Jerky Vfr - clutch gone?

Hello tar munchers
I have a 6th Gen I recently bought and here's the story if you have the time....

Bought recently and been using for short commute to work everyday....i noticed that when trying I take off from a stopped positing the bike jerks as if it were about to die. It only happens at high rpm. At low rpm she takes off fine.

When going at speed, especially when vtec kicks in, theres a sort of weird rumble.

My first suspect was air in the hydraulics but that would make the clutch spongy and give sloppy gear changes? She shifts fine but the fuel economy isn't so great.

I'm thinking the clutch is gone? This weekend I'm gonna bleed the living fuck out the system and flush old oil out but I have a snake feeling the friction plates are gone. She's done 36k.

Any thoughts are most appreciated!

Stay safe riders

 

I am thinking you are right. A few years ago, I was having very similar issues with my 6th gen with very high mileage. I sought advise here which none worked out to be the problem. I took it in to a Honda shop and left it there for quite a while. Months later, The tech even sought factory assistance, and just under $2K, and nothing was fixed. I took it to another Honda dealership with the intention to trade it off for an 8th gen, but turned out I could not ride the 8th gen for long periods due to change in ergonomics and my prior injuries. BUT! The service department head said he could figure it out. Left it with him. He sounded confident. A few days later and another $1200 bucks, and a clutch overhaul, I had my baby back. That was about 4 years ago now. I have put a few thousand km on it since and am still in love.

Sudden High revs when cold starting in traffic | VFRworld

 

Hi Randy.
What your link appears to be describing, is what Honda calls Launch Assist. My 3 previous 6gens had it and my current 8gen has it. Generally, people don't even realise its there. There appears to be nothing written about this in both Service or Owners Manual.
With a warm engine and you release the clutch when in gear, as the Clutch Switch is deactivated the rpm is increased by 250rpm, this is virtually unnoticeable, however, with a cold engine the rpm increase when releasing the clutch is far higher, all completly normal and controlled by the ECM! Obviously this can only be a fuel addition as the ECM cannot control either SV's or the Butterflies, I guess that means a momentarily rich mixture!

 

I really don't think my case was anything to do with a Honda design for these bikes. I bought mine brand new in the crate. This problem did not start showing up until it had close to 200,000 km in it. Then it started lightly and occasionally. I ride it as it worsened to the point I did not want to ride it any more. Then I got it to the second dealership and they made the repairs. I think that thread shows photos of the inside of the clutch too. Now, a few years later, and 10-20K km later, the problems still has not resurfaced. If these techs say it is a clutch, I say it is too.

But thanks. It may apply to what big mike is reporting.

 

My 6th gen with 82000km had very abrupt clutch take-up which made a smooth launch a bit tricky. I did the usual external things first including a complete flush of the hydraulics and I also disassembled the slave to check the seal, and removed the pushrod, but both were decent and the work made no real difference. I then bought a TRK clutch plate kit and clutch cover gasket from Wemoto and installed those, and the clutch action is now lovely and smooth with a wide takeup band.

 

Nice yea was planning to go over the externals this weekend.
Some friends had mentioned to go over the externals in case there's air in the system but I don't understand how air could cause the clutch to slip while on the move, unless the air is getting warmer and expanding or something

 

Did you purchase the clutch plates and steel discs or just the plate?

 

bingo ! air in the system wouldnt cause clutch slip while moving.

 

Guessing, but could overfilling cause it. Heating any clutch fluid from the engine side may force the plates apart?

 

I reckon other than the clutch going, the only other possibility is the slave getting stuck near the return position causing the clutch to be slightly disengaged..... Will find out soon when the rebuild kit gets here

 

Clutch slip when warmed could be air or it could be a blockage in the tiny return port in the floor of the master (under the small shield). If it is clear you should be able to see some fluid squirt through as you move the clutch lever (with the shield removed).

I just replaced the fibre discs and gently sanded the steels to remove any discolouration, but my issue was sudden engagement not slip.

 

My experence with clutch slip is that the RPMs of the engine increase while the ground speed of the bike does not.
This tends to be most noticeable in the higher gears when the ratio is greater.
I've not noticed any "rumble" in relation to clutch slip "at speed".

 

Bent actuator rod keeping it from fully returning?