Late clutch engagement

AudiTToR

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Good evening gentlemen.

I took my new to me (2005) bike out for a spin today and missed a 2-3 shift while hard in the throttle. Now the bike doesn't engage the clutch until its at the very end of the lever pull.

I'm just try to see what I'm looking at. Do I need to pull the clutch stack out and inspect it, could I have messed up the springs? It seems a little less harder to pull then before. Overall, not really happy, but the bike does have 12k miles on it so it might be time anyways.
 
An unabused clutch will last a lot longer than 12k miles.
An abused clutch will last 10 miles, 500, 2k, you never know.

Start simple, if you missed a fast hard shift, there's always a slight chance that maybe(just maybe)the clutch adjustment on the lever was caught in between 2 settings and slipped to the higher one. That would make the clutch engage/disengage further from the bar(or closer, depending on which way you go).
Check for any leaks that would let air in the system, all stock Busa clutches are hydraulic.
Otherwise, you'll have to take the clutch out and see.
Good luck with it.
 
Yea I have aftermarket levers on there, and it's definitely not the case.

The rubber boot where the lever compresses into the reservoir assembly does have a tear in it.

Clutch does not slip FYI
 
Can anyone point me to a DIY clutch removal and basket assembly for a 2005 hayabusa LE?

Also, anything else I should do while I'm in there as well ?

Best place to buy a new stack?
 
:welcome: to the oRg :thumbsup:


You might want to play with the lever adjustment before tearing your bike apart.

PM GIXERHP or Professor
 
I have some asv levers on there currently. So I doubt there is anything adjustment wise I can do aside from setting the lever outside of my grip range.

Will contact both members as suggested.
 
I have apc levers so I doubt the adjuster did anything.

I'll contact the members you listed and get their advice, thank you.
 
That rubber boot with the tear is your issue. I just discovered mine has a small weep from that area and I plan on ordering the parts from bike bandit tonight ($45). Just read another topic recently where a member who has an 11' with a similar issue.
 
Ill take a pic of it tonight when I get out of work and make sure.

Would be great if that was it, this is the first hiccup with the bike since I bought it and I've already put 3k on it since the end of April.
 
That little cap or boot is a dust seal, as far as lever adjustment is concerned, regardless of your reach range could be your problem. If it's engaging late due to your adjustment, then i suggest different levers. Have you bled a hydraulic brake system before? Do you have a vac pump? Not entirely necessary to have one but it sure makes it so much easier, as is a set of second hands. I would remove the reservior cap, siphon out all the old fluid. Replace with new. Attach the vac pump to the bleeder (at the slave) create a vacuum, squeeze and hold the clutch lever and open the bleeder valve, keep pumping the vacuum to extract the fluid in the reseivor (do not let the reservoir run dry) refill with fresh as you continue to flush, all this while still holding the clutch lever to the bar. Repeat until all fluid in line has been changed. Close bleeder valve, refill reservior, pump lever, hold, bleed. Repeat till no more air bubbles are present.
While you are in the reservoir, check the condition of the cap, diaphragm and the overall condition of the MC/Reservior.


CLUTCH HOSE


I use this fische, then order from Justin @ Honda East as he is a stand up guy, fast, fair and supports our site.

Good luck.
 
There is a rubber plunger on the top of the lever that is followed with a piston seal inside which is where mine is leaking a bit from normal wear. Rub your finger around that area and pump the lever a few times. Check the site glass for bubbles or dark murkey residue settled at the bottom. For a good bleed walk through check YouTube. I believe it's by "NSR motorcycle bleed" on a v star but same concept as the "bus" and pretty straight forward.
 
Your clutch is a pretty simple mechanical device. If it's not engaging until the end of the lever stroke, there is a 99% chance it's in your lever adjustment. If it was not disengaging properly, then I'd be looking deeper into the issue once I got past the lever. Chinese levers?

I am unaware of anything you could have done internally by hard shifting that would cause this problem.
 
Best thing to do is remove fairings, Remove clutch cover, Squeeze your clutch & inspect movement of the front sprocket cover or clutch slave unit, Then watch the clutch pressure plate when you squeeze clutch to see when it starts to disengage & engage, It's very easy from this point to remove your friction & steel disk and ensure everything is installed properly. Someone may have tampered with clutch before you purchased and didn't install right, Check for a smooth surface on your inner & outer baskets were the plates slide and make sure there not getting caught in any grooves caused by hard launching.
 
I'm with the boys that DONT want to tear into the clutch. If you can start the bike,pull the clutch,pop it in gear and not have it stall or have the RPM's fall off then the clutch is working. It is far to simple of a mechanical device to have any thing go south on it just because you missed a shift.

Is there a chance that something "magical" happened and the clutch system now has air in the line...I highly doubt it.

If yer hell-bent on shuffling the deck,go for it. Several broken springs,friction or driven plates hanging up on the hub or basket,even a sticking clutch slave,glazed disc,etc etc are not going to cause "late engagement". If anyone of these things were bad,the clutch would slip,and it would be hard to get in gear.

RSD.
 
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