Redbird Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 This is the track bike. I've flushed the clutch fluid four times this year. One track day and it goes dark grey, looks like it's two years old. Brake fluid looks fine, it's just the clutch. Using Motul RBF600, so I know the fluid is good. Clutch operates fine with zero issues. Anyone ran into this before? Do I have a seal going bad in the somewhere and polluting the fluid? Taco, taco, taco! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhubarbray Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Are you running the original rubber clutch lines? Have you ever mixed dot 3,4,5, or 5.1? Have you ever mixed different types of dot 3 or 4 fluid? I`m asking that because I see there`s different dot3 fluids for different vehicles with different boiling points. Not sure if all the additives are compatible but it certainly sounds like rubber deterioration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 Line is teflon lined braided SS. Bike came with DOT 4 (should have, I should say, don't know that for sure), I used that at first (Prestone, IIRC) then switched to the RBF600 a couple flushes later. I thought DOT 3, 4 and 5.1 were all compatible as far as systems and seals go? Maybe the previous owner did something stupid before I got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Are you running the original rubber clutch lines? Have you ever mixed dot 3,4,5, or 5.1? Have you ever mixed different types of dot 3 or 4 fluid? I`m asking that because I see there`s different dot3 fluids for different vehicles with different boiling points. Not sure if all the additives are compatible but it certainly sounds like rubber deterioration. My guess would be rubber deterioration as well but I've never heard of that before. Is the level going up at all? Maybe the clutch slave cylinder is going bad and oil is being pushed back into it? Probably not but....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrxxquad Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 never heard of that, interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 My guess would be rubber deterioration as well but I've never heard of that before. Is the level going up at all? Maybe the clutch slave cylinder is going bad and oil is being pushed back into it? Probably not but....... Level isn't going up. Pretty sure I'd have oil all over the side of the bike before it's make it into the slave cylinder, anyways, no? The slave cylinder doesn't share a seal/gasket with the motor. That, and I'm pretty sure oil wouldn't mix with brake fluid. Looks like maybe I'll just have to buy rebuild kits for the master and slave cylinder and hope that fixes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhubarbray Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Dot 3,4,and 5.1 are all supposed to be compatible. I know you`re not supposed to mix dot 5 with any of them but I`m not sure what would happen if you did. Would it just not mix or would one of them congeal? Or? I know that petroleum oil and EPDM rubber absolutely do not mix. Not sure what`s going on but if it was me I`d probably get two new seal kits, clean everything out with hot soapy water, dry everything thoroughly and reassemble. Sorry we couldn`t be of more help. Mind you, I have heard this very same complaint with Ducati owners. Maybe one of them has heard of it and has some insight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 DOT 5 is silicone based. Won't mix with the others and might damage seals and such. I'll look into the Ducati thing before taking it to the next level, thanks for the tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrich Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Tim Not sure if this will help, but is seems to be a common. VFR Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dion Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Tim Not sure if this will help, but is seems to be a common. VFR Link Along those lines, remember the same question came up about the bird clutch fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 Tim Not sure if this will help, but is seems to be a common. VFR Link Along those lines, remember the same question came up about the bird clutch fluid. Thanks, guys. I am familiar with clutch fluid seeming to go dark way ahead of the brake fluid, just about every bike I've owned has done that. The difference here is it's pretty must instantaneous. One day, 140 minutes of riding tops, and the shit looks like, well, shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceman_40 Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Never seen it happen at the rate you are talking but after 5000Km my clutch fluid was always very dark on the XX. Put in ATE Brake fluid and after 20,000Km still looks exactly like when I put it in. The stuff I have is the TYP 200. Gave Northman a jug to try not sure if he ever did though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toynut Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 My brother-in-laws bandit used to do the same thing. I changed the seals on the bike, switched to teflon hoses, and used Wagner 5.1 brake fluid. No more problems since. BTW, I got him set back on the right track and picked up an '02 bird for him to ride instead of that Bandit. Grinning ear to ear now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 Never seen it happen at the rate you are talking but after 5000Km my clutch fluid was always very dark on the XX. Put in ATE Brake fluid and after 20,000Km still looks exactly like when I put it in. The stuff I have is the TYP 200. Gave Northman a jug to try not sure if he ever did though. The Motul 600 is supposed to be the shit, so I doubt it's the fluid that's the problem. Interesting link, though, I may check into that further. My brother-in-laws bandit used to do the same thing. I changed the seals on the bike, switched to teflon hoses, and used Wagner 5.1 brake fluid. No more problems since. BTW, I got him set back on the right track and picked up an '02 bird for him to ride instead of that Bandit. Grinning ear to ear now! Yeah, looking more and more like I'll be doing the seals. How old was/is his Bandit? Maybe it's a Suzuki thing. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrich Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Maybe it's a Suzuki thing. If you had a real Suzuki, it would have a clutch cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 Maybe it's a Suzuki thing. If you had a real Suzuki, it would have a clutch cable. Is an '08 GSXR 1000 a "real" Suzuki? I do wish I had a cable, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toynut Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Yeah, looking more and more like I'll be doing the seals. How old was/is his Bandit? Maybe it's a Suzuki thing. It was an '02 model, the fluid used to go black so quickly, you could hardly see through the sight glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhubarbray Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 DOT 5 is silicone based. Won't mix with the others and might damage seals and such. I'll look into the Ducati thing before taking it to the next level, thanks for the tip. I`ve taken apart my SRX600 brake system, cleaned it, and used DOT 5 on reassembly. That was 3 years ago. No problems and a friend of mine did the same thing about 6 years ago on his V-Max. No problems and he swears by the stuff. Seeing as how it doesn`t absorb water there`s no sticking of the seals due to deposits in the seal grooves. He still does regular flushes about every two to three years but that`s it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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