Clutch slip

[2023R3GT]

i would redo the clutch, fluid alone will do little to fix it. if it’s slipping it will keep slipping and get worse overtime…

 

[rick danger]

You might try swapping out some fresh fluid in the clutch reservoir and bleeding the air from the MC. See if that makes a difference. Some info below, but basically remove most, not all, fluid from MC, and replace with fresh and then look in the manual for how to bleed the MC on the front brake. It's the same procedure, but not listed for the clutch in the manual.

What Your Clutch Fluid looks like at 20K - Also, Issues Restoring Pressure and Fixes

Here's what your clutch fluid looks like at 20,000 miles.... There was sludge at the bottom. Replacing the fluid is part of the 20,000 mile service. Other information on that can be found here...

www.r3owners.net

Yeah, after seeing where Triumph saw fit to put the clutch slave, I've been syringing out a bit of fluid from the clutch master every so often. But there isn't very much in there. And I'm not to sure there is much circulation up and down the line.

 

[Journeyman]

Yeah, after seeing where Triumph saw fit to put the clutch slave, I've been syringing out a bit of fluid from the clutch master every so often. But there isn't very much in there. And I'm not to sure there is much circulation up and down the line.

I've heard people debate over the circulation, but I think it does move as you see it becomes discolored again fairly quickly and after many rinse and repeats over time it starts to become clearer. If you haven't tried bleeding the MC give that a try. I must have a very small leak somewhere because I have to do that from time to time and a little air always comes out. Afterwards I have a firmer lever and the clutch works more smoothly. Not sure if it would help your possible slippage, but might be worth a try.

(Of course if you need a new clutch, you need a new clutch, but if it just has air this is more like making an adjustment on the cable or other bikes.)

 

[lotus]

I have 27K on my 2022 GT and have never experienced any slippage and I do enjoy feeling the G forces. Sounds like you have some air in the line.
Purge as Journeyman suggests by going to his link -->

A tip of the hat to Journeyman for putting it out there.

I have a cautionary tale around clutch slippage. In my 65 years of riding bikes, I have NEVER used additives of any kind until I had an older vehicle with 157K miles. This vehicle has an automatic transmission and was acting not quite right. Took it to a transmission shop and was told to try BG Transmission Conditioner. Added it to the transmission oil and it was amazing how it improved shifting performance. What had I missed all these years by not using additives? There must be something for the engine. Found a youtube link that told of "Five Additives that Really work". I was smitten by one called "Liqui Moly Anti-Friction Engine Conditioner". Found the product at a local auto parts store and brought it home to put in the older vehicle. Read the label describing the benefits and cautions about "Not for Human Consumption, etc. etc."
I was standing next to the Rocket after just changing the oil. I had a moment of Alzheimer's combined with too much focus on engine friction and thought this would be good for the Rocket engine too! Dumped the appropriate amount in oil filler and felt good. It was 20F deg outside and did not start the engine.
A couple hours later, it struck me like a hammer to the head that I just put an anti-friction additive into a wet clutch motor. I immediately went to the Liqui Moly web site and started reading more about the product. I discovered one line that stated, "This product is not compatible with wet clutch systems!". Yes, it did have the exclamation mark. I then spiraled into I just ruined the motor! How do I recover from this? Replace the clutch? How much will that cost? etc..etc.
As I was laying in bed that night thinking how I can recover from this terrible mistake, I thought I might have a chance because I had never started the bike and the product was only in the sump at this point. Where are the clutch plates? Are they covered in sump oil?
The next day, I dumped the $60 of Motul I had just put in while watching the dark stream of moly coming out into the drain pan. Picked up 5 quarts of cheap oil and flushed the sump until no black appeared. Bought another $60 of Motul and refilled the sump. Was that good enough? I won't know until I ride it.
A couple days later, the weather improved to where I could take it out. I held my breath and hoped I'd be able to get out of my drive way. Went a mile with no slippage. Three miles, no slippage. Maybe this worked?
Four days later, 4 of us went for a 70 mile lunch ride and I was able to hammer it several times without slip. Whew........Maybe I'll qualify for a Darwin award

 

[Journeyman]

I have 27K on my 2022 GT and have never experienced any slippage and I do enjoy feeling the G forces. Sounds like you have some air in the line.
Purge as Journeyman suggests by going to his link -->

A tip of the hat to Journeyman for putting it out there.

I have a cautionary tale around clutch slippage. In my 65 years of riding bikes, I have NEVER used additives of any kind until I had an older vehicle with 157K miles. This vehicle has an automatic transmission and was acting not quite right. Took it to a transmission shop and was told to try BG Transmission Conditioner. Added it to the transmission oil and it was amazing how it improved shifting performance. What had I missed all these years by not using additives? There must be something for the engine. Found a youtube link that told of "Five Additives that Really work". I was smitten by one called "Liqui Moly Anti-Friction Engine Conditioner". Found the product at a local auto parts store and brought it home to put in the older vehicle. Read the label describing the benefits and cautions about "Not for Human Consumption, etc. etc."
I was standing next to the Rocket after just changing the oil. I had a moment of Alzheimer's combined with too much focus on engine friction and thought this would be good for the Rocket engine too! Dumped the appropriate amount in oil filler and felt good. It was 20F deg outside and did not start the engine.
A couple hours later, it struck me like a hammer to the head that I just put an anti-friction additive into a wet clutch motor. I immediately went to the Liqui Moly web site and started reading more about the product. I discovered one line that stated, "This product is not compatible with wet clutch systems!". Yes, it did have the exclamation mark. I then spiraled into I just ruined the motor! How do I recover from this? Replace the clutch? How much will that cost? etc..etc.
As I was laying in bed that night thinking how I can recover from this terrible mistake, I thought I might have a chance because I had never started the bike and the product was only in the sump at this point. Where are the clutch plates? Are they covered in sump oil?
The next day, I dumped the $60 of oil I had just put in watching the dark stream of moly coming out into the drain pan. Picked up 5 quarts of cheap oil and flushed the sump until no black appeared. Bought another $60 of Motul and refilled the sump. Was that good enough? I won't know until I ride it.
A couple days later, the weather improved to where I could take it out. I held my breath and hoped I'd be able to get out of my drive way. Went a mile with no slippage. Three miles, no slippage. Maybe this worked?
Four days later, 4 of us went for a 70 mile lunch ride and I was able to hammer it several times without slip. Whew........ I'm still embarrassed

Glad it's not just me that does some dumb $hite from time to time.

 

[ty.thompson1981]

Thanks, I'm really looking to hear that most everybody can get a bit of slip sometimes when accelerating hard. Depending on maybe releasing the clutch a bit slow, or something. As long as I know its not just my bike developing a problem.

Not sure what’s up and hope you can get it sorted. My 2020 r3r currently has over 43000 miles. I bought it with 700 miles on it and I ride my bike hard. Clutch still grabs hard like it did when I first bought it. That’s really low miles for clutch slip. Mine has been ridden very spiritedly in the mountains numerous times including a recent trip to Colorado. Tons of clutch usage and braking and zero issues. Weekends both my bikes get ridden spiritedly in the hill country here in Texas. Closest thing we have to mountains here in my area. Work commute is all highway depending on which way I take and tons of highway pulls. Not sure how you ride yours but I’m not easy on mine and if mine can take 43000 miles of that with zero signs of slippage not sure why yours would be having issues.

 

[rick danger]

Not sure what’s up and hope you can get it sorted. My 2020 r3r currently has over 43000 miles. I bought it with 700 miles on it and I ride my bike hard. Clutch still grabs hard like it did when I first bought it. That’s really low miles for clutch slip. Mine has been ridden very spiritedly in the mountains numerous times including a recent trip to Colorado. Tons of clutch usage and braking and zero issues. Weekends both my bikes get ridden spiritedly in the hill country here in Texas. Closest thing we have to mountains here in my area. Work commute is all highway depending on which way I take and tons of highway pulls. Not sure how you ride yours but I’m not easy on mine and if mine can take 43000 miles of that with zero signs of slippage not sure why yours would be having issues.

I really think now that it was me letting the clutch lever out slow without realizing it. Later I noticed it didn't slip when I use the shift assist. I was just wondering about it when I got home that day. I should have waited before starting a thread about it.

 

[ty.thompson1981]

I really think now that it was me letting the clutch lever out slow without realizing it. Later I noticed it didn't slip when I use the shift assist. I was just wondering about it when I got home that day. I should have waited before starting a thread about it.

Awesome. Definitely hope that’s what it was. Yeah the only time I let out slowly on the clutches when getting going from a stop, but other than that during shifts my shift pretty fast and release the clutch pretty quickly so as to not slip it that much. I don’t have a quick shifter on my rocket so it’s all clutch shifting.