Tracey Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I recently bought a "02" V11 LeMans that was laid down. Damage was/is minor and I have most of it fixed. But the clutch won't work. It makes the right sound with the motor running and I feel resistence in the lever but still doesn't work. I tried to bleed the system but didn't help. I suspect that a pocket of air is trapped and the clutch won't completely engage. I'm sure the bike was up-side down during the crash so I've suspected air entrapment all along. The dust cover over the pump on the lever looks wet, maybe a rebuild on the pump? Does any of this sound familar? Please help.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrt Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I've not heard of this problem specifically, but- You say it 'makes the right sounds', but what sound does it make? It should be a dry/metallic rasping sound that rises in pitch when you pull in the clutch. If the pitch doesn't change, the clutch is not engaging. There will be some resistance just from the spring and the piston in the master cylinder, so that may not be the best indicator. It should be easy to bleed-You should be able to remove the slave cylinder fairly easily, then bleed the system with the slave cylinder held up, so air bleeds out out. Might you consider buying a speedbleeder nut? If the clutch/slave setup is clean, free of air, and working- it is still a relatively simple matter to drop the transmission and inspect the throwout, pushrod, and clutchplates, although I cannot imagine why they would be damaged. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your bike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ratchethack Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I recently bought a "02" V11 LeMans that was laid down. Damage was/is minor and I have most of it fixed. But the clutch won't work. It makes the right sound with the motor running and I feel resistence in the lever but still doesn't work. I tried to bleed the system but didn't help. I suspect that a pocket of air is trapped and the clutch won't completely engage. I'm sure the bike was up-side down during the crash so I've suspected air entrapment all along. The dust cover over the pump on the lever looks wet, maybe a rebuild on the pump? Does any of this sound familar? Please help.... 70708[/snapback] This is a puzzler. If the clutch doesn't work (doesn't disengage), how can you say that it's making "the right sound" with the motor running? Seems to me you can't say it's making the "right sound" unless you can hear it when it's disengaged? If the bike was upside down for any length of time, you can assume that air entered the system. Like Jason says, it should be straightforward to bleed, and a proper bleeding should set things right. It might take more fluid through the system than you've given it. You haven't indicated anything in your post that points to a need to rebuild the master cylinder or that would implicate the throwout bearing, plates, pushrod, etc. On such a new bike any of this would be far far down the list of probabilities IMHO. If continued bleeding doesn't seem to work, I'd follow Jason's advice and take out the slave cylinder and manually compress the piston to expel everything that's in there through the bleeder nipple, making sure to hold it so the nipple is still pointing up. This might get some trapped air out. That's all I got... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard100t Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I recently bought a "02" V11 LeMans that was laid down. Damage was/is minor and I have most of it fixed. But the clutch won't work. It makes the right sound with the motor running and I feel resistence in the lever but still doesn't work. I tried to bleed the system but didn't help. I suspect that a pocket of air is trapped and the clutch won't completely engage. I'm sure the bike was up-side down during the crash so I've suspected air entrapment all along. The dust cover over the pump on the lever looks wet, maybe a rebuild on the pump? Does any of this sound familar? Please help.... 70708[/snapback] Hey I'm in Canton also! Send me a pm & maybe we can get together. I'm not the best mechanic but you never know. It would be great to have a Guzzi guy to ride with in the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Stewart Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 What it could be is the clutch plate stuck to the flywheel , with the different clutch materials and if the bike is in damp weather (rust or a process of oxidation as JRT would prefer ) , this could happen. I remember when the brake shoes used to stick on my old VW, you had to put the trans into 1st and then reverse while dumping the clutch till she broke loose . Now how do you check to see if this is the case? Good luck, Mike This is a puzzler. If the clutch doesn't work (doesn't disengage), how can you say that it's making "the right sound" with the motor running? Seems to me you can't say it's making the "right sound" unless you can hear it when it's disengaged? If the bike was upside down for any length of time, you can assume that air entered the system. Like Jason says, it should be straightforward to bleed, and a proper bleeding should set things right. It might take more fluid through the system than you've given it. You haven't indicated anything in your post that points to a need to rebuild the master cylinder or that would implicate the throwout bearing, plates, pushrod, etc. On such a new bike any of this would be far far down the list of probabilities IMHO. If continued bleeding doesn't seem to work, I'd follow Jason's advice and take out the slave cylinder and manually compress the piston to expel everything that's in there through the bleeder nipple, making sure to hold it so the nipple is still pointing up. This might get some trapped air out. That's all I got... 70767[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted December 18, 2005 Author Share Posted December 18, 2005 Hey I'm in Canton also! Send me a pm & maybe we can get together. I'm not the best mechanic but you never know. It would be great to have a Guzzi guy to ride with in the spring. 70768[/snapback] I'll bet we have meet at one of the local breakfasts, I used to ride a Quota...The saga continues with my clutch problem. I've ordered a new master cylinder assembly from Crooked River Ducati, Akron. Guzzi parts are hard to get these days. I could hear it pushing air the last time I tried to bleed the system. Closer inspection shows damage from the crash. We should get together some time after christmas. I'll keep in touch.. wtraceyhall@sbcglobal.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard100t Posted December 18, 2005 Share Posted December 18, 2005 I'll bet we have meet at one of the local breakfasts, I used to ride a Quota...The saga continues with my clutch problem. I've ordered a new master cylinder assembly from Crooked River Ducati, Akron. Guzzi parts are hard to get these days. I could hear it pushing air the last time I tried to bleed the system. Closer inspection shows damage from the crash. We should get together some time after christmas. I'll keep in touch..wtraceyhall@sbcglobal.net 71038[/snapback] Hey I met a guy at Taco Bell this summer that had a BMW bike. He seen my bike parked out front & we talked bikes for a few minutes. Hell we may have already met? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Posted December 18, 2005 Share Posted December 18, 2005 You could try the brake bleeding trick of tieing the lever back agianst the bar with a zip tie and leave overnight/for a few days. Can't remember the exact theroy but it allows the air to work its way up to the master cylinder and into the resivour. Dunno, works a treat on brakes though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrt Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 You could try the brake bleeding tirck of tieing the lever back agianst the bar with a zip tie and leave overnight/for a few days. Can't remeber the exact theroy but it allow the air to work its way up to the master cylinder and into the resivour. Dunno, works a treat on brakes though! 71047[/snapback] That's only because you're in Australia. If we try it here in the states, it sucks air up through the entire line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaing Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 That's only because you're in Australia. If we try it here in the states, it sucks air up through the entire line. 71055[/snapback] Dude, that Iowana will only give you a headache But seriously that method is the easiest. Just not sure it is good for large pockets of air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 I recently bought a "02" V11 LeMans that was laid down. Damage was/is minor and I have most of it fixed. But the clutch won't work. It makes the right sound with the motor running and I feel resistence in the lever but still doesn't work. I tried to bleed the system but didn't help. I suspect that a pocket of air is trapped and the clutch won't completely engage. I'm sure the bike was up-side down during the crash so I've suspected air entrapment all along. The dust cover over the pump on the lever looks wet, maybe a rebuild on the pump? Does any of this sound familar? Please help.... 70708[/snapback] Clutch working! First test ride on Christmas eve... After advise from: jrt, ratchethack, & Mike Stewart I got the clutch working. The bike had been down hard about 7 months ago. After a lot of clutch bleeding I noticed the master cylinder leaking and making a wet noise. Replaced with a set from Ducati (cant get new guzzi parts at present). With new parts on, the clutch still didn't work. The dry matalic sound of the clutch with the motor running was similar to my old Quota but louder. After running the motor for about 5 min with the clutch lever pulled, the sound changed. The clutch worked and away I went... What a ride! Thanks for your help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrt Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 right on! Just in time for winter, lol. Glad you got it running! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeBenGuzzi Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 Clutch working! First test ride on Christmas eve...After advise from: jrt, ratchethack, & Mike Stewart I got the clutch working. The bike had been down hard about 7 months ago. After a lot of clutch bleeding I noticed the master cylinder leaking and making a wet noise. Replaced with a set from Ducati (cant get new guzzi parts at present). With new parts on, the clutch still didn't work. The dry matalic sound of the clutch with the motor running was similar to my old Quota but louder. After running the motor for about 5 min with the clutch lever pulled, the sound changed. The clutch worked and away I went... What a ride! Thanks for your help... 71886[/snapback] I'm assuming you had to burn off the fluid as it were? New style car clutches can't handle this they get a lil wet and they're done no more backing up to a tree and flooring it to get the goo off. Come to think of it the ppl I've had teach me things growing up is probably why I'm such a bad bodger. I don't think anyone I know really "knows" how to do things right. At least not anymore. I even have a friend who's an Audi Mechanic and he's got a helluva lot of bodge points coming to him if he talks to nogbad. I listen to him and I am no longer interested in audi's go fig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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