09 Clutch problem

I've just had the first service done on my 09 R1. The clutch is now slipping with pull away in 1st gear. It's especially bad when the bike is cold and gradually gets better when the bike warms up but it doesn't completely go away. Yamalube 20W40 oil was used. The dealer will be checking it out on tuesday. Anyone else experience this problem?

How much free play does the lever have?

20/40 is damn thick oil isnt it ? for a 09 I mean

20/40 is damn thick oil isnt it ? for a 09 I mean Interesting that he's using 20W40, since Yamalube isn't available in that grade any longer. About a year ago, Yamalube stopped offering 10W30 and 20W40. Instead, they now offer 10W40 and 20W50.

Interesting enough the dealer told me after the first service that the clutch lever didn't have enough free play. It now has plenty but still doing it, hopefully i haven't burned the plates. Regarding the oil, the owners manual recommends a grade of 20W40 for the running in period, but i'll be switching to Motul 300V (10W40) soon.

I've got the exact same problem with mine, I noticed it around the 400mile mark (its booked in this thursday for the first service) with D-Mode in standard then its only noticable when the engine is cold. with D-mode in nutter mode (a.k.a A) then its really noticeable when pulling off hot or cold, infact its awfull, it kangaroo hops (and makes a nasty grinding noise). Im never gonna win any Traffic light Grand Prix with it as it is :dunno I'll see what the main dealer says thursday. I have tried taking up the free play in the clutch, mainly because the clutch was bitting right from the start. It didnt make any noticable difference!

Got the bike back from the dealer yesterday, they opened the clutch and couldn't find anything wrong with it. They said they'll find out from Yamaha if they're aware of any clutch problem. Another thing i noticed was a strange knocking noise from the engine when cold, when it warms up it's gone. Dealer said it could be due to lack of oil to cam chain tensioner when engine is cold... Snake_uk please keep me posted when yours gets back from the dealer.

man this isn't good to hear from either... I couldn't imagine smoking the plates already! heavy is used for break in but man that's thick..... the knocking at cold is not good to hear either, should go away very quickly....

I took it in for a service today, just got of the phone with the Yamaha Dealers Mechanic.... He's stripped the clutch down and found that the plates are dis-coloured (colored for the Americans :) ) apparently this points to/gives evidence to the clutch slipping any way hes put a claim in to Yamaha for a set of new clutch plates, I've just got to wait for them to be delivered from Japan and re-book my bike back in for the work to be carried out. Yamaha technical say that this is the first case that they have been made aware of :dunno I hope it isn't going to be an on going problem with the bike. I'll let you know more when i've picked the bike up and spoke more in-depth to the dealers

I've just had the first service done on my 09 R1. The clutch is now slipping with pull away in 1st gear. It's especially bad when the bike is cold and gradually gets better when the bike warms up but it doesn't completely go away. Yamalube 20W40 oil was used. The dealer will be checking it out on tuesday. Anyone else experience this problem? Yes I have 350 km on my 09 R1 and unless I leave with no revs at all the clutch grabs and grinds off the line . Dont know if I want to wait for the first service to get it looked at . I am also going to put a 14 tooth front sprocket on as 1st gear is way too high. Frankly I am a bit pissed since clutch problems is the reason why I traded my GSXR on the R 1 Here in Aussie land we just received the first batch of R 1 s and I picked up mine 20 Mar 09 I hope is only a early production glitch.

I've just had the first service done on my 09 R1. The clutch is now slipping with pull away in 1st gear. It's especially bad when the bike is cold and gradually gets better when the bike warms up but it doesn't completely go away. Yamalube 20W40 oil was used. The dealer will be checking it out on tuesday. Anyone else experience this problem? Just hand my R1 looked at under warranty and the dealer said that the problem stems from too much lubricant being installed during assembly at the factory ( grease he said) contaminating the clutch pack. He said they have also had the same problem with the R6s They said all they did was to strip the clutch pack and wash it and reinstall it . I also had a new front sprocket (1 tooth less ) installed and the clutch is now working fine. Gearing is much better too Really pulls much harder now too.

Im still waiting to have my new clutch fitted, the dealears have got all of the parts appart from 1 O-Ring :dunno

Ive noticed a horrible (burning) smell coming from my 09. It's the clutch. When I engage the clutch there's a weird noise coming from the case. Then right after I smell it. I don't pop the clutch or anything so I wonder how the dealer will look @ this. He told me they don't do clutches under warrantee ne more?... I can't afford a new slipper clutch! They are like $500 haha

I've just picked mine up from the dealers, i've got another 500 mile running in period before I can unlease the beast!! One thing i noticed straight away is that there is more travel in the clutch lever before I pull off. Previously, with the clutch pulled all the way in, I only had to let it out a little way and I was off. it seems o.k at the moment, they have told me to stay out of `A' mode while Im running in. its a bank Holiday week end in the u.k so I should have it `run in' again by next week :)

Ive noticed a horrible (burning) smell coming from my 09. It's the clutch. When I engage the clutch there's a weird noise coming from the case. Then right after I smell it. I don't pop the clutch or anything so I wonder how the dealer will look @ this. He told me they don't do clutches under warrantee ne more?... I can't afford a new slipper clutch! They are like $500 haha I've never had a problem with any warrenty work with yamaha. We get 2 years unlimited mileage in the U.K

ive got 1200 miles on my uk 09 and no slipping at all i ride it hard in std mode and its been fine , one thing it does do is if you slip it a bit to move away from a stand still it just grabs a little but when on the move its perfect , im thinking of droping one of the front sprocket , any one want to let me know what they think if they have done it ?? Al

I've just picked mine up from the dealers, i've got another 500 mile running in period before I can unlease the beast!! One thing i noticed straight away is that there is more travel in the clutch lever before I pull off. Previously, with the clutch pulled all the way in, I only had to let it out a little way and I was off. it seems o.k at the moment, they have told me to stay out of `A' mode while Im running in. its a bank Holiday week end in the u.k so I should have it `run in' again by next week :) Nice. Yea the uk doesn't have any of the emissions bs we have to have. I read somewhere it's like a 10hp differnce? But any way... Yea I'll have to have it looked at. U don't HAVE to stay out of "A" mode, they say that to cover you. Because it's easier to get up in rpms faster in "A" mode. Yea I've got over 5,000 miles on mine already. So I'll be 1 of the 1st to see all of yamahas imperfections.... Unfortunately.

Had same problem on my UK 09 R1 today. I first noticed the clutch lever felt different. Then it was very strange, it was like the clutch was always on! throttle on, revs go on and the rear tyre doesnt go anywhere. so basically i think the clutch was heated up to the point where it expanded and stuck on!? i'm not technical! anyway, pulled over, looked down (first time in a few mins), and the temp guage is upto 115 and the fans going mad! let it cool down to 90, then took it easy a fast road to get some air into it. let it cool down furtherfor a few hours, then adjusted the free play on the clutch lever, seems better now. but i'm now worried that the over-temperature has damaged the bike?! help! could it be worth draining the oil out and putting some new oil in? its done about 1200 miles, and had its first service at about 650 about 3 weeks ago. could this be incorrect oilt hey've put in? can someone recommend good oil to put in? and how can i tell if the clutch is damaged. can someone recommend a new better quality clutch that i could get put in? sorry, but i'm a n00b to bikes! been riding a few years, had new r6, 07 and 08, now gone fo 09 r1. regards phil

Don't you guys check your clutch free play before you go for a ride. I have as of yet to "burn" up a clutch. Please make sure you understand what free play is and stop destroying your bikes!!!

well its lesson learnt for me. i presumed it was how i should be seeing it was serviced a few hundred miles ago. so that little adjusted screw on the cable near the lever can work lose? i think i need to also adjust the nut near the clutch to get more free play out of it. if i am looking down on the right hand side of the bike where thecable connects to the clutch, am i right in thinking their should be about 10mmof movement with my left hand before i see any movement whatsoever down near the actual clutch and the bracket/metal that cable pulls?

Don't you guys check your clutch free play before you go for a ride. I have as of yet to "burn" up a clutch. Please make sure you understand what free play is and stop destroying your bikes!!! I'd expect yamaha to have set the bike up right in the first place to be honest! This is the first bike i'v ever had a clutch problem with. It never felt right from the start. It seems ok now that the clutch has been replaced so I dont think that the problem was ever the free play that you could adjust at the lever.

Had same problem on my UK 09 R1 today. I first noticed the clutch lever felt different. Then it was very strange, it was like the clutch was always on! throttle on, revs go on and the rear tyre doesnt go anywhere. so basically i think the clutch was heated up to the point where it expanded and stuck on!? i'm not technical! anyway, pulled over, looked down (first time in a few mins), and the temp guage is upto 115 and the fans going mad! let it cool down to 90, then took it easy a fast road to get some air into it. let it cool down furtherfor a few hours, then adjusted the free play on the clutch lever, seems better now. but i'm now worried that the over-temperature has damaged the bike?! help! could it be worth draining the oil out and putting some new oil in? its done about 1200 miles, and had its first service at about 650 about 3 weeks ago. could this be incorrect oilt hey've put in? can someone recommend good oil to put in? and how can i tell if the clutch is damaged. can someone recommend a new better quality clutch that i could get put in? sorry, but i'm a n00b to bikes! been riding a few years, had new r6, 07 and 08, now gone fo 09 r1. regards phil Dont mess with it, take it back to the dealers, its under warranty its their problem to sort out not yours :dunno

yea philisee I just had that problem last night. I had to have my wife tow me behind my truck on the freeway for like 10 miles lol. anyways, im going to take it back to the dealer and see what the ****. Its covered under the factory warranty right?

its disappointing to say the least, unless of course, it is JUST the cable free play which doesnt seem to be very constant!? im going to take mine to the dealers today and get them to take a look. I adjusted the free play on the lever, and on the side by the clutch last night and it seemed better. but not taking any chances, just to get it logged by yamaha really, in case in a few thousand miles the clutch goes, and they open it up and say its burnt! never had this problem on either r6, never needed to touch the clutch adjuster.

I've got the same issue, this is my first R1 so I'm not 100% sure what they are like but the clutch slips a fair bit and it doesn't seem to matter if the bike is cold or hot. It grinds also and rattles like hell when I pull in the clutch lever but stops once it's in gear. I've tried adjusting the cable but it makes no difference. Have to note that all this started happening after the bike's first service, before that it was a great bike to ride and had no problems at all.

I think its more to due with the factory slipper, or torque limiter set up. Its like the busas and gixxer 1ks and what not. I drag race and after about 3-4 hard lauches it pretty much was worthless. I would let the clutch out and it would grab and jerk, then sometimes be fine. And it was making some sweet noises. I really didnt like the way it felt from the moment i picked it up at the dealer with 1 mile on it. After a few more passes it got pretty bad. So what i came up with is, if you ride these new r1s hard (lauching-drag racing) or it sounds like even normal riding, this will be a big issue fast. Im in the process of getting a new hub and what not made and it should be avaiable soon. I will let you guys know how it works out on my bike.

I have the similar issue. Was wondering if you had the bike checked by the dealer yet? Yes I have 350 km on my 09 R1 and unless I leave with no revs at all the clutch grabs and grinds off the line . Dont know if I want to wait for the first service to get it looked at . I am also going to put a 14 tooth front sprocket on as 1st gear is way too high. Frankly I am a bit pissed since clutch problems is the reason why I traded my GSXR on the R 1 Here in Aussie land we just received the first batch of R 1 s and I picked up mine 20 Mar 09 I hope is only a early production glitch.

nope, the malfunction of the clutch is simply due to oil and temperature... when the bike is cold it start releasing too early, so you don't have to adjust it otherwise you finish smoking the clutch. you need only to let warm the bike and engage the clutch few times, after that it starts to work normally.you need only to break in the clutch in order to avoid this problem, after changing the oil the trouble disappear and the clutch engage will be costant so the freeplay. never attemp to adjust freeplay on a cold clutch ...

I have 2200 km on mine,had it in my local shop already for the clutch was slipping (weird)..they though it was tension so they adjusted it.It worked fine for a few more miles ,now its back to slipping...Is this a warranty issue?Has anyone from Canada come across this !!!!

I've got a Canadian bike with 2200 km on it. No clutch issues, yet.

mine also will slip itself when its cold...especially when i launc it at the first time in the morning....i only disengage the clutch a little bit, but the bike will like jump forward a lot....after that the clutch will disengange normally....i found this is like my old k6 gsxr1000 clutch issue, which i change the spring washer then cured it...

A big part of it is the factory's attempt at there torque limiter, or slipper style hub. There lack of oiling doesn't help either. I can promise this first hand since racing it, and disassembly of the clutch basket. There is a fix on the way i can assure and it will be here very soon!!

A big part of it is the factory's attempt at there torque limiter, or slipper style hub. There lack of oiling doesn't help either. I can promise this first hand since racing it, and disassembly of the clutch basket. There is a fix on the way i can assure and it will be here very soon!! Care to elaborate? They have been doing back limiter clutches since the 06 LE. The oiling deficiency has been noted for a while, but the problems described here are not consistent through the past years of slipper clutches.

will 08 plates fit in the 09...cant get 09 plates "BO"...im told they are the same just no jetter springs....

Its the same issue say you would have on something like my 08 busa. The stock torque limter makes it near impossible for launching at a drag strip, or even with playing hard on the streets. Now with this new r1 it is by far the worst i have felt and after about three passes at the track it was already a huge issue. I noticed it felt weird from the first time i got it from the dealer. I am working with a very reputable company on this issue to solve the problem, and will be passing it on to all my fellow 09 r1 riders very very soon. The prototype is finished and i will be testing the new set up this week. Pics and in depth descriptions soon to follow !

I live in Las Vegas and purchased the 09 R1 in April. The past 2 months I have had the same issue with the clutch slipping in first gear only while the bike is cold - brought it back to the place it was purchased from only for them to tell me that everything was ok. It got to the point that I had to bring it back last week only for them to now tell me that there is a fault in the 09 clutch where no fluid getting to the clutch at all - bone dry (and there was another 09 R1 there with the same issue in 5th). What I am not understanding is it appears that this has been happening since the 09's came out - why hasnt there been a recall to have this fixed yet? Whats even funnier is Yamaha is shipping out the new clutch to Ride Now Powersports, but they are not paying them for the labor. Obviously Yamaha is waiting for someone to kill theirselve regarding this before anything gets done. Can you say class action lawsuit?

well its lesson learnt for me. i presumed it was how i should be seeing it was serviced a few hundred miles ago. so that little adjusted screw on the cable near the lever can work lose? i think i need to also adjust the nut near the clutch to get more free play out of it. if i am looking down on the right hand side of the bike where thecable connects to the clutch, am i right in thinking their should be about 10mmof movement with my left hand before i see any movement whatsoever down near the actual clutch and the bracket/metal that cable pulls? read the manual, it shd be around 1-1.5cms ,use a scale to measure it

Just bought my 09 R1 three weeks ago. Add me to the list of "what the hell was that?" clutches. On cold starts, a huge growl and grab. When warm, less intense, but I still feel completely insecure about power starts because it is unpredictable when my slipper clutch will turn into a "grabber" clutch. With all of the incredible torque from that motor... any grab is too much;-) My dealer told me to just ride the hell out of it. If it burns up, they will cover the repair under warranty. Okay, but what about racing starts? My first track day with my new bike is next week. I will know after that if I can learn to trust it. All bad said about the clutch, this is the most incredible machine on the face of the earth. I love my '09 R1!!!!

Its the same issue say you would have on something like my 08 busa. The stock torque limter makes it near impossible for launching at a drag strip, or even with playing hard on the streets. Now with this new r1 it is by far the worst i have felt and after about three passes at the track it was already a huge issue. I noticed it felt weird from the first time i got it from the dealer. I am working with a very reputable company on this issue to solve the problem, and will be passing it on to all my fellow 09 r1 riders very very soon. The prototype is finished and i will be testing the new set up this week. Pics and in depth descriptions soon to follow ! It has been a while, k8busa. Have you had any luck fixing this? I am really hate this clutch!

Interesting enough the dealer told me after the first service that the clutch lever didn't have enough free play. It now has plenty but still doing it, hopefully i haven't burned the plates. Regarding the oil, the owners manual recommends a grade of 20W40 for the running in period, but i'll be switching to Motul 300V (10W40) soon. Before you pour the motul in check out this site and give them a call: www.gopurepower.com (http://www.gopurepower.com) Ask for Kelly and tell him glen said to call. PLease do not all call him at once. He may surprise you with some information. Good luck.

Thread has died, and so did my clutch. Just got it back from the dealer today. Repair was covered, parts only. It cost me $83 US under warranty. Service guys told me Yamaha says to soak friction plates in oil for a day before installing them. I hope they did that, but it seems excessive.

Well it seems im very close to making it a dependable set up. I have the clutch mod done and tested from Brocks Performance and if you have an 09 i would put this in no questions asked. I couldnt make it 5 passes before it would fry my clutch and now its 1000 times better and it was very jerky before in daily driving and now its alot smoother. I went 4 races with alot of passes on it was still good. I also tested out the oil line for Mcoy motorsports on the 09 and it seems to making a big difference for the oiling issues and the clutch being terrible on overnight start ups. Aside from that since i drag race i tried cycle concepts drag pack and man does that thing grip, its hard to get used to. The old girl was one round away from taking me to a final this weekend in a huge field and i broke out so its all working !! Any questions feel free to ask !

Well it seems im very close to making it a dependable set up. I have the clutch mod done and tested from Brocks Performance and if you have an 09 i would put this in no questions asked. I couldnt make it 5 passes before it would fry my clutch and now its 1000 times better and it was very jerky before in daily driving and now its alot smoother. I went 4 races with alot of passes on it was still good. I also tested out the oil line for Mcoy motorsports on the 09 and it seems to making a big difference for the oiling issues and the clutch being terrible on overnight start ups. Aside from that since i drag race i tried cycle concepts drag pack and man does that thing grip, its hard to get used to. The old girl was one round away from taking me to a final this weekend in a huge field and i broke out so its all working !! Any questions feel free to ask ! what were the mods that were made to the clutch ? mines been holding up with no problems so far. and it has a little over 2100 miles on it. i dont really go to tracks so it only sees the occasional hard launches here and there to play around but this clutch issue worries me... definitely not made of money lol its taking me forever to save up for an exhaust and other goodies...

I know the feeling, im still trying to figure out how to grow a money tree lol ! Basically the clutch mod eliminates the factory torque limiter-slipper set up. Im my case not only has it made the clutches last, it has made the street driving alot smoother and just alot better to drive. Its super easy to do and takes maybe 45 minutes tops to install.

o cool it sounds simple enough its good to know of a good fix for after the warrenty runs out lol. does taking that out have any adverse effect on the slipper clutch itself or will it still work like its supposed to.... and yea ive been trying to figure out how to grow a money tree myself lol