Clutch biting point

[halfabusa]

As i have a L01 burgman, am i right in thinking it wouldn't have clutch issues of the +07 models anymore? If that's the case, is it normal to feel the clutch biting quite noticeably? What happens is around 3000-4000 rpm, you feel a sensation similar to releasing the clutch on a car where the torque is felt through by a push from the wheels as the bike starts going forward. Is that normal to feel or is there a slipping issue? I just don't know how to differentiate between the two. I always thought clutch slipping would mean no matter how much revs you give the vehicle wouldn't engage into gear and drive slowly or stop...

Maybe it's the nature of this scooter but if anyone can confirm/deny i'd appreciate.

[pikey]

They are centrifugal as it spins 5 pads flip out and engages on clutch bell it slips till it fully bites and locks thats why your better opening throttle more than you need getting revs up intially get it locked up then back off a bit more it slips more heat more wear more dust more glazing more judder .If youve had tmax and bigger burger they run in oil and much smoother and dont suffer like dry clutches

[Data]

Hi Halfabusa, Yes Pikey's right. You may just need to give it some more power/revs and back off once it's locked up. In answer to your question, it's possible for the Burgman 400 to still suffer from some clutch judder in spite of the newer clutch design and better cooling. It's usually never a problem though once you have the moving off technique down pat. Also, at the 7500 mile service many dealers just pop the clutch bell off and clean out the dust and deglaze the clutch pads as the rear final drive oil has to be changed anyway and it's the ideal time to clean out the clutch and deglaze pads. You can do it yourself anytime, it's very easy. If a Burgman 400 is going to develop a judder it will normally happen before the 4k service. That's because new owners often, while learning how to handle the new bike, don't give it enough power when moving off and the clutch slips loads causing mucho dust and some heat that glazes the pads. It's the dust and glazing combined that causes the problem, making the transmission grab and the bike lurch away from the lights when you are powering it and then later as the miles build and when more dust develops, it judders a bit too. Once it's been cleaned out and deglazed, it will probably never happen again as you will know to give it more power when moving off and you will know to clean out the clutch every 7.5k and all will be well. Other smaller scoots don't suffer this judder or lurch quite so much as they usually have the belt and rollers changed very early along with the clutch cleaned out so it's never a problem. But on the Burgman, the belt and rollers don't need service until loads of miles are covered and therefore the clutch gets neglected. Surprisingly, it's not actually a fault. It's just what happens on this type of clutch and affects quite a few makes of bike with this type of CVT. I've even ridden the Honda Silverwing with a juddering clutch, but that was cured using the cleaning and deglazing technique. If you have problems, just tell your dealer and he should do it for you. If you wish, at some suitable time in the future, I can show you how to clean out and deglaze the clutch. It's very easy. It takes about 30 mins to do once you know what you are doing. I don't, so it take me about 45mins...

[halfabusa]

Thanks Pikey and Data! I think the juddering increased since i bought the burgman as i'm not used to launching with high revs and also became anal with fuel consumption trying to use it as smooth as possible. This resulted in me launching very carefully from stopping and therefore letting it slip more under low revs. I will change my style from now on and change the display so that it shows me the outside temp instead of consumption because the more i watch it, the more i obsess about getting more mpg out of the bike.

[pikey]

I followed a guy once on a 400 burgman on ride to wall run he had just had a replacement clutch when we were going in to drayton manor at near walking pace in a long queue his clutch was stinking nearly choked me Im sure he was just holding low revs instead of letting clutch bite and drop out and rolling a bit I thought it was me smell was that strong .

[pikey]

This is a helix but they all work the same shows clutch bell and variator in action

[Data]

Good vid Pikey!

Halfabusa, if the judder is getting worse then a quick session of revving the engine up to around the 4.5k mark with the brakes on just for two or three seconds at a time will clear some of the dust from the bell and make it smooth again for a while. Do that two or three times in succession and you should be ok. Remember not to hold the clutch slipping for more than two or three seconds though each time. You don't want too much heat generated.

[halfabusa]

This morning i tried to launch at 4500-5000rpm mark on every occasion i could and i have to say the launches were much more smoother. However there are occasions when i can't do it, such as coming off a side road to join a main road or filtering through stop start traffic. On those times i felt more vibration/judder. I'll stick to this method as much as i can and see how it goes, in the meantime i would still like to have a tinker and do a cleanup of the clutch dust, so let me know when you'll have some spare time (check your pm)

[pikey]

It may improve as you it deglazes its self

[Ralph]

On my L0 if you set of gently when the clutch gets to the point were it stops slipping
it tends to drag down the revs if those revs drop below about 3000 or so you can
sometimes feel a slight judder that I think is the firing pulses from the single cylinder
engine, just watch the rev counter as you set off and notice when you get the judder.
It only happens with me if space is a bit tight and you tend to let the revs drop if nothings
in the way you tend to keep the revs up and it's all smoothness, also parking it on the side
stand at night strangely seems to help, maybe the dust in the clutch tends to collect at
the edge of the drum due to the lean odd but it does have a effect. For best MPG accelerate
smartly up to speed then cruse mine seems best around 55/60 certainly better at that sort
of speed than 30.