Clutch slippage on '03 R1150GS Adventure?

[AbnCavScout]

I believe I need to adjust my clutch ... I have noticed on several occasions lately that when I am in 6th gear, and accelerate to pass, or hop through a changing traffic light, that the RPM's will go up without an immediate noticable increase in speed, followed by a matching decrease in RPM's and increase in speed. At the present, it's only happening under theses circumstances. Money is an issue for me at the moment, ... does anyone have advice on how I can try to fix this myself?

[rockosmith]

If your bike has a hydraulic clutch, as my '04 does, it has no adjustments. It sounds to me as if your clutch is either worn out or possibly contaminated by hydraulic (brake) fluid from a failed slave cylinder. This is a somewhat common issue. When the seals in the slave cyl fail, it allows brake fluid in the clutch circuit to run down the clutch pushrod and foul the clutch disc. The remedy, remove the transmission and replace the clutch disc and slave cyl. Fairly labor intensive but doable by anyone with fair mechanic skills. Good luck.

[atimebandit]

Well I too have the same problem. It started a couple of days ago. I topped off my clutch with Dot 4-5 fluid and now, slippage. What have you done to fix the problem because I too need help?

[AbnCavScout]

slippage ...

I had contacted Terry Ware at his shop in Birmingham (205.987.1928 1057 Commerce Blvd., Pelham, AL 35124 www.TerrysTwoWheel.com ), and he gave me an estimate of up to about $700.00 or more, because until he got it apart, he wouldn't be able to see what was causing the problem. His estimate was a worst case scenario for parts including a new cylinder and parts, and a new clutch and parts, and a lot of labor to basically separate the bike into front and rear halves to get into where the clutch is located. While I believe that Terry's estimate to about the lowest around, it was still a lot for me on my very limited budget that I am presently trying to survive on, so I figured I would just have to wait a bit before I could afford to have the work done. In the interim, - I made it a point to always down-shift into fifth-gear any time I needed to punch the throttle to quickly accelerate. That tended to bypass the slippage that was happening when I was previously doing the same without down-shifting. ... It has been awhile now, and it has been a long time since I have felt any slippage. Since I did nothing to fix anything, - I feel safe to assume that it didn't fix itself, - but if I had to make a wild guess, I would guess that somehow some fluid had gotten onto the clutch plate, and over time it has worn off, ... but that is only a guess, and for all I know, my bike might still suffer a total clutch failure some time in the future.

[atimebandit]

Thanks so much. I have been told the local BMW dealer here wants around $2000. I was thinking the worst. Trade, sell. Go back to H... No. Never mind. I can live with that. I'll repost the verdect.
Thanks

[thisisz2]

Thank you, I am also facing this issue with my GS