te310 Clutch adjustment

[Burgo]

Hi all,

I'm just wondering about Clutch adjustment on the 2013 TE310R.

It has the brembo hydraulic unit and I know you can adjust from the lever itself.

BUT, I'm wondering if there's any other adjustment points? Any way to make the same amount of lever movement create more clutch action? (Am I crazy even suggesting this? )

Reason is I like where i've got the lever set at the moment, to limit lever Action and arm/hand pump, but when I put it in first gear with the lever pulled in tight, the rear wheel is definitely engaged.

Is there any accepted "normal" amount of drag on the clutch when in gear but clutch lever pulled all the way in? Or should it be none. Or, indeed does it just depend on how often you're willing to replace clutch plates

This is probably not doing nice things for the starter motor, which we all know is a bit flakey on this model.

If there's no other adjustment, I suppose I'll just have to play with it and push the lever further out?

Any advice is appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Trenchcoat85]

welcome to the wonderful world of hydraulically-activated clutches.

It is insanely hard to increase travel, to change ratios or repair in the field. and they have zero feel. but- hey! at least the effort is low. sorta.

BTW, they drag. And you gotta have at least a little lever free-play or they'll drag more.

In regards to e-starting: Start in neutral. Use 0W-40 oil. Have a good battery with a full charge. Don't let the engine spin backwards- the worm drive is easily damaged. Kick when you can.

 

[Burgo]

Thanks Trenchcoat.
Yep, I always try to start in Neutral. Running 10w50 oil as per spec. I'm no oil expert, but that means a bit more viscous when Cold and Hot than your 10w40? I'm in Sydney Australia and riding temps don't "generally" get below 15degrees C (59 F) and can be in the high 20s or 30s (90F) so I figured a slightly more viscous oil would suit. (Plus not being an expert I'm nervous going away from factory spec
Battery is always on a smart charger when idle.
My hips aren't built for kick starting, so the little black button gets used before anything else.
I think I've got a little free play (ie, about 5-10mm (or thereabouts) of clutch pull before the lever pushes the pin on the clutch fluid reservoir) but I have replaced the clutch plates once already, at about 600km after it totally failed, so I suppose i'm just trying to gauge whether my poor (but improving) clutch control is being exacerbated by less than ideal setup.
I'll look into the workshop manual and tinker over the weekend.

 

[Trenchcoat85]

it gets hotter here in California- believe me. there are places where +50°C is not unknown every year. It gets hotter than 30°C here in the mountains (where I live) easily every year; rarely above 40° tho. disclosure: I quit riding when the temps are above 32-35° usually (although I do have an evaporative vest, which I recommend). It's nice to go high up and have things cool off by 10°.

you're right- 0w-40 is less viscous; and that's what we're going for. Car manufactures have realized that beyond a certain point, oil flow is more important then oil pressure; also thick oil is a waste of power. More so with your little high-strung engine too.

hydro-clutches can suffer from a hidden air bubble down in the slave side too. Forgot to mention that. The clutch will be sorta okay when cool, but when things heat up (and so the bubble expands) the less clutch push rod travel you have. That bubble can be a bitch to find; and a semi-bitch to coax out of there (hint: remove the slave if you can).

your clutch should not have gone away that fast- something may be wrong. I cannot remember the specifics but the rubber dampers would disintegrate in some clutches. I think they fixed this with a higher quality damper by your year maybe? Zip Ty Racing has/had a kit to replace these if needed (they're behind a riveted plate).

make sure you have enough free play in the lever. (Too much is a drag [hah], but not enough will wear your clutch out fast... especially with air in the slave).

gotta have free play.

 

[Burgo]

Yep, get's that hot here too, but I'm in the pool or the pub when that happens!

Ok, so 0w40 hey?

Fully synthetic?

Thanks for the info re the clutch. As I said, tinkering with a beer in my hand coming up this weekend.

Cheers mate

 

[Trenchcoat85]

here in the US: Mobil 1 0w-40 for Euro cars (not Japanese); it's 100% synthetic.

There is a Castrol or Motul oil that's super close.

(btw, 5mm free play in the clutch lever is more than enough. so you're good)

 

[R_Little]

here in the US: Mobil 1 0w-40 for Euro cars (not Japanese); it's 100% synthetic.

There is a Castrol or Motul oil that's super close.

(btw, 5mm free play in the clutch lever is more than enough. so you're good)

That Mobil 1 0-40 oil is the bomb for these bikes.

It sells at Walmart for $22 per 5qts all day long.

That's enough for 6 oil changes.

Get it and run it. Change it every 2-300 miles or so.

I've been using it for years.