Help! F800GS clutch slipping - stuck near Green River, UT

[CoydogSF]

Writing this from my iPhone outside World Famous Papa Joe's Stop & Go at the junction of 191 and I-70. Started this morning out of Moab on the TAT (Gemini Bridges Rd) and came to a steep, very sandy hill on my loaded F800GS. I immediately got bogged down and worked for 20 minutes or so to crawl my way up it. By the end of the effort, I had to let the clutch all the way out to get ANY power. Now even on the flat, it's slipping in all gears. I was able to limp it to the pavement and the 20 miles to I-70 where I'm letting it cool now.

Question: did I fry the clutch or might this resolve once it cools down? Any thoughts on anything to check? Oil bath clutch so no fluid or anything. Any help would be appreciated. I will subscribe to this thread and check email frequently.

Thanks!

[Boon Booni]

Originally Posted by CoydogSF

Writing this from my iPhone outside World Famous Papa Joe's Stop & Go at the junction of 191 and I-70. Started this morning out of Moab on the TAT (Gemini Bridges Rd) and came to a steep, very sandy hill on my loaded F800GS. I immediately got bogged down and worked for 20 minutes or so to crawl my way up it. By the end of the effort, I had to let the clutch all the way out to get ANY power. Now even on the flat, it's slipping in all gears. I was able to limp it to the pavement and the 20 miles to I-70 where I'm letting it cool now.

Question: did I fry the clutch or might this resolve once it cools down? Any thoughts on anything to check? Oil bath clutch so no fluid or anything. Any help would be appreciated. I will subscribe to this thread and check email frequently.

Thanks!

Have you tried loosening the clutch cable at the clutch lever?

[doubleoh7]

our bikes like to be shifted quickly. how do you know it's slipping. i thought my bike slipped as well, but learned it was how i was letting the clutch out. i learned from another that if you have the bike in 6th at 50mph and go wot if the bike doesn't take off and accelerate like it should you have a slipping problem. once i tried this the bike seemed to go just fine. i talked to the dealer who said the friction zone is toward the first couple micro-inches of pulling the clutch in thus if you throttle to quickly as you go thru the gears and don't dump the clutch fast enough, it will slip, but only because you are not out of the friction zone. does that help? let me know.

[CoydogSF]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses.

Gramps: I will take a look at whether I can loosen anything at the lever but it seems like it's more than just a tight cable.

doubleoh7: It's definitely slipping. I've ridden this bike 2500 miles already on this trip and know the feeling of where the power is. The last 20 miles on the freeway I could keep it above 50 in 4th, 5th or 6th. Twist the throttle and it would just rev.

[doubleoh7]

well, since i can't be much help in the way of knowledge. what do you need? the closest resources I have are in Salt Lake City. I have a couple guys riding your way tomorrow morning, kind of. They are due to stop in St. George or shortly after. Give me directions on what would help and I'll do whatever I can to help out.

[CoydogSF]

Well, after letting it cool a while, now I can let the clutch out all the way in first and it won't move OR stall. Now that's bad... So, roadside assistance called and bike will go to the dealer in Grand Junction in the am. Hopefully, they can get me back on the road quickly. Bike will be stored at the tow co in Moab overnight so looks like I'll hitch a ride down there with it and have me a margarita on a patio somewhere tonight. Follow to Grand J tomorrow.

Thanks so much for the input and offers of help. Looks like there was no "virtual" solution to this one. Just an old fashioned flat bed truck... This bike has been a bit of a headache for me. Then why do I love it so much?

[doubleoh7]

glad you got it worked out. here's to getting back on the road soon

[M N B]

Dave, same thing happened to me out in the middle of freaking nowhere at 3600 miles. I was able to get to civilization by letting out the cable adjuster on the tranny ALL the way. It still slipped like mad, but I was able to get just enough grip to climb the last couple hills.

The clutch was fried. They took 5 weeks to replace it, but I expect yours will go much faster. I was the first case I know of with this problem. You are the third or fourth I've heard of.

Clutches are burning out rapidly and far too early. Are the springs loose? Are the clutches hard to adjust properly so they slip a bit all the time? Are the clutch plates just plain crap? I dunno. But it doesn't seem to be an isolated incident anymore.

While there is less clutch wear when you shift quickly an off road bikes needs a clutch that can be slipped. Sometimes you HAVE to go 7-10mph and that's too slow in first without slipping the clutch.

[Dieselboy]

Originally Posted by M N B

...But it doesn't seem to be an isolated incident anymore...Sometimes you HAVE to go 7-10mph and that's too slow in first without slipping the clutch.

So fellas, were both of you running stock gear ratios?

MNB, I've not followed any of the clutch issues, do you know if any of the others were running stock or lowered ratios?

I'm not an off roader, but with this bike I wanted to be able to try TAT-like exploration. Do we have an issue in the F8 community with poor clutch quality or are we pushing the envelop with fully loaded "off-road" adventures. Not an accusation, more of a quest for enlightenment from my own ignorance.

BTW, Coydog, hope you situation is resolved quickly.

[WoodWorks]

Originally Posted by Dieselboy

I'm not an off roader, but with this bike I wanted to be able to try TAT-like exploration. Do we have an issue in the F8 community with poor clutch quality or are we pushing the envelop with fully loaded "off-road" adventures. Not an accusation, more of a quest for enlightenment from my own ignorance.

I was carrying a two-week load, including tools and spare parts, and slipping the clutch (on purpose) frequently on my ~2,500 mile ride down the Divide. I've now got 13,000 miles on my F800GS, and zero issues with the clutch. If it is as issue with these bikes, then it's not affecting everyone's bike.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, CoydogSF.

David

[M N B]

Originally Posted by Dieselboy

MNB, I've not followed any of the clutch issues, do you know if any of the others were running stock or lowered ratios?

I'm 98% sure all cases I've heard of were stock gear ratios.

[The Griz]

I had the clutch basket come apart inside the engine.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=459539

After that was fixed, I've had no issues with the clutch since. Knock on wood.

Sounds like your clutch plates are burning up to me. Or a clutch cable or lever problem. I'm betting on burnout though. If the clutch assembly itself was going to fail then it would be very abrupt and catastrophic.

[CoydogSF]

Hey All,

Thanks for the input and support. So, yes, I was running stock gearing, loaded for a three week trip, had been carrying a passenger the few days before, and was doing some rough off-roaring including sections of the TAT and the White Rim Trail (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=487054 - a few days behind on the updates). Definitely pushing the bike to its limits but also exactly what they say it's designed for.

So as of my last post, I got trailered to Grand Junction where they called a tech in on his day off to determine that they needed to have a new clutch plate overnighted. Of course, the next day (Tues) they realized I needed springs as well and were having trouble locating them. Just as I was weighing my options for getting home in time for an important wedding on Friday, my riding partner who I'd sent on to enjoy the rest of the trip texted saying that the transmission on his KTM 990 had seized and he was stuck in Fillmore, UT. Within 45 minutes, I was in a 14' UHaul on the phone to GJ BMW telling them I was on the way to get the bike. I picked my buddy and his KTM up this morning and as I type this now, we're just outside of SLC and 10 hours from home. Both Scuderia and BMW of San Francisco are expecting deliveries from the UHaul tomorrow morning.

Not exactly how we pictured the trip going, but it definitely falls into the category of "adventure."

[WoodWorks]

Well, FTFF! That sucks, CoydogSF. Here's hoping they get you patched up quickly, and that the wedding you're going to make it to is a whole lot more fun than this trip was!

David

[CoydogSF]

Originally Posted by WoodWorks

Well, FTFF! That sucks, CoydogSF. Here's hoping they get you patched up quickly, and that the wedding you're going to make it to is a whole lot more fun than this trip was.

David

No doubt the wedding will be great but would be hard for it to beat the trip. Yeah we spent sometime in dealerships and had to "workaround" some isssues but we also rode our motorcycles from SF to CO on maybe 40% dirt then rode halfway back through 13,000 ft passes and incredible alpine scenery (check out the pics if you haven't already and more to come in the next couple days). Frustrating at times for sure, but definitely inspiring in the larger proportion!

Thanks again for the good wishes.