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Clutch Never Fully Disengages


VFRLuvr

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I was putting the bike back together today after a crash and noticed that when I have the clutch fully pulled in the rear tire still moves when on the kick stand. On the test ride, at a red light, 1st gear, clutch in, the bike pulls forward. If I have the brake on I'm fine, but if I let the brake off the bike pulls forward with enough force so that my legs can't hold it back. So it seems like the clutch isn't fully disengaging? I've adjusted the lever out as far as it would go. How do I adjust the clutch other than the rolly knob (technical term) on the lever? My fluid level seems to be fine.

Thanks!

Edit: Crash damage
Lowside and damage on the left, then we flipped and landed on the right side, and I was able to protect my baby by having her land on me. Fortunately there were witnesses to get the bike off me and out of traffic, call first responders, and make MotoGP jokes with the bike coips while pointing at me.
Left side:
Snapped off mirror
Crushed windscreen (It slowed my head a bit before it bounced all the tank)
Helibar bent down to the plastic
Clutch lever bent out
Rashed/broken plastic
Radar slider ground down, bolt bent & snapped off at the internal nut (Radar that's the one I emailed you about that I lost on the highway and then found. Glad I found it!)
Bent kick stand, rashed center stand
Snapped off rearset
Rashed plastic cover thingy on the swing arm
The clutch pedal is not bent, but I'd be surporised if it didn't take a pretty hard whack.
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Either air in the clutch line, or the slave cylinder isn't sealing well.

Also did the crash affect the bars? It could be that the clutch lever looks fine, but isn't moving the master cylinder far enough to work properly, due to a bend or interference somewhere.

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But here's how to check your clutch for drag... your gears can't shift
smoothly if your clutch is part way engaged...

1 Place your bike on the center stand...

2 Start engine and establish a steady idle...

3 Squeeze in the clutch and hold... shift into first gear...

4 Now look at the rear wheel... if it's spinning step on the rear brake...
does this action drag down the engine rpms???

If you bike is equipped with an cable then adjust the clutch lever
knob clock wise (out) 1/4 turn and check again check for clutch
drag... if you bike is equipped with hydraulics bleed system and check
for bubbles...

Ultimately you want the rear wheel to stop when the engine is idling
and first gear selected with the clutch lever is squeezed in...

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Check your oil level. If it's over filled, the clutch will grab no matter the gear or amount of lever pull.

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Awesome, guys, thanks! I will try all that stuff. I forgot to say what was damaged in the crash. Don't worry, I broke her fall. I edited the first post with crash damage.

I would have expected the revs to drop in first with the clutch in and brakes on, but it didn't, which is super weird. I'll check again because I don't believe my initial results even though I was looking at it happen. Maybe the clutch is still engaged enough to send a little power to the wheel but still slips enough not to drop revs? Either way I'll go find the clutch bleeding instructions and possibly also buy new levers.

Thanks again guys.

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Yeah, it kind of makes sense: if the bike went down on the left side the clutch lever could have been pushed in while there was air by the intake and it pulled some air into the lines.

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You don't say how long the bike was laid up for repairs, but if it was a month or so it's possible that the clutch plates dried out while it was laid up and are now sticking. Happened to my Concours. Only cure was to open the cover, remove the clutch plates and soak them in motor oil for several hours before reassembly. There are other less-invasive fixes you can try first - search sticking clutch plates on the webs.

I just put my VFR back into service after 1.5 years of inactivity and had no issues, so who knows.

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