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2008 R1 Clutch slipping: From minimal to severe real quick

4K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  Flexxx 
#1 ·
Saturday 8/22 I started noticing my clutch was slipping while full throttle above 9k. Adjusted it and realized it didn't make things any better. Went back to stock levers, still no change. Topped off oil and issue persists. Fast forward to today, riding into work was awful! over 7500 it would jump out to 11k. If you give it more than 40-50% throttle it'll slip. Down low is solid, if I go closed throttle to cracked throttle in 1st or second, I'll lift wheel

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a clutch but I then recalled when I was having a similar issue with my yzf 600r, all I did was replace clutch springs and I was fine. Admittedly, my 600 wasn't nearly as bad as this but it was definitely slipping a considerable amount.

Springs in question
 
#2 ·
How recently did you change to the shorties (before changing back to stock)? Was it performing fine before that? How many miles are on your bike? Didn't change oil type recently?

If you changed to shorties and started slipping shortly after, the cable was not adjusted properly. Should have some free movement in the clutch lever before it "grabs".

Can always take the cover and the pressure plate off and measure the springs and plates to see if they are within spec.
 
#3 ·
Bike has 13k miles, I'm the second owner and first owner said he'd done one or two track days + some pretty aggressive street riding. Shorty's have been on since last season, I did go from Yamalube to Castrol back in May since that's what I run in my 600 without issue. Clutch started showing signs of slipping towards the tail in of last month, realized my top adjustment was a little taught, put some play in it and we were better.

After putting my stock levers back on, I did a top and lower adjustment; left a decent amount of slack in the lower and some play in the top. It only continued to get worse. I think the cooler weather as of lately has only made the issue more apparent.
 
#5 ·
What exactly am I looking for? uneven wear? warped pressure plates? glazing on the fibers?

I plan on opening it up today; not particularly excited since it's going to be proper hot this afternoon. having a hard time locating a DIY for my year so I'll go by the diagrams I've found.
 
#11 ·
There IS a way to replace the clutch plates without even loosening the clutch cable. Takes SO much headache out of trying to get a clutch pull dialed back in.

Instead of loosening the clutch cable to remove it from the pivoting arm, just rotate the pivoting arm manually and slide the clutch cable out. Yes, this means you are manually rotating against the pressure of your clutch springs, so do it with an adjustable wrench that goes along the sides of the pivoting arm as leverage. Such a breeze. (for future reference obviously) :lol
 
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