Clutch Slipping?

[LSD4me]

He all,

I am having a sporadic problem with my 09 M696...Normal street riding shows no problem...whenever i am getting on the freeway on-ramp and speed up going from 2nd to 3rd under high RPMS, I'll pull in the clutch shift to 3rd and hit the throttle and i can hear and see RPMS shoot up but no power going to the rear...Its almost as if the clutch is slipping and then as i ease off the throttle it catches and from there on out everything is fine....

Is it the clutch slipping or am i just revving it too hard?

[Speeddog]

Sounds like clutch slipping to me.

Miles on the bike/clutch?

What oil are you using?

[LSD4me]

13,000 Miles on the bike...I just completed the 12K service but the problem was there before that..

Just checked...I am using 10W40

[thought]

I think he meant what brand... moto specific or car oil?  If you're using car oil the clutch can slip due to the anti wear additives in there.

[LSD4me]

No, no ,no

10W/40 4T Motorcycle Oil

[BK_856er]

Are you using aftermarket levers, or has anyone messed with the lever adjustment screw?  That's right up there with "wrong oil" for causing slippage in the wet clutch bikes.

BK

[dark_duc]

I was about to post a very similar thread so I'll join this one instead.  I have noticed the same issue under similar circumstances on my 620 as well.  Usually when under hard acceleration in the upper RPM range of a given gear and upshifting.  I can tell the gear changed but the RPM's stay up for a bit before dropping (backing off the throttle also stops it).  I also use 10/40 Castrol 4T.  24K miles.  I assumed it was clutch slip but it is the only time I notice it.  Stop and go and easy shifting work perfect.

[BK_856er]

Some of us with the APTC "slipper" clutch have found them to be very sensitive to the oil type, even within the boundaries of moto-specific and correct viscosity.  Mine runs best with Mobil-1 Racing 4T 10-40.  Other moto oils seem to cause some slippage.  I chased a mild slippage issue at WOT a couple years ago and eventually ended up changing the clutch pack and springs.  The old parts looked and measured great, but the new parts finally resolved all traces of the issue.  Still, I only use Mobil-1 in this bike.

BK

[Raux]

Try to mimic the condition under a clutchless shift

if u can't u actually might be the cause by. riding the clutch
or the clutch slave/master might be sticking

i also had this problem under heavy load and heat in italy in 2009
But in 2012 same clutch same if not hotter conditions no slip

only difference. oil. not sure what the dealer put in when in oklahoma but i had issues with it.  I had in this time royal purple 0w-50 and had no issues

[dark_duc]

Try to mimic the condition under a clutchless shift

if u can't u actually might be the cause by. riding the clutch
or the clutch slave/master might be sticking

i also had this problem under heavy load and heat in italy in 2009
But in 2012 same clutch same if not hotter conditions no slip

only difference. oil. not sure what the dealer put in when in oklahoma but i had issues with it.  I had in this time royal purple 0w-50 and had no issues

Thanks, I'll try it clutchless and see what happens.  Just changed the oil at the 24K service.  This will be my second change with the Castrol.  I will admit, I never noticed it with the mobil 1 one of course that was a few thousand miles ago.  How many miles can you realistically expect to get out of a wet clutch before requiring a rebuild?

[Speeddog]

You should get at least 30k miles, IMO.
Depends on usage, if you're hilly urban use (like San Francisco), less, and if you're easy freeway commuting, more.

The APTC clutches seem to be a bit more slip-prone than the conventional ones.

[dark_duc]

Try to mimic the condition under a clutchless shift

if u can't u actually might be the cause by. riding the clutch
or the clutch slave/master might be sticking

Tried today and definitely did not do it on a clutchless shift.  I know I'm not riding it so I'll look into the slave/master sticking before assuming I need to change oil or do a clutch rebuild.  Is there anything I should be looking for in particular?

[caperix]

The APTC's are very sensitive to oil & do tend to slip when not worn out.  Like others I had the best luck with Moble 1 4T but even it started to slip at around 24K on my 620. I swapped to a non APTC unit out of a 800SS as a used clutch will cost less then new discs for the APTC and it will be cheaper to replace the discs when they wear out.  So far I have 12K on that setup with no problems.