Hi all First thread please be gentle… My 1997 1200 Trophy has been off the road for 12 months and now the clutch won’t work. The feel is fine at the lever and I’ve tried bleeding the lever. A quick search suggests getting the engine hot to free the plates up. Any comments on this and also how to stop it happening again. The oil is over due a change. Thanks Kev
The plates will have dried at the top and stuck together, not sure if theres a short cut or if you have to drain the oil ,go in and remove, soak, and return, the plates.
You have 2 choices: Disassembly Or The ‘Don’t try this at home’ method. The latter consists of doing the required oil change and thoroughly warming the engine. In the latter stages pump the clutch lever to see if it frees off. In the event it is still stuck you either need open straight traffic free road.......or a brick wall. The open road method is best on a slight downgrade where you can engage gear THEN start the motor and pull in the clutch and bang open the throttle. If that does not free the clutch then throttle off and apply the rear brake violently. The brick wall method is identical but performed on the centre stand with the front wheel hard against an immobile object (like a wall). It is my preferred method as it is safer and easier to start up in gear and by only using the rear brake you avoid turning yourself into a missile.....Remember clutch in!
Sounds a bit brutal and risking doing damage? I think I’d dismantle personally, have you chaps used this shock method successfully?
Yes. You need to manoeuvre onto the centre stand with forks turned then swivel everything into straight alignment and buttressed as DD identified. You also want plenty of tyre to floor clearance so a billet of wood/plywood may be needed under the stand feet. Ditto make use of any buttress rather than single brick skin! I have also done it with cars in storage where cast iron flywheels can easily corrode and clamp onto the friction and pressure plates. The key thing is maximum jerk and wet clutches tend not to stick so hard for having been oiled. One free they polish up quickly with no long term issues.
There are obvious variations. If you have a steep slope (& friends!) you can remove the plugs, engage gear and freewheel downhill then clutch in and stamp on rear brake. Not sure I would try in on a Trophy due to its weight/bulk......not a natural ‘glider’!
Hi all Thank you for all the advice. I have got lucky – following other advice on here I let the engine get hot (fan came on) and it start working fine again! Thanks again Kev
Quick update. I have had the same problem on a 1200cc 1992 bike - getting the engine hot cured it again.
