thenewwazoo Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I've done some reading, and it appears that I'm not alone in suffering from the awful >3500 RPM clutch grab/cough. Has anyone permanently fixed it? How did you do so? I'm contemplating a complete Barnett clutch kit soon as I just can't live with it - I'm afraid I'm going to get asspacked by a cager some day pulling too slowly off a light! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzed_viffer Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Mine seems to have come right by itself; certainly, I can take off fairly aggressively without the nonsensical behaviour I used to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted October 13, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2011 I had a grabby clutch, which was fixed by replacing the clutch plates and springs. However that was on my old motor and the new (35,000km) motor I've got in it now also has the dreaded grabby clutch. Grrr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Vee-Ef-Ar Posted October 13, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2011 I know what you mean... I'm hoping a new chain, bleed, possibly new cush's and a 45T will help before I contemplate the clutch. Sometimes I hurt it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer hotshoerob Posted October 13, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2011 My '00 used to be the same way and I thought the same, it was time for a new clutch. Best place to start is to clean the slave cylinder. That's where my problem was. Remove, dissassemble, clean thoroughly, reassemble - preferrably with brake grease, bleed. Now mine is smooth as butter. It's cheap and not hard to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Jakobi Posted October 13, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2011 I'm not familiar with this problem? -Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer800Canuck Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 11 years and 80,000 km and I've never had an issue? I changed the clutch a couple thousand K's ago, just because I would have the cover off, and doing the clear cover mod, and the clutch still works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I haven't heard of this either, although, I have a 4th Gen. Luckily I don't have to worry about the dreaded clutch grab... Just electrical fires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer KevCarver Posted October 13, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2011 I too am unfamiliar. I'm at over 72,000 on my '99 and never had an issue... (Never even removed the clutch cover) I keep my lever pivots greased, my hydraulic cylinders clean, and my fluid clear (Not brown!). Just switched over to an SP1 clutch master with my front end rebuild, and it's even better than the stock VFR was. Cheapest thing to try is flushing the fluid, maybe even pull the slave cylinder and clean the bore and seal, make sure the pushrod is clean and straight. Take off the lever and clean the pivot and where the lever pushes the master cylinder and lightly grease them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenewwazoo Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 Glad to hear that some people haven't had it, but I do... and if you've ever had it, you'll know that it's not a question of maintenance. But thanks for the input. kaldek, did you use factory Honda parts or aftermarket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Jakobi Posted October 13, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2011 I Googled this since I still wasn't sure what the problem was. My search turned up this thread which defines and address the issue. Short story is to remove your clutch rod and clean it. I'd be interested to see if this solves your problem. -Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenewwazoo Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 I can't find it at the moment, but there's a thread either here or on VFRW discussing it. I'm going to try cleaning the clutch rod, but that thread has several people who report no change. I'm looking for input on someone who's actually fixed it, and what they did... not many people came back into the other threads and reported results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefleshrocket Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Changing my frictions and springs (bought an EBC kit on Ebay) fixed the sub 3500rpm grabbiness, but some of the steels were visibly burned or discolored, so I should have replaced them too. I found Barnett steels for $56 shipped on Amazon and they should be here in a day or two. Doing a clutch job is cheap and easy--if you have some Allens to take off the fairing, an 8mm and a 10mm socket, and the basic understanding of how to use them, you can replace the clutch in under an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzed_viffer Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I Googled this since I still wasn't sure what the problem was. My search turned up this thread which defines and address the issue. Short story is to remove your clutch rod and clean it. I'd be interested to see if this solves your problem. -Jake For those who dunno what this thread is about: it's something that also afflicts the VTR1000: take off abruptly with too many revs and the clutch bites and squeals/graunches, so you pull it in slightly and let it out again and it does it again. Makes it almost impossible to take off fast and cleanly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefleshrocket Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Oh, that's different from what mine was doing. During slow take offs, the engine would shudder. If I'd keep the rpm up around 3k or so and let out the clutch more quickly, the shuddering would be almost gone. With the new clutch plates, I can let out the clutch just off idle with hardly any throttle and it's smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFRXX Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Strange. Ive owned one 4th gen, and two 5th gens and never have heard of this or experienced any of the symptoms described here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 OEM clutch parts are always smoother than aftermarket, but why not go after your slave as suggested. BTw spring and plates are Probably the Lesser chance unless warped or something(very rare), Check basket tags for deep grooves. But before buying anything flush the slave very well. I rate that as #1 probability, IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Why do all of these threads just suddenly stop? Anyone have an update on progress? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 28, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted January 28, 2012 Yeah I do. I fitted the clutch slave cylinder from the 2006 wreck I bought to my bike and the problem has gone away. I knew my slave cylinder was a bit shagged but when I fitted my 2002 slave cylinder to the 2006 motor initially it was absolutely rotten. So in my case the problem appears to have been related to a dodgy sticking slave cylinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 No matter what bike, Ive always found the oem clutch provides best perfromance, normally end up with side effects with aftermarket. I dont really know whats causing the issue, I do know my 92,000 mile vfr clutch is very smooth(but it routinally gets fluid change with resovior drains). My guess its a fluid degrade,clogging has caused some form of plate warpage, or maybe the basket tangs have become severly notched. But stay oem springs and everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I had the grabbing, graunching, shudder rpm over 3500 on take off. The first thing I did was to replace the oil with Rotella 15w-40. The grabbing, graunching, shudder went away, but it felt like engagement was at the end of the lever (farthest from the bar) so I changed the friction plates with an EBC set and got new OEM springs. I left the steels, but should have done them most likely. Regardless, this problem has no reared its ugly head again in 3000 miles so fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I Googled this since I still wasn't sure what the problem was. My search turned up this thread which defines and address the issue. Short story is to remove your clutch rod and clean it. I'd be interested to see if this solves your problem. -Jake Oem will always provide the best clutch action, why something is wrong with yours is the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyrider2020 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I had that nasty snatching clutch taking off quickly from stoplights. Kinda scary that kick in the back and immediate pullback but more embarrassing really. Bought a new clutch rod and oil seal, coated the whole thing with silicon grease. Cleaned slave and bleed. Didn't do a damn thing - bike still snatched just as bad off the line. Bought new OEM Honda friction plates and a set of Barnett 73 lb springs. Re-used the steels as they were fine. Could not see much wrong with the old friction disks except they were thinner than the new ones due to wear. 20K miles on the 2001 VFR. The clutch change took about an hour and a half including time to drink 2 beers. Problem is now gone. I can launch with high RPMs quickly or slowly - no issues. My confidence is back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BusyLittleShop Posted September 29, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted September 29, 2015 You can invest is some good old sweat equity if your interested inmaking your clutch bite good as new...Inspect the friction plates for glazing... make sure you have plentyof material to work with... your shop manual states clutch thicknessin thousands of an inch or mm...First removed the contaminants with Acetone... pick a hard surface to layover a 600 grit black dry emery paper... rotate the clutch plate in acircle... you're just busting the glaze... don't get carried awayremove too much material... You should end up with a friction platelooks dull like a new one as opposed to a shinny glazed one... recheckthickness...Next check the pressure plates for bluing caused by localized heat...make sure they are not warped... consult the manual for a thicknessrange... now removed the contaminants with Acetone and wire wheeledthem to erased the blue and also to generally scuff up the surface...you should end up with a dull surface free of Blue marks...Lay your bike on its side to keep the oil inside the engine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
number9 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Is that an early Ducati 916 wheel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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