clutch slipping

[vagabondjay]

update...ok I took the line off going to the slave cylinder and drained the fluid from the line.. I then filled and got all air out and the system.. took it for a ride..lots of rain so I couldn't get on it hard.. just making sure it shifted good. ..now what I did seem to notice was some  free travel of the lever before it engaged the plunger.. which wasn't there before which leads me to believe that there was pressure on the clutch. I then added the sea foam to the oil and had to add about 3/4 of a qt of oil..so with that being said I am going to run it for 250 miles and then change the oil and filter, then give another update.

[badboy194]

 Vagabondjay, glad yours seems to be fixed.  I bled out my clutch fluid and put in new fluid, clutch works fine again

[vagabondjay]

ahh this is great info.. yes chief I understand about engine oil I was a wrench for many years..and my wife was a HD mechanic..  ...I took the bike out this morning on a long ride and it seemed to not be slipping. now I dont know how long this bike sat before I got on it.. I know he only put 200 miles on it.. and I ride everyday. so I am going to do what troll did with the oil.

[49Reo]

I used to have clutch issues on my Drifter if it had been sitting for awhile, along with engine noise on start-up when it was cold. I switched over to Kawasaki's synthetic oil, and ALL the above-mentioned issues went away. I putt synthetic primary oil in my Harley primary, no difference; I guess that's what you get for putting a John Deere tractor on 2 wheels....

Regards and such,
49Reo

[chief]

Replacing the old clutch spring and upgrading to two holders is fairly easy. With the box open replacing the clutch pack is easy as well.

Make sure you read about this stuff.
Some tips at: [size=78%]http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/reviewpost/showcat.php/cat/67[/size]
Also:
http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/forum/index.php?topic=1170.msg28660#msg28660
And, this gives some tips for the process... I don't currently recommend using the parts he describes. There are better options. When I did mine I simply used the lastest kaw spring plate and upgraded to two holders.
http://www.gadgetjq.com/clutch_spring_replacement.htm

And, you understand this is a wet clutch system using motor oil. The hydraulics are a separate system using hydro fluid and cylinders. Never use engine oil with friction modifiers. I use full synthetic for all my vehicles now (different composition for different vehicles).

[Troll]

I changed the oil as soon as I got it running after 4 years of sitting, who knows. I put in Kaw. 10-40 from the dealer's stock and 3 oz of sea foam...1 oz per quart. I ran it about 250 miles and dumped the mixture. I put in Valvoline 20-50 conventional (not energy saving), and ran that, changing every 3000 miles for the first year, or about 10,000 miles. The previously completely black oil glass eye cleaned up and is now like new. I switched to Valvoline 20-50 4 st. synthetic last year, and now have about 10,000 mile experience with that....Just changed it on Monday, after 5,000 miles and it was honey colored, but not dirty. 30,000 miles and everything is just fine. I've been running Valvoline in everything I own since 1975, or so....The two H-Ds I sold in '09 had a combined mileage of 450,000....one was stock and the other a 98" S&S.

[badboy194]

That is the great.  I have half new and half old fluid so I am going to bleed my fluid out tonight and put new in.  I was in the middle of a ride and just wanted to fix the problem so I could finish the ride.  Good Luck to you.

[vagabondjay]

@ chief... well that makes me feel better... i know they had 2 different vulcan 800 and I believe a 1500 vulcan nomad now that is having issue.. with the transmission  and the rear cylinder locked up.... not to derail my own thread. now personally I have read thru lots of the threads and the only issue that I see is the clutch which is fixable. I read the install on the guerrilla clutch site.. and on the judes wash site.. seemed like it could be a little pain in the ass.. but I am just going to go ahead and just replace the clutch  plates and all.. so it will be done and I will know whats in it. the bike has like 54k on it and I dont know the history on the bike.

[vagabondjay]

yes badboy I was able to get both holes and after riding home.. it seemed not to slip as much.. so Iam thinking of doing what troll did with the seafoam in the oil... and then changing out the oil so I know exactly whats in it.

[badboy194]

Vagabondjay, hopefully cleaning out the sludge out of the reservoir will do the trick.  I just had the same problem on Tuesday, and cleaning it out and making sure both the holes were open did the trick for me.  That second hole is very tiny and you could overlook it very easy, but I got a pin and opened it up.

[chief]

No, they are likely talking about the plastic oil gear situation... Drifters don't have POGs and never did... so this is NOT a problem for the Drifter.

[vagabondjay]

hey chief... yes I have spent most of the day reading all about the clutch issue and about replacing them. there is alot of info to go thru..lol but thats a good thing. I have not been down the road since I added fluid and cleaned the sludge out of the clutch res. so I will see around 9 when I leave work I have a 20 mile drive home..

[vagabondjay]

thanks troll for you reply... like I said I had the bike for about 4 weeks..the bike is very well taken care of.. very very clean...all the fluids looked good..so I haven't changed anything yet...so I topped off the clutch res. and used a pin to clear out the hole and it did have a small piece of sludge come out but there is a stream like it should be.... I run sea foam in my gas..never ran in the oil. what oil are you running??? I ran 10w40 motorcycle oil in my vtx and I still run that in my v star..not sure about the history of this bike and what fluids are in it..
the other concern I have about this bike is with the oil pump going out and transmission problems.. I have some brothers in ATL they all owned vulcans and had issue with them ..is there a known problem with these engines and transmission failing???

[chief]

You may only need to replace the clutch spring... there's a discussion of that on here... and some info over on the website under mods/tips. Personally, I use the current generation spring plate and holders (2 of them).  When you open the box, you will need to measure the clutch plates to see if they need to be replaced... or if you are like me... I replaced mine anyway since I had it open for the plate and didn't want any more down time.

[Troll]

I'm still running the original clutch elements in my '01, with 70,000 miles. I replaced the pressure plate 30,000 miles ago, but nothing else. The kind of oil you have in the engine is important to a wet clutch. When I first got mine, it would slip a little when it was cold, and not quite disengage completely. After running sea foam in the engine for a couple of hundred miles and switching from what ever was in there to Valvoline the problem went away. You only need to remove enough fluid to inspect the compensating port in the master cyl. Cover EVERYTHING that might get splashed, and squeeze the clutch with the top off the cylinder...you should get a stream of fluid straight up for the first little bit of lever travel, and then it should be all directed to the slave cylinder. The slave cylinder is just ahead of the drive shaft, under the big chrome cover on the left side....

[vagabondjay]

ok...so my next question on this matter is has anyone installed the gorilla clutch kit.. I was on the site and they have a page on how to install it..but I like to hear opinions from real people that have installed it

[vagabondjay]

so I have been reading all the post about the clutch slipping... I have 54k on my 02 1500... and mine slips when on the highway when I throttle up ..not all the time but if I ease into the throttle its fine..but if I hit it it will slip... so I noticed that my fluid was very low,...so  iam going to go pick up fluid.. so I was reading how you should take fluid out of reservoir and check the pressure relief  hole make sure its not clogged... so do I need to drain the line of fluid and bleed the entire system??? if so is there a link on where the slave cylinder is located. thanks.. by the way I have only had the bike for a month.. really loving this bike.. came off of a vtx1300 and the ride is much better..