How to bleed clutch

[FalcoLion]

I am not very familiar with Guzzi yet though I have for a year I only rode it 3 times before the season ended. I need to bleed my clutch now. Can someone please tell me where is clutch pressure cylinder is located? Is it easily accessible from the right or left sides of the bike?

[Guzzi2Go]

From what I 've seen you'll have to cut the bike in half to get to it. The cylinder is conveniently placed on the back of the engine, neatly shielded from all sides. If you manage to get your fingers on it you are most likely suffering from a genetic defect or your ancestors come from somewhere in outer space.

 

Remember, Luigi builds thinks according to the 1st Murphy's law of engineering - An engineer designs a product so it is difficult to manufacture and impossible to maintain.

[gstallons]

#1 Why do you think you need the clutch bled? These things just don"t get air bubbles.

 

 

#2 If you want to bleed this, remove the rear wheel. attach a clear hose to the bleeder screw then to submerge the other end in a half full vial of brake fluid to watch for air bubbles to come out.You can gravity bleed this or pressure bleed. Remember to use DOT fluid on all containers.

[savagehenry]

It's not that difficult, really. Like gstallons said, shove a piece of hose that fits snugly on the end of the bleeder valve. I use a piece of clear aquarium airpump hose, coiled for one complete 360 degree loop and hold the loop with a wire tie, with one end being about 1 inch long and 12inches or so for the long end. It creates a trap for the fluid so you don't draw back any air, but if you don't ever let go of the clutch when the valve is cracked open, you won't ever anyway. I could keep my wrench on the fitting, and my hand on the clutch lever on my knees from the left side, and did it with the bike on the sidestand, no disassembly required (except the "pisscup" cap, of course). Do it once a year, and brakes too, from the same new bottle, and keep the expensive master cylinders working a good long time. All of them are quite easy once you actually dig in, good luck S.H.

[Guzzirider]

I had to bleed the clutch on a mate's CBR1000RR yesterday and found it much easier with a simple open ended tube rather than with a fancy tube with non-return valve on the end.

 

Sometimes the old fashioned ways are the best.

[FalcoLion]

It's not that difficult, really. Like gstallons said, shove a piece of hose that fits snugly on the end of the bleeder valve. I use a piece of clear aquarium airpump hose, coiled for one complete 360 degree loop and hold the loop with a wire tie, with one end being about 1 inch long and 12inches or so for the long end. It creates a trap for the fluid so you don't draw back any air, but if you don't ever let go of the clutch when the valve is cracked open, you won't ever anyway. I could keep my wrench on the fitting, and my hand on the clutch lever on my knees from the left side, and did it with the bike on the sidestand, no disassembly required (except the "pisscup" cap, of course). Do it once a year, and brakes too, from the same new bottle, and keep the expensive master cylinders working a good long time. All of them are quite easy once you actually dig in, good luck S.H.

 

Savehehenry,

 

Thank you for the tips. You are right. Its not that hard to get to the bleeder valve. Obviously it depends on hand size but in order to get perfect access I took off rear hugger and unbolted shocks remote regulator from the left. It allowed me to get in there with no problems whatsoever. I even swapped the regular OEM bleeder valve to speedy bleeder valve. Its a one way valve for anyone who is not familiar. It lets the fluid out but doesn't let air in.

 

Unfortunately that wasn't my problem. My f*ing clutch master cylinder crapped out. Last year it took me almost the whole summer to get this bike on the road after fixing the wheel and passing NYS salvage inspection (had to wait 2 months). So I only rode it 2-3 times. Now its another BS problem. In any case I will post in FAQ area all my problems and questions

 

Thanks

Vlad

[gstallons]

I assume it's leaking fluid?

[Baldini]

I found clutch cylinder had lost a fixing screw & was pulling away from gbox at that point when activated...something to look out for, tho it may be unrelated to your problem. What is the problem w/ cylinder?

 

KB

[Mrs Guzzirider]

I assume it's leaking fluid?

 

Just a bit..... it had been down the road and needed a new master cylinder.

[belfastguzzi]

Now its another BS problem. In any case I will post in FAQ area all my problems and questions

Technical Topics is the proper place for questions like this.