Slipping Clutch

My first reaction was that it needed a clutch adjustment until you added your 'edit' note. Those two points seem to be completely opposed to each other. Have you added any oil additives, and when you took it in for the first service, are you certain they put the right type of oil in your bike? The reason I ask, is that I caught a dealer putting a completely wrong type of oil (much cheaper) in one of my bikes. Also, some oil additives can really mess up the clutch.

 

I put a set of billet levers on mine and some time later I started getting clutch slip, which got progressively worse.

I popped into my dealers and they said I had overtightened the clutch lever, so they loosened it up a bit and.....Hey Presto....no more clutch slip

This might help

 

I'm talking about clutch slip as in when you twist the throttle, the engine revs but you don't gain any speed

 

Simple question. When you pull the lever gently do you get a small (2mm) gap before you need to pull hard and overcome the spring? Free play is essential to ensure the clutch is fully engaged or you may get slight slip (unnoticed) and accelerate clutch wear or overheat and warp the plates.

 

Hasn't the RS got traction control what setting is it on?
Although I must say had a 16 plate Speedy and the clutch slipped when riding hard, so I had to slacken it off as it was incorrectly adjusted from the factory

 

Try loosening the lever thru bolt, this is what I was referring to when I mentioned my slipping clutch

 

think i remember mr.triple saying that the end of the clutch cable at the lever had rubbed against the lever or holder causing a build up of swarf which affected its action.?

 

think i remember mr.triple saying that the end of the clutch cable at the lever had rubbed against the lever or holder causing a build up of swarf which affected its action.?

 

also as its a slipper clutch if the ramps in the clutch are not free to slide against each other it could cause a problem.

 

Mine started doing the same on the way for it's first service today.

Pulled over and adjusted the play, even fully loose it just wouldn't return to disengaged properly and had to push the lever back 'home' to sort it out.

Turns out the lever was just sticky and all resolved at the service. Judging by how quick they diagnosed it, I'd say it's a known fault.

 

My lever felt coarse when I got my RS. I took the pivot pin out and it was dry. Was also a fairly average bolt allowing a fair amount of play . Not the quality you hope for!! I greased it and refitted. No probs but its still not up to the standard I am used to on other bikes I have owned.. ...
While I am at it... I changed both tyres on my bike. Teh rear axle nut was really rough over the locking pin holes - poorly finished. And when I took the front of the pinch bolts were REALLY tight - creaking like f*** - they have a torque setting of 19Nm.... So either the factory overtightened or the dealer (not sure where the F wheel is fitted?) The bike LOOKS great but deep down I don't think the quality matches the appearance !

 

Exactly that...this is what I posted before:

Bearing in mind that I've only done 200 miles since the oil service, I had an unexpected problem yesterday. After 80 'spirited' miles across country with plenty of clutch use (both manual and quickshifter), I stopped for petrol a few miles from home. As I pulled out of the forecourt and accelerated away, there were plenty of revs but hardly any power at all. I had trouble picking up speed, so limped home feeling pretty despondent.

As I neared home, I realised the clutch lever was sticking half way and not fully releasing - strange how it takes time to think logically when this sort of thing happens.

I removed the lever and found that the metal around the cable barrel slot had been rubbing against the body/bracket part - enough to remove black paint and expose shiny aluminium, creating dust that mixed with the grease, to bind up the mechanism completely.

I reckon this was caused by the pivot bolt being much too tight...or perhaps it's the design of the RS lever - either way it's something worth keeping an eye on.​

Then after I removed the lever:

I gave it a good clean, a spot of grease, nipped the bolt back in place and adjusted the tension leaving 2 to 3mm of gap when the lever is released. All good.​

By coincidence, I watched this YouTube video today (before reading this thread) - and buried in the written review that the 'Schaaf' posted about the RS, there's the paragraph below.


He's spot on with the way it 'creeps up on you' - the bike just starts to feel a little unresponsive...then in my case, no power at all. The last thing I expected was a slipping clutch.

There does seem to be a pattern emerging.

 

Think about how many times the lever is used in an average week and if there isn't any grease on the pivot bolt it's bound to end up grinding away at metal with the result that the crud that is developed causes the lever to bind leading to clutch problems (slip in this case). A bit of copper slip, or any grease really, on the pivot bolt and a drop or two of light oil down the cable leaves things feeling like brand new again. Worth doing a couple of times a year if you do decent mileage.

 

That is absolutely true...but mine looked well greased (perhaps because it was delivered with what looked like most of it on the outside of the mechanism) it had only covered 800 miles and had just been (oil) serviced. It does dry miles too.

I think the odd thing here, is that it happens so unexpectedly early.

 

AFAIK this has not been a problem on older models, no doubt Triumph receive the pre-assembled lever and just bang it on the bike.
It wouldn't surprise me if they've changed suppliers for the new model and said supplier hasn't been greasing the assembly. Triumph need to keep better control of supplier quality.