Is there something wrong with my clutch? I'm going to go crazy.

[Gobear]

Maybe a stupid question , was this a Yamaha dealer ?


I've had a few interesting things happen to me from a service perspective, not through any dealer malaise but through lack of experience on a particular brand.


Hope your problems disappear

Cheers

Gary

 

[RicoChet]

Maybe a stupid question , was this a Yamaha dealer ?


I've had a few interesting things happen to me from a service perspective, not through any dealer malaise but through lack of experience on a particular brand.


Hope your problems disappear

Cheers

Gary

Yes, it was a Yamaha dealer -- But I wont name them yet...

 

[RicoChet]

Hey everyone.

I just spoke to the dealership again regarding my clutch. I basically told him that since the oil changes, the clutch is crap. His explanation verbatim is as follows "When you change your oil, symptoms of clutch problems will show because your clutch was used to the previous oil, now you've put in new oil and the problems are showing. Chances are, your clutch plates are burnt and putting in new oil will make those problems show"

ALSO

"20,000KM is typically where we see people coming to change their clutches, we recently did one for a gentlemen who rides on the street and had his clutch burnt out at 17,500KMS" <--- are you for real? I've never owned a bike that had a fully messed up clutch at only 19,000KM like whats on mine now. However, I really don't know what kind of riding the previous owner did -- so I have nothing to backup whether or not my clutch is actually that bad. I will need to inspect it to be sure though.

Either way, he says its obvious to him that the clutch is completely trashed at this point and the fresh oil makes it more obvious.. I don't know if that's true. Whenever I've done oil changes in the past, the bike runs even nicer then before the oil change.

With that said, he said he can order me a new clutch kit with the gasket and the friction plates and steel plates for cost ($160) and they would do it for me and it would solve the problem. What are your thoughts? I am sort of inclined to just do it because right now riding this bike makes me frustrated.

Thanks for everyone making the suggestions!! I am really hoping to get this fixed...

 

[EricV]

What part of "Your dealer is a thief." do you not grasp? :question:

I'm really trying to help you out here. Is it possible your clutch is trashed? I suppose. But it worked just fine before you took it to the dealer. I have to wonder if they 'test rode' your bike?

By your own experience, you know full well it's not common for a clutch to be bad at 20k kms. You KNOW the dealer is lying to you about that. Stop talking to them and find another shop or dealer.

Eliminate the cheap and easy things first! Doing a proper bleed and leaving it open over night with the lever tied down is simple and is a starting point. $160 for a new set of clutch plates isn't a guaranteed fix. There may be a hose of other issues. And you'll never know what they really did, or what the parts they took out looked like. Unless you personally abused the clutch and know that you did, slipping it badly or overheating it trying to get unstuck or in the mud, it's pretty unlikely that your clutch is bad. The symptoms you describe don't even indicate a bad clutch. Maybe some plates stuck together or contaminated, (bringing up other questions about the dealer's work), but not clutch damage that would require new clutch plates.

 

[Terminus]

Hey everyone.

I just spoke to the dealership again regarding my clutch. I basically told him that since the oil changes, the clutch is crap. His explanation verbatim is as follows "When you change your oil, symptoms of clutch problems will show because your clutch was used to the previous oil, now you've put in new oil and the problems are showing. Chances are, your clutch plates are burnt and putting in new oil will make those problems show"

ALSO

"20,000KM is typically where we see people coming to change their clutches, we recently did one for a gentlemen who rides on the street and had his clutch burnt out at 17,500KMS" <--- are you for real? I've never owned a bike that had a fully messed up clutch at only 19,000KM like whats on mine now. However, I really don't know what kind of riding the previous owner did -- so I have nothing to backup whether or not my clutch is actually that bad. I will need to inspect it to be sure though.

Either way, he says its obvious to him that the clutch is completely trashed at this point and the fresh oil makes it more obvious.. I don't know if that's true. Whenever I've done oil changes in the past, the bike runs even nicer then before the oil change.

With that said, he said he can order me a new clutch kit with the gasket and the friction plates and steel plates for cost ($160) and they would do it for me and it would solve the problem. What are your thoughts? I am sort of inclined to just do it because right now riding this bike makes me frustrated.

Thanks for everyone making the suggestions!! I am really hoping to get this fixed...

Wow, I was way off!! I was going to suggest you change your bumper oil and muffler bearings. Good thing your dealer knows what he is doing!! Seriously doesn't sound right man.....

 

[snakebitten]

Ron you are more than welcome to come out to my place and we can start by bleeding the clutch and I have Amzoil if you want to bump your oil.

Generous offer Limey. And I'd jump on it no doubt.
But no offer of single malt?

 

[RicoChet]

What part of "Your dealer is a thief." do you not grasp? :question:

I'm really trying to help you out here. Is it possible your clutch is trashed? I suppose. But it worked just fine before you took it to the dealer. I have to wonder if they 'test rode' your bike?

By your own experience, you know full well it's not common for a clutch to be bad at 20k kms. You KNOW the dealer is lying to you about that. Stop talking to them and find another shop or dealer.

Eliminate the cheap and easy things first! Doing a proper bleed and leaving it open over night with the lever tied down is simple and is a starting point. $160 for a new set of clutch plates isn't a guaranteed fix. There may be a hose of other issues. And you'll never know what they really did, or what the parts they took out looked like. Unless you personally abused the clutch and know that you did, slipping it badly or overheating it trying to get unstuck or in the mud, it's pretty unlikely that your clutch is bad. The symptoms you describe don't even indicate a bad clutch. Maybe some plates stuck together or contaminated, (bringing up other questions about the dealer's work), but not clutch damage that would require new clutch plates.

I totally grasp what you are saying bro! But I am trying to do my due diligence because I have no mechanical experience and other then yourselves, you are the only people I can ask about these symptoms as I am unfamiliar.

Saying that, I did just speak to another well known Yamaha dealership in my city and explained to him what I was experiencing and what the other dealership recommends... He said it sounds like there definitely is a problem with the clutch, it may require replacement of the friction and steel plates as the other dealer recommended. He also casually said that clutches are not perfect and he's had people needing new ones at 3K -- but I dont know how those clutches were treated.

Either way it sounds like the clutch has a problem, I will try to have it fixed... by which dealership I don't know at this point. This bike could of really been abused by the previous owner as he put 19,000KM on it in less then 6-7 months of ownership, so anything can happen!

 

[EricV]

That mileage in that amount of time simply means they rode the bike. Frankly, a lot less likely to have abused it because they were going places or commuting, both of which value reliability and those owners tend to be less likely to abuse their vehicles.

I wish you the best of luck solving your problems and hope you enjoy the bike.

 

[snakebitten]

I suspect that bike just needs some barn love. But it doesn't sound like it's gonna get any.

Dealerships can be such a crap-shoot.

Ride to Romney. There's 30 guys who can fix it in the parking lot. And if that is an exaggeration, there's a mechanics bay as backup.

 

[WJBertrand]

Hey everyone.

I just spoke to the dealership again regarding my clutch. I basically told him that since the oil changes, the clutch is crap. His explanation verbatim is as follows "When you change your oil, symptoms of clutch problems will show because your clutch was used to the previous oil, now you've put in new oil and the problems are showing. Chances are, your clutch plates are burnt and putting in new oil will make those problems show"

ALSO

"20,000KM is typically where we see people coming to change their clutches, we recently did one for a gentlemen who rides on the street and had his clutch burnt out at 17,500KMS" <--- are you for real? I've never owned a bike that had a fully messed up clutch at only 19,000KM like whats on mine now. However, I really don't know what kind of riding the previous owner did -- so I have nothing to backup whether or not my clutch is actually that bad. I will need to inspect it to be sure though.

Either way, he says its obvious to him that the clutch is completely trashed at this point and the fresh oil makes it more obvious.. I don't know if that's true. Whenever I've done oil changes in the past, the bike runs even nicer then before the oil change.

With that said, he said he can order me a new clutch kit with the gasket and the friction plates and steel plates for cost ($160) and they would do it for me and it would solve the problem. What are your thoughts? I am sort of inclined to just do it because right now riding this bike makes me frustrated.

Thanks for everyone making the suggestions!! I am really hoping to get this fixed...

All sounds like BS to me. Try bleeding and flushing before you do anything else and don't let that dealer touch it! If it still isn't right then the previous owner was a numpty and abused the hell out of the clutch.

 

[Checkswrecks]

First off - THANKS to both gv550 and that Limey guy for standing up and offering to help. gv550 sounds like he knows what he is talking about and made a heck of an offer. I personally know that while Limey may wheedle a drink or two out of you, he's a great guy and knows the Tenere extremely well. Even if you need to put your bike on a UHaul to get to one of them, you're not alone and the bike can get sorted out. Have them try and take a look at your brakes while you guys are at it.

The first owner may have indeed trashed the friction and steel discs. I've done it to bikes in mud and have seen simply loading on a truck burn one up. What doesn't fit for the thought is that your problem developed with the oil change. btw - If you want to know how it should feel, simply try the clutch on any of the other big engine Yamahas, as they are fairly similar.

I'd absolutely refuse to step foot back into ANY dealer that made excuses, and doubly so for even making them as bad as what you were told.

 

[RicoChet]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their suggestions and of course to GV550 and Limey for their help. I love this community! I am going to take your suggestions and put them to use. I Will keep you guys updated. In the mean time I have a lot of reading to do on clutches and how they work and how they break so I have knowledge for the future. Thankfully most of these fixes don't seem too expensive or problematic so I will go with those suggestions for now. I'll keep everyone posted!! ::012::

 

[RicoChet]

First off - THANKS to both gv550 and that Limey guy for standing up and offering to help. gv550 sounds like he knows what he is talking about and made a heck of an offer. I personally know that while Limey may wheedle a drink or two out of you, he's a great guy and knows the Tenere extremely well. Even if you need to put your bike on a UHaul to get to one of them, you're not alone and the bike can get sorted out. Have them try and take a look at your brakes while you guys are at it.

The first owner may have indeed trashed the friction and steel discs. I've done it to bikes in mud and have seen simply loading on a truck burn one up. What doesn't fit for the thought is that your problem developed with the oil change. btw - If you want to know how it should feel, simply try the clutch on any of the other big engine Yamahas, as they are fairly similar.

I'd absolutely refuse to step foot back into ANY dealer that made excuses, and doubly so for even making them as bad as what you were told.

Great bunch of guys. Once I figure out my plan of attack, I'll use that as an excuse to make a ride out to these guys, I need an excuse to get out and ride before the baby comes!!

 

[Sierra1]

Have you checked the position of the clutch lever? If the mechanic messed with it, it may not feel the same as you left it. I know that there is a big difference on where it engages, or friction zone, between 1 & 4. I didn't see lever adjustment mention in the previous posts. If it was, my mistake.

 

[RicoChet]

Have you checked the position of the clutch lever? If the mechanic messed with it, it may not feel the same as you left it. I know that there is a big difference on where it engages, or friction zone, between 1 & 4. I didn't see lever adjustment mention in the previous posts. If it was, my mistake.

That was one of the first things I checked as well, my brake lever was changed so I changed it back to where I like it but the clutch lever itself was exactly the way I left it. Thanks for chiming in though!!

 

[limey]

I think the only clutch I've seen damaged was at the Colorado rally when one of the guys got stuck with the traction control on.

 

[snakebitten]

Martin, our Tenere comrade in Chili, smoked his clutch with a totally mud-clogged front end.
And the infamous Pluric on Adv recently smoked his exactly the same way.

Basically if riding conditions require a bunch of clutch fanning on a Super Tenere to make forward progress, DON'T.
You either have your Traction Control at war with the rear wheel, or you have wheel lock that is stopping 100 Horse Power from succeeding.

 

[RicoChet]

Martin, our Tenere comrade in Chili, smoked his clutch with a totally mud-clogged front end.
And the infamous Pluric on Adv recently smoked his exactly the same way.

Basically if riding conditions require a bunch of clutch fanning on a Super Tenere to make forward progress, DON'T.
You either have your Traction Control at war with the rear wheel, or you have wheel lock that is stopping 100 Horse Power from succeeding.

I can confirm that after about 1km of regular riding on the street, the clutch performance is exactly what you would expect to feel from a normal situation -- until you let it sit for a few hours, that's when the "Grabby" clutch returns. I do not feather the clutch excessively at all. This is pretty much why I am unhappy with the way the clutch is acting, after sitting the clutch is so grabby you can't feather it much.. then a few minutes later, its completely free and works perfectly. It's concerning when you are in traffic or whatever and your trying to "find" The friction point like you would when you first get the bike and learning how it works. That's how it is every morning now since this issue.

 

[snakebitten]

My reply was in response to Limeys post.

Didn't mean to imply you had done anything.

 

[RicoChet]

My reply was in response to Limeys post.

Didn't mean to imply you had done anything.

It's all good! No worries. I've been on the phone with a couple of mechanics from different yamaha dealerships getting some insights. So far --- Everyone has different answers lol. I'll keep researching and then put a plan into action