Finding Neutral - the fix

[Journeyman]

I was having trouble getting into Neutral. I wondered if it was the change in motor oil brands, no, or if I had actually started wearing out the clutch at just under 30K miles. My suspicion, though, was that the hydraulic clutch fluid had somehow gained some air in the system and this actually proved to be the case, which is good news. This fix is quite easy (one rating).

Getting neutral is now effortless.

If you're also having this issue you might want to try this out....

• Cover your tank and all surfaces with plastic or something to protect your paint. Brake fluid is not good for paint. If you get some on there just rinse it off immediately with soapy water. I also like to attach some aluminum foil under the master cylinder to catch any spills.
• Take a syringe, or turkey baster, and suck out most (not ALL!) of the fluid in the reservoir. This is what mine looked like just 8K miles after I did my 20K service.

Don't get greedy. If you suck out too much you're going to have to drop your radiator and go through a whole lot of grief to get to the bleed screw on the clutch. You don't want to introduce any (more) air into the system. Be OK with some old stuff left in there. You can suck and add multiple times if it really bothers you.

• Add fresh DOT 4 to almost the top of the bowl (above the max level). You want to cover the bleed screw with fluid.
• The bleed screw for the master cylinder is a 6mm.
• Follow the steps in the user manual (pages 1074 - 1076) to bleed the master cylinder. Those pages are for the front brake, but it's the exact same for the clutch- there is no mention of this in the manual, btw. Trust me- it's the same procedure.
• Basically, you're going to pump the lever to build pressure and then loosen, very slightly this bleed screw to allow air to escape the system. Mine spit out a surprising amount of bubbles.
• Once you have no more bubbles tighten the screw to just 6 Nm.
• Suck out the excess fluid until it reaches the "Max" level in the reservoir.
• Thoroughly dry the cap components and the rim of the reservoir of old brake fluid and moisture.
• Reinstall those components and tighten the cap fairly gently, going back and forth between screws- the official torque setting is just 1.5 Nm.
• Now your clutch works again as it should, unless you have a lot more miles or have been mistreating your girl....
• 
  
  

Here's what the fluid looked like when I did the 20K service, including clutch fluid change.

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

 

[papanorm]

Thanks for the tips, learning something new every day.

 

[sunny]

I was having trouble getting into Neutral. I wondered if it was the change in motor oil brands, no, or if I had actually started wearing out the clutch at just under 30K miles. My suspicion, though, was that the hydraulic clutch fluid had somehow gained some air in the system and this actually proved to be the case, which is good news. This fix is quite easy (one rating).

Getting neutral is now effortless.

If you're also having this issue you might want to try this out....

• Cover your tank and all surfaces with plastic or something to protect your paint. Brake fluid is not good for paint. If you get some on there just rinse it off immediately with soapy water. I also like to attach some aluminum foil under the master cylinder to catch any spills.
• Take a syringe, or turkey baster, and suck out most (not ALL!) of the fluid in the reservoir. This is what mine looked like just 8K miles after I did my 20K service.

Don't get greedy. If you suck out too much you're going to have to drop your radiator and go through a whole lot of grief to get to the bleed screw on the clutch. You don't want to introduce any (more) air into the system. Be OK with some old stuff left in there. You can suck and add multiple times if it really bothers you.

• Add fresh DOT 4 to almost the top of the bowl (above the max level). You want to cover the bleed screw with fluid.
• The bleed screw for the master cylinder is a 6mm.
• Follow the steps in the user manual (pages 1074 - 1076) to bleed the master cylinder. Those pages are for the front brake, but it's the exact same for the clutch- there is no mention of this in the manual, btw. Trust me- it's the same procedure.
• Basically, you're going to pump the lever to build pressure and then loosen, very slightly this bleed screw to allow air to escape the system. Mine spit out a surprising amount of bubbles.
• Once you have no more bubbles tighten the screw to just 6 Nm.
• Suck out the excess fluid until it reaches the "Max" level in the reservoir.
• Thoroughly dry the cap components and the rim of the reservoir of old brake fluid and moisture.
• Reinstall those components and tighten the cap fairly gently, going back and forth between screws- the official torque setting is just 1.5 Nm.
• Now your clutch works again as it should, unless you have a lot more miles or have been mistreating your girl....
• 
  
  

Here's what the fluid looked like when I did the 20K service, including clutch fluid change.

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

there is an issue with clutch master cylinder, every 6 months somehow the fluid turns dark. Same fluid same brand in front brake cylinder stays good for duration it should but the clutch master reservoir will turn dark. all you can do is keep replacing that fluid in clutch master.

i bled my clutch and front brake last year and after few months fluid turned dark on clutch but not on front brakes, i replaced the fluid again on clutch and then again it went dark after few months,


even before i touched anything and bike was a year old or so , i remember noticing the clutch master reserviour was way darker than front brake
I gave up now.

@Journeyman if I remember correctly you just bled your clutch like last year and it has turned black again.

 

[Einar]

there is an issue with clutch master cylinder, every 6 months somehow the fluid turns dark. Same fluid same brand in front brake cylinder stays good for duration it should but the clutch master reservoir will turn dark. all you can do is keep replacing that fluid in clutch master.

i bled my clutch and front brake last year and after few months fluid turned dark on clutch but not on front brakes, i replaced the fluid again on clutch and then again it went dark after few months,


even before i touched anything and bike was a year old or so , i remember noticing the clutch master reserviour was way darker than front brake
I gave up now.

@Journeyman if I remember correctly you just bled your clutch like last year and it has turned black again.

The clutch fluid has turned dark relatively quickly on every motorcycle I've owned. The piston on the clutch moves much further than on the brake, so it's possible the discoloration is simply from wear of the (black) seals.

 

[Journeyman]

there is an issue with clutch master cylinder, every 6 months somehow the fluid turns dark. Same fluid same brand in front brake cylinder stays good for duration it should but the clutch master reservoir will turn dark. all you can do is keep replacing that fluid in clutch master.

i bled my clutch and front brake last year and after few months fluid turned dark on clutch but not on front brakes, i replaced the fluid again on clutch and then again it went dark after few months,


even before i touched anything and bike was a year old or so , i remember noticing the clutch master reserviour was way darker than front brake
I gave up now.

@Journeyman if I remember correctly you just bled your clutch like last year and it has turned black again.

Sunny- I remember your asking me to check the fluid a few months after I did the 20k service, but just kept putting it off until the trouble with neutral began. It was on my "to do list" though.

Well, I wouldn't call it black, but a slight shade of green. Glad to have some new fluid mixed in and, especially, that air out of the system. It was dirty pea soup at 20K though....

 

[sunny]

The clutch fluid has turned dark relatively quickly on every motorcycle I've owned. The piston on the clutch moves much further than on the brake, so it's possible the discoloration is simply from wear of the (black) seals.

I am conrfused, why the manual doesnt call for frequent replacement of clutch fluid, it says 2 years in maintenance table, same as front brake.

 

[Einar]

I am conrfused, why the manual doesnt call for frequent replacement of clutch fluid, it says 2 years in maintenance table, same as front brake.

Because it's only a discoloration that doesn't interfere with its function.