[Introduction] Noob Q&A

[xRANDOx]

no as in the clutch will not engage at all. I pull it in all the way and it doesn't engage. Will pull the bike forward and makes shifting nearly impossible

[junior varsity]

sounds like a hydraulic failure.

did you check the fluid to see if any is in the reservoir yet?

[hiero]

no as in the clutch will not engage at all. I pull it in all the way and it doesn't engage. Will pull the bike forward and makes shifting nearly impossible

  I'm not sure I understand what's going on.  If the bike is pulling forward, the clutch is engaged.  Pulling the lever disengages the clutch...

I'm not trying to say you don't know what you're talking about, just trying to get a clear picture of the problem

[xRANDOx]

No you'r right I had a brain fart. Caveman in me said "pulling lever is engaging clutch."  Yes the clutch will not disengage. And no I'm not with the bike wont be back till Sunday. Will check then to see if there is fluid in the resevoir

[xRANDOx]

Alright I'm sorry in advance for my ignorance, but everyone has to start somewhere. Having never wrenched on a bike before makes me feel like I have no common sense. To check the fluid level in the reservoir do I take the lid off the reservoir? It impossible to see through the little glass.

[junior varsity]

that's a fine way to do it. i'm assuming you have coffin master cylinders.

[hiero]

careful with the screws, they can strip if the tops haven't been off recently or if they were tightened too much

[xRANDOx]

Alright once again ignorance. I'm full of it. Is the clutch reservoir about the size of a film canister? Because what I think is the clutch reservoir is a clear film canister shaped thing and its good on fluid level right in between min and max and its located on the right side of the bike under the seat.

[junior varsity]

That's the rear brake reservoir. The clutch reservoir will be attached to the clutch master cylinder, which is what the lever you squeeze is connected to. Its literally no more than an inch from your left index finger when your hand is on the bar.

i think we need to get you to dallas for a beers, brats, and bikes session at somebody's house and go over the basics - make ownership headaches much less frequent

[xRANDOx]

Thats what I originally thought. However it said only use brake fluid on the cap which threw me off.

[junior varsity]

hydraulic fluid is always labeled brake fluid because many motorcycle manufacturers use "cable" clutches instead of hydraulic clutches.

Check in there and see what you find. If you ever need to add fluid, you must use DOT 4. Or 5.1. NOT 5. (And 4 is better than 3 for all purposes from what i've read)

[xRANDOx]

almost no fluid in the reservoir

[junior varsity]

Well you have a hydraulic leak on one end or the other. Almost always at the slave cylinder. (The o-rings that seal the piston inside the slave cylinder crap out).

You can pick up a used slave off somebody around here I'm sure, or off a place like Gotham Cycles, or order up a new one. There's also a stock piston replacment with multiple seals available from evoluzione (replaces only the piston and it's seals, sits in stock slave cylinder). For a few bucks more, you can get an aftermarket larger diameter piston slave cylinder, such as an evoluzione, stm, evr, yoyodyne, motowheels, oberon, dp, ncr, etc etc. They reduce lever effort slightly but even more importantly have redundant seals so they fail less often. Not that they don't still occasionally fail. You'll also need two new crush washers for installing the new or used slave (one on each side of the banjo fitting on the brake line) and fresh fluid. Then you bleed it. Its a slow, drawn out process, and its easy to get frustrated while doing it if its your first time. Just be patient and you'll be back out on the road in no time.

[hiero]

I know you're not looking to spend a lot of money, but a pneumatic brake fluid system like this or if you don't have an air compressor handy, a mityvac, or something like this makes bleeding brakes a 10 minute job.

I've seen similar tools to the griot's ones at harbor freight for super cheap, so worth a look.  I've never had any luck with mityvac for some reason, but lots of folks here have for sure. I use the one man bleeder and it's a super easy 5 minute job.  Takes longer to do my set up rather than the actual bleeding.

I believe most of us just changed the slave cylinder out completely, good investment really

[junior varsity]

agreed.

and i don't like my mightyvac. i want a pneumatic one. i do it manually (or the "old school" way)