'07 S2R1000. I got stuck on Friday evening traffic with brush fire going on next to the freeway. The ambient temperature was 95 and I was just creeping along. When the engine temp reached 280, I started notice the clutch started to act funny - the clutch pull got a little lighter and then the contact point became inconsistent. When the engine temp reached 290, the clutch pull got really out of whack. I then pulled over to the shoulder. All of the sudden, the clutch lever lost all pressure. I would pull on the lever and it would have no resistance at all. I thought I was in big doodoo.
I started looking on my phone to see if my wife or a friend can come get me. Went back to check on the clutch and felt a little pressure. I thought if I waited a bit longer, the clutch would come back to live? 10 minutes later, engine temp came back down to 270. Got on the bike and creeped past a congested spot. Once I got going a bit faster (25mph), the air flow was enough to keep the engine temp in check. 5 minutes later, I going up to 60 mph and the engine temp came down to 250. It ran like nothing had happened.
So the question - what caused it and was that normal? Was there a shut off valve in the clutch system? Was the bike on the verge of exploding and I barely escaped death?!?!
The answer to your questions is 'no'.
When was the last time the clutch fluid was flushed and system bled?
Use DOT4 or 5.1. The fluid simply overheated. You should also change the fluid annually.
Quote from: Speeddog on August 19, 2016, 09:10:33 PM
When was the last time the clutch fluid was flushed and system bled?
It had been a few years since the clutch fluid was changed/flushed. Sounds like that the cause for loss of pressure and not something major with he clutch assembly or the engine.
I am planning on changing the oil in the fall, before shutting it down for the winter. I will add clutch oil replacement to the to-do list.
Probably should do the brakes at the same time.
Did your clutch return to normal function once it cooled down? I had something very similar happen.
I had something similar happen during the summer right after I changed levers. There's a plunger thing that screws into the clutch lever that fits into the master cylinder to actuate it. Turns out I didn't screw it into the lever enough. I'm not sure if that helps in your case though but just thought I'd add some input.