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Clutch mystery


lemppari

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The clutch in my RM started acting weird the other day. It functions properly when cold but won't disengage wholly when warm/hot. Hoping for a minor glitch, I flushed the fluid but no avail. When warm, you can feel the bike lurchin sllightly forward when putting it to first gear standing still. Likewise when already rolling on first gear clutch pulled one can feel the bike surging when throttling. Downshifting 3-2-1 is best done with a mid-throttle.

 

What the heck is happening down there? I always thought that when clutches wear, they rather start slipping than gripping. Well, whatever it is, it's better to pull the engine out and have a look before it gets seriously nasty!

 

 

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Have a look thru the timing inspection hole, & remove starter & see if you can see anything obvious amiss thru engagement hole there?

 

You can get at thrust bearing without dismantling engine/trans.

 

You sure fluid doesn't need bleeding?

 

Has clutch become noisy? I'm sure you've heard about the Scura & Tenni flywheels breaking up? I never heard of an RM flywheel fracturing like those. If you do pull it down would be interested to see photos of RM clutch. It's a single plate but I always wondered if it's different to Scuras & Tennis.

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If the bike is creeping while it's in gear, the clutch isn't fully disengaging.

 

I had a similar experience with my Suzuki which also has a hydraulic actuated clutch.  The rubber hose expands over time.  You might add some hydraulic fluid and see it it takes up the slack.  Worked for me.  I later had the system flushed and went about my business.

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I bled the fluid first thing, but that didn't change things. There's a very slight leak, more like breathing of oil at the back of the gearbox but that smells like tranny oil, so it is probably the "standard" leak many have reported.

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Mine had some of the same problems.

Twin plate, the rivets had let go, so the friction material was loose.

I left the engine in place crabbed the frame pulled out the transmission.

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it down would be interested to see photos of RM clutch. It's a single plate but I always wondered if it's different to Scuras & Tennis

 

Somebody at the V11sport.de commented that the RM clutch is the same as on Scura and Tenni. I have been wondering if it is exactly the same as the "RAM" single disc clutch still offered today for example for Calis and V11s. I tend to think that it is mainly the same, made my the same producer.

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The clutch in the Scura used a RAM friction and pressure plate, but a Guzzi produced flywheel. The RAM version was not known for failing, the Guzzi version, well not so much. Although the exact cause, improper factory torque, not enough load bearing surface, wrong alloy, etc... was never agreed upon. Apparently there were slight differences between the two versions, although I personally have never seen the RAM version.

 

There was thread here eons ago it about when people started to switching to a twin plate.

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If the bike is creeping while it's in gear, the clutch isn't fully disengaging.

 

I had a similar experience with my Suzuki which also has a hydraulic actuated clutch.  The rubber hose expands over time.  You might add some hydraulic fluid and see it it takes up the slack.  Worked for me.  I later had the system flushed and went about my business.

When you say "hydraulic fluid" , I hope you mean brake fluid ?

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  • 3 weeks later...

The decision to dismantle the bike was amply amplified when riding the bike to my garage. One could hear the dry clutch noise, normally audible when pulling the clutch, even at idle without touching the lever! I decided to take the long way, i.e. dismantle the rear end and am still struggling. It does take a lot more effort and time than simply dropping the engine, what with the strengthening struts between the kidneys and tranny, but I'm getting there.

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Going in from the rear end has turned out to be slow and complicated. I should have done it the orthodox way, the job would have been done already. On top of everything the frame has to be jacked up some 10 centimeters anyway to get enough clearance backwards for the gearbox, so I have to conjur some sort of tackle to do it.

As I have no hook or other fixing point in the garage ceiling, it really is getting exciting. Any other means to lift a frame?

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