Not enough clutch travel? (dragging)

[Holden]

Just got around to installing some Pazzo levers and Rizoma grips on my 696.

The problem is the clutch lever will hit the grip before it has finished traveling and fully disengaging. This means the shift into first is rough and it's easy to stall in gear. Also, it takes a big push to get it rolling in gear with the clutch pulled in sometimes, and then it's fine (though it was like this with the stock levers and grips).

I've tried adjusting the screw and setting the lever all the way out (6)â€"still seems like it hits the grip too soon.

Does the line simply need bleeding, or did I do something weird in my lever installation? (We shit on the chests of the Weird....)

[Holden]

Can't see any fluid through the reservoir window...

Coincidence??

[Howie]

The screw you messed with is a free play adjustment, you need to have about 1-1.5 mm free play there, less and you risk a slipping clutch.  If the fluid level is low you have a leak.  It is hard to see the fluid level through the window.  Open the reservoir and look.  Have a rag and water handy, brake fluid will eat paint.  Then top off if needed and bring the bike to the dealer since you have a warranty.  If it is bad enough, you might want to bleed it yourself first.

[Holden]

The screw you messed with is a free play adjustment, you need to have about 1-1.5 mm free play there, less and you risk a slipping clutch.  If the fluid level is low you have a leak.  It is hard to see the fluid level through the window.  Open the reservoir and look.  Have a rag and water handy, brake fluid will eat paint.  Then top off if needed and bring the bike to the dealer since you have a warranty.  If it is bad enough, you might want to bleed it yourself first.

Oops. I needed some punctuation there. I tried adjusting the screw (a little), but I did recognize that it was the wrong approach. I also tried adjusting the levers all the way out.

I opened the reservoir to have a peek last night. It was wet, but there was no standing liquid to speak of. Also tied the lever to the bar. Time to buy some brake (clutch?) fluid I spose. I wonder how it vanished without a trace...

[Howie]

Chances are you have a small leak at the slave.  If you want, you can remove it and look, but, like I said, warranty.

[Holden]

It may have never been filled adequately. I always had the rolling problem, and now the grips are fatter allowing less pull. I just doubt there is a real leak (in denial?)

I'm far away from the nearest dealer and would have to tow the bike. If I can get it in riding condition with more fluid + bleed, then I'll keep an eye on the level before and after every rideâ€"like I should have always done, right?

[Slide Panda]

The clutch fluid is the same as used for your brakes.  Snag some DOT 4, fill bleed, fill bleed until you don't see any air bubbles coming out in the fluid when you bleed it.  Bleeding the slave can be a real PITA, so it may take a number of reservoir refills.  Hopefully, it was just never sufficiently filled - but do look for a leak.

If you do confirm a leak unless it's really bad, you should be able to get it to a state where you can get the bike rideable to the dealer.  With small leaks, you might have the pump the lever a couple times after it's been sitting a while to bring pressure up in the line - but then it should function acceptably for the short term aka ride to get it fixed.

[erkishhorde]

If you do happen to find a leak, go immediately to the dealer if you're going to try to ride it. The slave can go out very suddenly.

[Holden]

Thanks for the advice. I'll get some fluid after work tomorrow and read up on how to bleed properly.

I did notice a couple drips from around the lever pivot, but I think that was left over from when I opened the reservoir earlier. Got a flashlight and wiped it up really wellâ€"will check again in the morning.

[Holden]

Um, well, apparently when I opened my reservoir before it left the pyramidal inner thingamabob in there, which is why it looked empty (it didn't look like much of a reservoir at all, but I'd never looked in a square one before ).

I opened it for real this time and it was brimming with fluid. But it's still dragging, so I guess it just needs bleeding, now more than ever. Lots and lots of rolling resistance with the clutch pulled in gear.

It just occurred to me that having the reservoirs upside down during the handlebar swap probably could have gotten air in the system, huh?

[erkishhorde]

When you put the triangle thing back in, you put it in as a triangle, right? When you get low on fluid the triangles pop out and sometimes it looks more like a rectangle. If you weren't low on fluid, flipping the reservoirs upside-down shouldn't have done anything. I usually keep a paper towel on hand and fill it up high enough that just a little bit of fluid overflows when I put the rubber piece back on so that I know there aren't any air bubbles left.

[Holden]

Just finished bleeding... was pretty easy after it got moving.

So just how much resistance is normal for clutch pulled in gear? When I try backing up it's like hitting a brick wallâ€"like I'm not on the clutch at all, until I use some force to sort of break free. Even then it's not exactly as effortless as neutral.

Could my problem be something else?

[erkishhorde]

Clutch pulled all the way in should feel almost the same as neutral. If the bike is running you might be able to feel a slight difference but if you're on flat ground you should be able to let go of the brake and not have the bike move.

Perhaps you need to finesse your clutch pack height?

edit: oh, 696 wet clutch... Nope, that isn't it. Got me.

[Holden]

It should be in good enough shape to ride to the dealer for the one year service coming up soon. Guess I'll let them try to figure it out...

(thanks for your help!)

[stopintime]

About the screw adjusting thing - aftermarket levers need quite a lot of adjusting.....

http://www.ducatisuite.com/leverchange.html    (the last section, below the pictures)