Hey all. Used to have a '96 F3, but it was totalled by an unattentive female. I now have a 99 R1, which is having clutch issues. I put up a thread on an r1 forum website, but its been up for 4 days now with no responses, so I figured I'd have better luck here since its really a generic clutch question, and I've gotten really great advice from this site. Sorry mods if this is not the place to post, but hopefully this thread will help out some other people with similar issues.

Went out for a ride last Friday, about 95 degrees outside.
Clutch was operating well for the first half hour. Pull up at a stoplight and put it in neutral to wait for the light cycle. When the light turns green, I pull the clutch in, shift into first, and the rpms drop and the bike lurches forward.

Get home and check out the adjustment. If I adjust the clutch cable to either of the extremes (extremely tight or a ton of slack), the bike either stalls or lurches forward, even with the lever pulled all the way in. Ordered a new cable, which came in today. Didn't fix the problem, which means it's an internal issue.

Drained the oil, opened up the clutch cover, and checked out the friction plates and steels, but nothing seems to jump out at me as being extremely worn. The friction plate basket has slight indentations from the teeth, but it doesn't seem like they are deep enough to cause the plates to get caught up. Also loosened the screws on the spring plate, which did nothing.

The only time the bike will roll while in gear is when all the friction and steel plates are removed.

So I'm pretty clueless. Is it the friction plates? Steels? Basket? Dirty/too thick Oil? Or is it because it's a Yamaha?

Thanks in advance!!

 

What sort of oil are you using? Is it specific 4 stroke bike oil, as you can get problems using the stuff for cars (lots of detergents & such) which can cause slippage.
I'll quote my Haynes for this bit: Worn Springs/Spring tension uneven. Clutch release mechanism defective/Warped or damaged plates. Clutch drum seized.
Loose clutch center nut.
I won't put sh*t on Yammies because I have owned a few & found them pretty decent bikes (They also make a good piano)

 

I'm pretty sure it was Motul 20W/50.
Just bought some Amsoil Synthetic 10W/40 motorcycle oil. Gonna pour that in and see if it helps any.

I took out the plates and everything a couple times already. Should the plates be stuck together when I pull them out? Or should they come out one by one?

Update: poured in the synthetic and let it warm up for 20 minutes. Clutch now semi disengages, but is now really jerky and gets caught up. Also loosened all the screws on the spring plate a quarter turn.