Still having a clutch engagement issue.

[John Schmidt]

Hope it's nothing serious, time is getting short.    When I changed everything over from the old bike to the trike, it included SS brake/clutch lines. I picked up some serviceable OEM master cylinders from a member and rebuilt both plus did a little polishing on the two controls. I also replaced the slave cyl. at the bottom and commenced to bleed the system. Problem is, I'm still having a clutch engagement issue...doesn't grab until the lever is almost all the way out. I have what feels like a solid lever action but a very hard pull, unlike the brake which now is solid and effective with a nice easy pull. When going from 1st to 2nd, if I don't wait a second before kicking it in I get a bit of gear mashing. I tried swapping the lever with one from my stash but it offered no improvement. Do you suppose that I still might have some air in the line even though it feels solid. It's a really hard pull on the lever and kinda tiring...to say nothing of the irritation when in traffic. It reminds me of an issue I had with the old GL1200 I restored, I ended up ordering a cluth m/c with a slightly larger bore. What a difference...just hope that's not necessary on the trike.

[gordonv]

I forget all your posts, what you've done or not done, but have you looked at the lever pivot bushing or the plunger itself on the reservoir?

[John Schmidt]

Well, this afternoon since it was raining off/on I figured I'd take a look at the clutch issue. Tipped the bars up to make the reservoir level and removed the cover. Lo and behold, it looked like someone had relieved themselves in there...the hydraulic fluid was dark yellow. It sure wasn't that way when I first put it in so there's apparently a source of contamination somewhere. Wondering if I washed the cleaning fluid off good enough following the sonic cleaning done prior to assembly with new guts. Anyway, I flushed and flushed...and flushed some more until it looked good coming out of the bleeder hose. At one point I drained the system and wiped down the inside of the reservoir which seemed to have some yellowish residue in it though I don't know from where or what. Then refilled and bled the system again. Finally capped it off after filling it, then climbed on and tilted the bars back down where they were. The lever seems to pull in easier, I started it up and moved back and forth in the garage to get a feel of where the clutch now engages. I won't know for sure until on the road but in the shop it seemed to engage earlier than before. Another couple days of liquid sunshine before any road test.

UPDATE: Monday, 5/24, just took a short tour around the 'hood and it seems much better. Not perfect but better. Think I'll just ride it a few more times and see how or if the yellowish contamination works out. Still don't feel the clutch is quite right but not certain the root of the cause, maybe I'll get Dennis(troutdude) to take it for a spin if he and his bride are in attendance next month.

[CoreyP]

You have any black pieces in the clutch fluid? I had it happen on my brake master, the rubber pieces were just wearing out. They would crumb a little when I touched them. I noticed the rubber gasket on the top was shot for sure so i got a new one and ended up getting a rebuild kit just in case. Turned out I needed the rebuild kit.

Funny part is not long before that someone said you should rebuild all your masters with a 20 year old bike just because they were old. Sure enough a month later I was rebuilding the brake master. Going to do the clutch some time. No rush but it on this years to do list for maintenance. 

[Valker]

After I bleed either the front brakes or the clutch, I always use either a zip tie or a bungee to keep the levers 'squeezed' overnight. That lets a lot of tiny bubbles come to the top.

[John Schmidt]

Corey, both master cyl. were rebuilt before put into service. No debris was noted...something I've experienced in the past but not this time. As stated earlier, the clutch fluid was a dark yellow when I removed the cap. I drained it all and cleaned the reservoir with clean towels, then refilled and flushed numerous times til it was clear coming out. I changed the oil and filter a while back and thinking I might do it again before leaving on the 7th, just in case the PO used some incorrect oil. May not help...but won't hurt either.