Hey guys; My dealer has been no help so I hoped someone might have some ideas. I've got a 08 990 I bought this spring. It has about 5k with about 3.5k offroad (mainly fire roads and 4wd trails) on it. It also has a little tight single track climbing on it. ( read as - hard clutch use from a beginner.) My problem is a occassional bucking/surging comming off a stop for a few (1-2)seconds. The engine is not sputtering or bogging so my assumption is clutch/gearbox related. I happens randomly but seems to be getting worse and does not seem to be related to heat/grade/engine speed. It seems like by pulling in the clutch and trying a second time all is well...usually. It has gotten to the point of not wanting to take it into city traffic because my confidence rolling off a red light is getting low. I know my description is not great but I can't think of another way to describe things. Any thoughts?
Perhaps you answered your own question (hard clutch use for a biginner) Start there. Pull your clutch pack, have a look for burnt drive plates. worn frictions, spring fee length. Measure the stack. Prolly wouldn't hurt to peek at the clutch slave and jet as well.
If it's like mine, your clutch is dry and grabbing. Clean the oil jet and you should be OK until it gets clogged again. About every 5 or 10k miles.
Might wanna read up on the HOW about clutch retaining bolts coming loose as well. Couldn't hurt. Try the jet cleaning first.
+1 also had it happen once, good clean by the dealer (it was still under warrenty) and the problem was fixed.
