I think my clutch went out!

[Blaine]

I can't believe this, waiting for a call from the "Stealer" that my tire was there (the had a big delivery and had to go through it to make sure it was there). So I went riding, topped off the tank, BS with another rider for a while, then finally headed back home to wait for their call & 'cause the kids were heading home from school.

Pulled up in the driveway I noticed the oil light was on and the temp was up to 255 and flashing, DAMN. :?:

I hit the kill switch and then flipped it back on to let the fan run. Checked the oil and it's OK. After a while the temp went down to the usual 216 and I cranked it back up and the oil light came right back on. Switched it off and checked the oil. It's still in the normal level.

OK, I let it sit for a little while longer and started back up. The oil light goes out and the temp is down. Yea, whew, everything seems back to normal, so I drop it into 1st to try to move forward. But alas, nothing happens, it just sits there and starts making all kinds of racket. I shut it off and give it a going over and checked the oil again, and it's still OK. Hummmm what the F***? Crank it up and try getting it to move in any gear and still no power to the rear wheels.

I push it into the garage and put it on the center stand. Check the oil again and crank it back up and the oil light comes on then off and then the racket starts all over again. It not the motor, 'cause revving it doesn't change the speed of the noise.

Of course about this time the dealer calls to tell me my tire did come in on todays delivery. :devilfinger:

Today I loaded it up and trailer it into the dealer, to get the new tire put on and told them about it over heating and the oil light going on and then it wouldn't go.

The tech thinks it's the clutch and has never hear of this happening to a Bird, thinks maybe the "nut" that holds the clutch cam loose.

I hope that's all they find and that it's all covered under the warranty.

Boy when I screw something up, I can really do it, I'll post more when I know what the heck I did to my baby. :shock:

[poida]

that tyre must have been jinxed.first a nail in it,then an excursion down a grassy bank then clutch trouble.it had it in for you from the start.just had a new rear tyre fitted to my bike and after reading the earlier peice about the linked system not coming into play till the bikes moving i smoked the old one up.damn those bt020,s can smoke :grin: i just eased off the clutch while bringing up the revs and it lit up easy.reving and just dumping the clutch sounds a bit harsh .now when youve got the new rear on to scrub up the centre of the tyre ride along in first or second and clutch it with some revs.gets it spinning nicely up the road. :cool:

[Blaine]

Yea, that tire was out to get me.

What'd you replace the 020 with?

[Pete in PA]

Didn't someone say stop abuseing it :?: :wink:

The only loose nut is the operator. :wink:

[Redbird]

so I drop it into 1st to try and spin that back tire a few more times.

Did this really strike you as a good idea, after what you just described? It might be a Honda, but, jeez, dude....apparently no biggie, as the damage would seem to have already been done. You might want to try practicing you technique a a cheaper bike.

No offense, dude, but I have a feeling if anyone can kill this motorcycle, it's you.

[jrdxx]

You cooked the clutch.

They KNOW you cooked the clutch.

You might even BS your way into getting the repair covered under "warranty", as you say, but I think you deserve to pay for it out of your own pocket.

[poida]

replaced it with another 020.they seem to work well for me :grin:

[Speed99]

Yea, whew, everything seems back to normal, so I drop it into 1st to try and spin that back tire a few more times.

Blaine, Blaine, Blaine, Blaine, Blaine, ....... <rattle> (The sound of Rick smiling and shaking his head.)

Dude, NO MORE BURN-OUTS! Step awaaaaay from the clutch! :grin::grin::grin::grin:

Good luck bro.

-Rick

[Blaine]

Didn't someone say stop abuseing it :?:  :wink:  

The only loose nut is the operator. :wink:

Yea, for not riding like I normally do, and thinking a tire being replaced is a free ticket. For me tires cost way too much to normally abuse.

But I'm still a nut and my wife does call me loose :roll:

And rockmeupto125, No abuse, just riding, after seeing the other pictures posted, I'm very gentle with my Bird. And I agree with you on the water temp thing, I was just hoping to cool the water in the radiator (and the water still moves a little in the jacket as the water in the radiator cools, until the thermostate closes). Was a way to cool it a little quicker without running it..

Redbird, you'd think this was my first bike, man, before this bike, I've never had to do any real repairs (besides the normal maintenance stuff). I'm not usually an overly aggressive or extreme rider or one that takes chances on messing up my Bird. It must be the bike drug they give you, when you buy the Bird. And from the pictures, you were given extra doses of it :grin: I've have to get a old bike to abuse if I get that wild hair back.

Hey Jim, what's up man? Didn't mean to tick you off. 99.9% of the time, my Bird gets babied and just ridden fast when I can. I just let the stupid part of me take over for a few times.

I just had an almost new tire to wear out before I replaced it. Stupid I know.

[CBRXX]

And rockmeupto125, No abuse, just riding, after seeing the other pictures posted, I'm very gentle with my Bird.

Weren't you the guy who was practicing, or should I say learning to do, burnouts? :roll: That's a lot harder on it than actually doing one.

Steve

[Northman]

I agree with these guys.

All of your "attempted" burnouts fried your clutch.

Is this your first "big" bike? Big engines tend to be harder on clutches than smaller motors, in case you're the type of person that slips the clutch a lot during normal riding.

The clutch slippage also could have overheated the engine as it produces a lot of heat when it's slipping.

[kwxx]

Oil light coming on :shock: . You may have clutch disk parts floating around in the engine oil plugging the oil pump inlet screen etc. If that's the case, major cleanup of the crank and gearcase internals will be required.

If cleanup is required, have the tech explain how he plans to clean do it and post it here for comment.

[The XXorcist]

I have roughly a 140 hp between my legs when sitting on my XX.. I have done a burnout once or twice :wink:

now just how do you destroy your clutch applying 140 hp to the footprint of your tire say a 3" x 3" area :???:

Your not sitting on your bike trying to light up the tires are you? :?:

[ncblkbrd1100xx]

Hey, I burned out a clutch at 12,000 miles on my bird. easy riding, the only thing I can attribute it to is the mobil 1 I put in 1000 miles before.

[86gn]

Uh-Oh don't turn this into an oil thread :grin:

[Blaine]

Thanks for all you input guys.

Nope, not my first BIG bike, but I am way out of practice on spinning the back tire and the CBR1100XX's clutch handles and acts differently then the rest.

None of my bikes were like the Bird. The 1st was a Honda 500-Four, smooth ride and had very little power and speed, then a 750-Four kind of the same just a little more power. Then I got a Kaw' KZ900 and a few year later a KZ1000. These two were such a change from the Hondas and were a little closer to the power and sort of the speed that the Bird has, but heavy.

On the KZs I could light up the back tire in the first few gears with just a quick flick of the wrist. You could just start moving in 1st gear and the crank the throttle and it would just sit there and spin, a cloud of smoke and rubber all over and then as the tire heated up it would catch and launch you. :treadmill:

When I bought the KZ900, I went crazy spinning the tire around the campus and town, I see someone I knew :babe: and stop them and say "watch this" and spin the tire and take off like a rocket. I think I wore out that first tire within about 3 weeks. :shock:

Now that stopped as soon as I found out how much it cost to replace the darn thing, and me on a college student's salary. :bigshock:

The KZs were more like a heavy muscle car, and not as refined as the Hondas.

My most recent bikes were cruisers, a Vulcan 800, then a Volusia 800, and a '04 Vulcan 1500, (which I still have, lowered it 3" and my wife loves riding it all around, she's not into riding or being a passanger on street bikes).

The Cruisers are great for riding around and being seen on. But they are more like a tractor, lots of slow vibrating torque and power, not really made for a quick take off for spinning the tire. And my cage, the Excursion is for the family and traveling around and not a big tire spinner either (also the tires cost too much to waste spinning anyway) HA HA HA.

All and all I'm hoping the only damage done to my Bird was the clutch and nothing else was involved. :banghead: As soon as I get it back from the dealer, it's back to riding fast and leaving the tire tread where it belongs

I'm just glad I have my fellow Bird buds to vent and discuss my stupidity with and don't mind if they laugh at my antics. :oops:

With bike week coming up, the dealer told me they won't get to my bike until the end of next week, I'm going into DTs not riding my Bird. Lets hope they can repair the problem fast and get me back on 2 wheels. Now that my wife's taken over the 1500, I may have to convince her to let me ride it again. :bike: