M50 Clutch

[matuck]

Ok so I have had a few tales to post but havn't been to busy riding.

Well I think my clutch went out on my bike. So I have a little time.

Riding home from work the other night at about 12:30 am going down I-75. Pull the clutch in to change gears let it out and there is no power to the wheel. I make sure the bike is in gear but still nothing. Engine revs. So I get my bike to the stealer, and they are trying to tell me fibers in the clutch are burned up(in this case not covered under warranty). They havn't looked at the bike yet, but thats what they are suspecting. This is an 07 M50 Limited with only about 2700 miles on it. Anyone else had this problem?

[mrcandyman]

Haven't heard of anybody having the problem. Honestly, if that's the case then I'm willing to bet you're riding the clutch or it wasn't adjusted properly from the factory so it was constantly slipping.

[matuck]

Don't really ride the clutch alot. So I'm really not gonna be happy if its something the dealer didnt set it up correctly. I guess I will cross that bridge when I get there.

[davecrash]

With that low miles it's one of two thing.
You riding the clutch as MRC says or a defect with the bike. I would fight the stealer to fix it free under warrenty.

[matuck]

well I guess my game plan is they will fix it free or they can have it back.

[mflueras]

Originally Posted by matuck

well I guess my game plan is they will fix it free or they can have it back.

...yeah, that's not really a good strategy. You should probably try talking politely and nicely but firmly with those who make decisions at the dealership. If you do your homework and make a good case for your bike to be fixed under warranty you'll more than likely get it done. If not with the selling dealer then with another Suzuki dealer that wants your business. Worst case tell them you'll contact the manufacturer and do so, contact BBB, file complaints with the state agencies for consumer protection, contact an attorney. Giving the bike back after you signed a security agreement does not hurt anyone but you and your credit rating, and to a significantly lesser degree the finance company. It is highly improbable that the finance company will pressure the dealer into repairing your bike just because you won't make your payments or voluntarily give your bike up. Just my 2... Good luck.

[chinard]

ok, question..
who have you been taking it to for service. In particlar the break in inspection?
If you have been taking it to the stealer then they are 100% on the hook for any bad adjustments that may have caused a clutch failure.
If you took it to a 3rd party then it is going to get messy IF they prove that the clutch failure was caused by bad adjustments. In this case you may have to take it up with the mechanic that did the service.

IMO best strategy is to go through suzuki customer service (not the stealer) and explain the situation. Hopefully they will see that this is a low mileage bike and should not have this problem unless something was severely defective with the bike.

[matuck]

I purchased the bike from a different dealer, but the dealer that has it now did my break in service. It has not come time for any other service yet.

[M50-ish]

I think I have read in this forum before about clutches doing that when they were out of adjustment. It's a simple adjustment to get it working again. There's a link to a service manual also somewhere in these boards that shows how to adjust it.

Doesn't make sense that a clutch will be fine one moment and then suddenly gone completely the next if it was worn friction discs. Seems to me they would start slipping and then get gradually worse before they gave out completely.

Also I would imagine if the clutch was fried you should be able to smell it in the oil.

[ace4aday]

I agree with chinard. Talk to Suzuki directly and they might be able to apply a little pressure to the stealership. Also, this kind of feedback can help Suzuki track the issue and see if it is something worthy of a recall down the road. This type of failure can be extremely dangerous to the rider, and if it's a known issue, Suzuki could be held liable. Either way, it's not good for their reputation to push responsibility to the rider if it's a design flaw or just a misadjustment by the stealership. My $.02

[nativenyerintexas]

I picked up my M50 on June 5th 08 and now have over 2400 miles on it. I noticed that when I ride it for a while the clutch acts funny. It's a lot harder to shift gears once the bike is hot. I have to bang it into gear. When it's cold it slips into gear just like a hot knife through a stick of butter. Is this normal? Also, it's popped out of gear a few times in second down to neutral and when shifting from first to second it goes into neutral first. All this happens when the bike has been running for a while but acts normall for the first 30 minutes or so. Is this something I should tell the dealer about? I tried searching the threads and couldn't find anything about what I'm experiencing.

[05HDRAM]

Originally Posted by nativenyerintexas

I picked up my M50 on June 5th 08 and now have over 2400 miles on it. I noticed that when I ride it for a while the clutch acts funny. It's a lot harder to shift gears once the bike is hot. I have to bang it into gear. When it's cold it slips into gear just like a hot knife through a stick of butter. Is this normal? Also, it's popped out of gear a few times in second down to neutral and when shifting from first to second it goes into neutral first. All this happens when the bike has been running for a while but acts normall for the first 30 minutes or so. Is this something I should tell the dealer about? I tried searching the threads and couldn't find anything about what I'm experiencing.

I never had any problems like this, other than the occassional neutral from 1st to 2nd. That is my fault for not pulling up with enough force. Did you check the clutch adjustment ? It is not very difficult, you will spend more time taking the covers off.

[Pinhead78]

Originally Posted by nativenyerintexas

I picked up my M50 on June 5th 08 and now have over 2400 miles on it. I noticed that when I ride it for a while the clutch acts funny. It's a lot harder to shift gears once the bike is hot. I have to bang it into gear. When it's cold it slips into gear just like a hot knife through a stick of butter. Is this normal? Also, it's popped out of gear a few times in second down to neutral and when shifting from first to second it goes into neutral first. All this happens when the bike has been running for a while but acts normall for the first 30 minutes or so. Is this something I should tell the dealer about? I tried searching the threads and couldn't find anything about what I'm experiencing.

I have never had any problems with my clutch, hot or cold. Never noticed any difference or change when it warms up. My clutch is 3 1/2 years old and still working like a champ!

[Mario]

Yeah me too, not a problem seems like you need to do some more sleuthing

[MotoJPizzle]

I have had a noob issue i think (me being the noob) that when I upshift to the next gear, that upon releasing the clutch its kicks it back to the previous gear.

Shift from 2nd to 3rd, release clutch, pops back to 2nd.


anyone have this happen? Should I be worried?

[Ray Nielsen]

The owner's manual has DETAILED instructions for adjusting the THREE adjustments for the clutch. Many shifting problems are due to misadjusted clutches. Get it right and you'll be amazed at the ease with which an M50 shifts.

Ray Nielsen, in Minneapolis and going for a ride today!

[nicocorea]

Originally Posted by Ray Nielsen

The owner's manual has DETAILED instructions for adjusting the THREE adjustments for the clutch.

True, EXCEPT the clutch adjustment directions in the owner's manual are wrong.

If you read your owner's manual, it says to loosen the 10mm nut, back out the screw a few turns, tighten the screw until it "stops" (whatever that means!), and then loosen it 1/4 turn.

There's also another thread in this forum that basically says to loosen the 10mm nut, back out screw a few turns, tighten until resistance is felt, and tighten additional 1/4 turn.

Both are wrong.

The VZ800 service manual from Suzuki gives the correct procedure on page 2-16:

• Loosen the lock nut and turn out the adjusting screw two or three rotations.
• From that position, slowly turn in the adjusting screw to feel resistance.
• From this position, turn out the adjusting screw 1/4 rotations, and tighten the lock nut.
• Loosen the lock nut, and turn the cable adjuster to obtain 10 – 15 mm (0.4 – 0.6 in) of free play at the clutch lever end.
• Tighten the lock nut.

Here's the way I do it (basically the same as the service manual directs, just with a little more detail)

1) screw the barrel adjuster at the clutch lever all the way in (i.e., away from the center of the bike)
2) loosen the 10mm nut
3) turn the flathead screw in the center of the nut CCW until the linkage is nice and loose
4) turn the flathead screw CW until the instant the linkage starts to tighten up. At the same instant you'll feel an increase in resistance while turning the flathead screw. The resistance we're talking about is very slight initially (that's when you stop turning), but will increase markely as you continue to turn the screw CW)
5) turn the flathead screw back CCW about 1/4 turn
6) tighten the 10mm nut
7) At this point there should already be some free play at the clutch lever. Adjust it to your liking using the adjuster at the tranny end of the clutch cable for rough adjustments, and the barrel adjuster at the lever end of the cable for fine adjustments.

I like my friction zone very close to the fully squeezed position. To achieve that, I have a little more free play than the recommended 0.5 inch.

[Mario]

Again thank you copro