Formerfuzz

Thanks Goose. I believe you are correct on the main nut and locking tabs. As mentioned the nut was loose and the locking tabs were not folded over. This was most likely the root cause. Now that I know what I'm doing I will go back in and double check everything. As as far as the safety switches, this was just me be so absorbed in solving my clutch problem that it just slipped my mind. Again, thanks for everyone's help.

Holy Crap!!! Man do I feel like an idiot. The kickstand was down while I had it on the jack to work on it. Cranked it and went through all of the gears. Clutch works fine. ***Summary*** Clutch lever would not pull in and disengage. We determined that the clutch basket main nut was loose due to the locking tabs not being in place by previous owner or mechanic, allowing basket to move. tightened main nut, and folded locking tabs down. Discovered the Slave Cylinder piston had pushed out too far extending the push rods to the limit preventing the clutch lever from pulling in Replaced the Slave Cyclinder. Made sure push rods were depressed in fully when filling and bleeding the line. Dry tested the clutch operation so a visual confirmation it was working property (engine off) Replace covers with new gaskets, fill with oil MAKE SURE THE KICKSTAND IS UP! Crank it up let run a few minutes to allow oil to circulate completely Test the clutch and shifting Go riding Thanks to all who contributed to helping me solve my problem.

I doubled checked just now it is plugged in. I had a thought on the clutch basket. As mentioned earlier the large nut that holds it in place was loose. Is it possible the basket slipped out then back, but not properly seated? I would think that would create problems with the drive and clutch.

We have gone through the entire hydraulic clutch and I appears to be working, so we have eliminated that. New symptoms are when running in neutral, and try to put in gear with the clutch pulled in, it kills the engine as though the clutch was out. Also, unable to start while in gear with clutch pulled in. I get both oil and temp lights, but will not turn over. Will only start in neutral. Could it it be a transmission problem? It shifts from neutral to 1st okay just kills the engine. Thanks, Tim

Progress update above

***UPDATE*** I pulled out the push rod from the clutch side and can see the ball bearing at the end of the push rod from the slave cylinder. This morning 10/14 I have the clutch lever operating properly and have the Slave Cylinder operating the push rods through to the pressure plate. The push rod is only extending out about 1/8" when I pull the lever and that isn't enough to disengage the clutch. What is the normal travel distance to separate the pressure plate from the clutch plates. I also noticed the pressure plate spring will sometimes not depress the push rod back into place. Probably will order a new one. I believe Im making progress, just cant quite get there. Any help will be appreciated.

Replaced the Slave, bled the line and pumped it up. The same conditions exist that I had before I replaced it. I'm back to square 1 where the Clutch lever will not pull in and disengage the clutch. As Goose suggested I pulled the clutch cover off along with the pressure plate. The pics show what I see. The large nut was loose, about half way out. Please look at these and tell me what you see.

It may be an optical illusion. Here it is on my level. It's straight. My Slave Cylinder will deliver tomorrow. [ QUOTE= V7Goose;988337]Yes, it would take a LOT of pressure to push that rod to move the pressure plate - no way to do it by hand. I cannot really tell from your pictures, but something doesn't look quite right on the bottom left one - almost like the end of that rod is bent down? Be sure to carefully check the parts breakdown for all the specific parts and the order before you re-assemble. Goose

i slid the rod out from the Slave side so I'm hoping it is still in the hole on the clutch end. 😳

While waiting on the new Slave Cylinder, out of curiosity I tried to manually push the rod to see if I could move the clutch pressure plate. I'm guessing it is way too stiff for that, since it didn't budge.

Removed the upper and lower Hex Bolts and the Hydraulic Line, care to catch the brass washers. Moved the wire anchor and wires away. Riggled it until it dropped down and slid it out above the frame. Easier than I thought. Once out I checked the piston for movement and it was stuck. I popped it out and lubed it a bit and it moved in the housing but not freely. Probably the smart thing to do is replace it since its out. Goose, If it doesn't work and the clutch still will not disengage, I'll follow your direction on checking it.

The good news, if we can call it that, I was laid off 6 weeks ago from a company I was with for 16 years. Guess they figured it was my time to go along with several others. Reorganization they call it. Probably will force early retirement for me. So I have plenty of time to work on my bike and get back to riding. Ill update my progress

Thanks, I'll have to feel my way along. A bit scary for a non-mechanic, but I have faith that I'll conquer it.

Well it's was to satisfy my own mind anyway. I double checked and it does seem to have pressure and resistance at the lever. Guess I better start studying Slave Cylinder replacement. I welcome anyone with knowledge of this in my area to assist. It would be greatly appreciated.

YG, thanks for your help. I'm afraid I have gotten air back into the bleeder valve when checking it, so I may need to start over. It doesn't seem to be pressuring up now. The lever seems soft with no resistance. I read Condors posts on reverse bleeding, now I just need to comprehend what he is saying. Looks like I may be down for a while until I get this figured out. 😟

This morning I siphoned out the old fluid from the reservoir. The clutch lever works okay with no pressure. I cleaned out the resovoir and filled with fresh fluid and began bleeding until I got clear fluid. After pumping the lever to get the pressure back I had the same problem. The lever will only pull in about an inch and the clutch will not disengage. Obviously when attempting to put into gear it kills the motor. Yamagrl, I didn't check the master cylinder by your method. I'll go out and see if it works by opening the bleeder valve. **Clutch lever works freely with bleeder valve open and now closed. Actually feels very soft as I pull it. I hear clicking at the slave as I pull clutch lever in. clutch still not disengaging. So, are we thinking Slave Cylinder seized up and how difficult is it to replace? Goose used to help me with my 1999 RSV before I traded it for my 2009, but unfortunately for me he moved away from the DFW area. Thanks for the input.

Van River, thanks for the points of diagnosis to my problem. This gives me a place to start. I am hoping the master cylinder is my problem and I can get back to riding soon while we have great weather. I'll provide updates on my findings.

I Checked the resovoir and fluid is full but is very old and needs replaced, which is my first plan of action. Would that prevent the clutch lever from pulling in?

Over the last several rides I noticed the clutch lever wasn't able to pull all the back, disengaging the clutch. It finally would not disengage and I was unable to shift, resulting in getting it towed home. Is this a Clutch master cyclinder problem? Thanks, Tim

I'm sure you are happy that you figured that out. Now you need to fix the roof leak.

On my recently purchased 2009 RSV, someone has placed Green Tinted Tape over the lens that covers the Cruise Control Status Lights. The lens doesn't seem to be cracked or broken, so I can't understand why they did it. Maybe the lights were too bright at night for the previous owner. I would rather remove it unless it has a real purpose. I started to remove it, but thought I would check to see if some of you can tell me if you have ever heard of this before. See the pic.

Glad you made home okay

B.Miller, You mean like this?

Thanks Jim

Buddy, they were very nice to me. At first they hit me pretty hard, but I presented an offer with my trade and where I needed to be and they agreed to it. On top of that they put new tires and rear brake pads on it for me. Appreciate the offer as with Dj to sync my carbs but I better hang around the DFW area. Take Care.