster]

If it is still not disengaging, you are not pushing the rod in far enough with the slave cylinder.
Does he have aftermarket levers? and you may try adjusting them out.
Something is not letting the rod be pushed in enough.

Factory levers...

 

[roadthing]

With the clutch in and the bike in first gear you cannot stop the wheel with your hand. The rod is straight we have another busa in there that doesnt have any probs and even tried that rod along with the slave cylinder rom that busa. What do you mean by mushrooming?

Look at the ends of the pushrod. If they are spalled, or crushed looking, or have a "mushroom" looking end, the pushrod is history.

Since you have eliminated a bunch of things, re-bleed the hydraulics, and test that out. If that fails, pull the clutch pack, the hub, and basket. Your problem may lie in an out-of round basket, a bad hub bearing, or a problem with the clutch pack. You'll need to clean the plates and use a micrometer to measure them. While you are at it, lay the clean plates on a granite surface plate, or a piece of plate glass and check that all of the plates are flat, and not warped.

 

[glassmaster]

Look at the ends of the pushrod. If they are spalled, or crushed looking, or have a "mushroom" looking end, the pushrod is history.

Since you have eliminated a bunch of things, re-bleed the hydraulics, and test that out. If that fails, pull the clutch pack, the hub, and basket. Your problem may lie in an out-of round basket, a bad hub bearing, or a problem with the clutch pack. You'll need to clean the plates and use a micrometer to measure them. While you are at it, lay the clean plates on a granite surface plate, or a piece of plate glass and check that all of the plates are flat, and not warped.

As I posted earlier we took the plates out of a busa that has no clutch problems and the problem still persisted when we installed them in the busa that is having clutch probs, and checked the orginal set of clutches!!! We have also rebled it 5 times. As you said it may be a out of round basket or hub bearing. Will update soon.