| Author | Message | ||
     Railboy |
Went out riding the other day on a 150 mile ride. After about 100 miles every time I would come to a stop the bike would not idle down unless I pulled the clutch lever in and let it out in first gear. Then a couple of times when shifting it would not engage right away. And the lever feels like it does not have much tension at times. Also when bike is not running but in gear, when you pull in the lever to push the bike it still has some tension on it. But it never pushes forward when starting. So do you think I need to replace the clutch? Or where should I start? I just order the service manual. This will be my first time in the primary. | ||
| Blake |
You talk about two issues, one is the hanging idle. That is either an idle adjustment issue, or a TPS reset issue. Adjust the idle down just slightly and see if the issue is resolved. I think your clutch is fine. The not engaging right away would be more of an issue tied to the transmission, a missed shift or hesitant shift can do that. Try being very deliberate with your shifts. Too much fluid in the tranny can cause shifting problems too. It's natural for a cold bike to have a sticking wet clutch. It's just the viscous connection between the clutch plates due to the viscous clold tranny lube. For clutch adjustment service, you can use the S1 online service manual here on BadWeB in the "Manuals..." section of the KV. The procedure is no different for your X1. | ||
| Railboy |
When I say not engaging, I would shift let the clutch out and it would stay in neutral then kick in. It is not from not shifting all of the way. As for the not idling down it only happened when I was in gear coming to a stop sign and pulling in the clutch it would idle down to about 2000 rpms and stay there until I popped the clutch then it would idle down. It feels like the clutch is slipping when I am shifting through the gears. | ||
| Blake |
"Popping the clutch" implies that you released the clutch lever abruptly, which surely is not what you are talking about. I'm still not sure what is exactly is occuring. I'll try to cover all the bases beginning with your hanging/high idle issue. If I interpret you correctly, then you are saying that when downshifting coming to a stop, you pull in the clutch lever (disengage clutch) and the bike sticks at a high idle, around 2,000 rpm. Yes? Then in order to get the idle reduced to normal speed once stopped, you carefully release the clutch lever (not "popping the clutch") until the clutch starts to engage and load the engine. Once the idle is reduced in that fashion, does it remain there, even after blipping the throttle with the clutch lever pulled in? Or does the idle once again elevate to around 2,000 RPM and hang there, requiring another careful release of the clutch lever to bring the idle speed back down to normal? If that is the case, then the previous advice is good in that your idle may simply need a slight adjustment down. You might also have an intake air leak, where air is leaking past one or more of three intake manifold seals (one at throttle body, and one at each cylinder head) into the intake tract between the throttle body and one or both of the cylinder heads. That problem is usually also accompanied by pinging/knocking (detonation) in low throttle opening cruising scenarios and/or when taking off from a stop. If you are not experiencing any pinging/knocking, then that is probably not the issue. Again, please try reducing the idle via the idle adjuster by just a small amount, down to around the minimum specified in your owner's manual, possibly 950 RPM, and see if the problem is the hanging idle problem resolved. It is important to adjust the idle when the engine is good and hot, after having ridden it for ten miles or so. As for the shifting problem, if the clutch is slipping, it will do so most noticeably when you apply full throttle while in gear; it will tend to slip more noticeably in higher gears versus lower gears. If you can get out on the highway cruising at 60 MPH and wack the throttle wide open accelerating to 70 and your clutch doesn't slip, then the clutch is likely fine. First and easiest thing to do is to check your clutch adjustment, first at the lever then at the clutch end. Follow the instructions provided in your owner's manual and the old 1996/1997 Buell S1 Lightning online service manual here, see pages 1-19 and 1-20. Also ensure that the clutch cable is adequately lubricated. A dry cable is prone to failure and will significantly hinder proper operation of the clutch. And again, if the transmission lubricant level is too high, even by a little, it can cause excess drag on the clutch, producing some of the symptoms you describe. The diagram on page 1-19 of the online service manual shows where the fluid level should be. While you are at it, check and adjust your primary chain according to the manual's instructions. A primary chain that is too loose or too tight can cause problems with shifting. If the clutch is okay, and the fluid level is okay, but you still have the symptom of hitting intermittent false neutrals when shifting, then you may have a bent shifter. The service manual does a better job than I describing the possible issues related to shifting problems as follows: TRANSMISSION Thanks and kudos to Buell for providing the online version of the Buell S1 Lightning Service Manual.  | ||
| Xldevil |
Sounds to me like my well known rounded engaging dogs problem, which has been caused by the dogs of first and fourth gear on main and countershaft. I had that engaging/not engaging/engaging problem on the trannys of my Cyclone and my Sporty.I changed to Andrews gears and that was it.Never had any shifting issues again and shifting into the first while standing is way smoother on both bikes.I also have no clutch dragging, even when it is below zero degree celsius.I´m riding the H-D Formula+ that I can highly recommend. |
