Clutch Failed Right After Warranty | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Clutch Failed Right After Warranty

We're all just speculating here. Or investing... if you're into making up your own definitions of words...
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Well, I've got 25 years of being an Internet keyboard jockey and former chair of um, well, I've been sitting on chairs my entire life, so...
And multiple BMW ownership means you're an experienced Gambler.
 
I would love to listen while the original poster starts off from a stop (particularly if it's uphill), and watch their clutch hand while riding ... just to see whether it's an operator issue, or a vehicle issue.

How's the clutch lever feel? Does it move smoothly, or does it feel grabby and gritty and lurchy? A squirt of lubricant on the pivot point of the lever now and again, works wonders.

Questions for the original poster. Can you, and do you, start off from a stop without the tach needle going past 2000 rpm until your fingers are completely off the clutch lever? Or are you slipping the clutch at high revs for an eternity before the bike starts moving which it then does with an enormous lurch because you haven't gotten a feel for the engagement point? Do you understand what I am talking about, or not?

In my car (manual transmission), I start off from a stop without the engine going above idle speed until my foot is completely off the clutch pedal - next to no slippage. On other vehicles I've gotten 400,000+ km out of original clutches. This one is at 208,000 and counting. Bikes will often do 100k on a clutch unless you are abusing them. If you abuse them, they can be destroyed in 15 minutes.

Having pointed accusations in the direction of the operator ... I recognise that there are some bikes that have two separate adjustments for the clutch release mechanism and they both have to be correct, and if the hidden one down at the bottom that the uninitiated won't know about isn't correct, the clutch will slip and self-destruct in short order. Yamaha FZRs were like that. (I have two of them.) I tend to suspect that the CBR300 clutch release mechanism is more similar to that on the CBR125, and it doesn't have that issue. The part of the release mechanism that is internal is either assembled correctly (and works), or assembled incorrectly (and does not work at all). There's no hidden adjustment. BUT ... I have not personally worked on a CBR300 clutch.
 
Hi All,

2021 Honda Rebel 300. 13000km. Four clutch adjustments under the warranty period. Each time they adjusted it but did not open it up.

Right after the warranty period it failed-burnt out completely. $1500 to fix.

Honda says that the clutch is an expendable item and so is not covered by the warranty. When I told them about the four visits they told me that this was a dealer problem because they had failed to diagnose the issue.

I want to go to the dealer and convince them to charge me cost to repair it. They are good guys-they could do that if I politely present the situation to them.

How do you all suggest I go about it? How long should the clutch have lasted?

Looking for advice,

John

Go to a different Honda dealer. Get a detailed estimate on what is wrong and how much it will be to fix. Ask them what they think went wrong. After that explain to them what the other dealer did. See if Honda Canada will take their word over the other dealer. What you really want to know is if the clutch components were improperly assembled.
 
I'd just buy aftermarket steels, friction plates, and clutch springs.

New gasket if the 300 requires it.

Watch a YouTube video.

Basic tools...

Make a mechanically minded motorcyclle friend, and have them watch you do it.

"Teach a man to fish" and all that.

Couple hundred dollar lesson.... honestly its a cheap lesson to teach you some new skills.

There should be a pushrod through the center of the clutch basket. It needs adjustment at the clutch cable arm.
Best to download a service manual.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk
 
I'd just buy aftermarket steels, friction plates, and clutch springs.

New gasket if the 300 requires it.

Watch a YouTube video.

Basic tools...

Make a mechanically minded motorcyclle friend, and have them watch you do it.

"Teach a man to fish" and all that.

Couple hundred dollar lesson.... honestly its a cheap lesson to teach you some new skills.

There should be a pushrod through the center of the clutch basket. It needs adjustment at the clutch cable arm.
Best to download a service manual.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk
Overhauling a clutch isn't that hard. You need to make or buy a special socket, other than that it's a fairly simple job that requires no special skills.

It's way easier and less technical than other routine MC repairs like changing fork seals or checking valve clearance.
 
CLUTCH-Honda-MOTO-300-REBEL-2021-CMX300AM-E_08.jpg

RIGHT-CRANKCASE-COVER-Honda-MOTO-300-REBEL-2021-CMX300AM-E_06.jpg


OP - Get all the clutch plates (friction and steel), clutch springs, judder springs 'a' and 'b', centre clip, and cover gaskets. You'll need to flush and change the oil when you're done (it will be filthy) so get enough oil for 2 changes, a new oil filter and drain washer. Or get someone to do it for you. If you use genuine parts they should run you around $300 and anyone should be able to do it in 1.5 hours.
Finding aftermarket parts might be tough, the 2021 clutch is different from earlier versions.
 
Overhauling a clutch isn't that hard. You need to make or buy a special socket, other than that it's a fairly simple job that requires no special skills.

It's way easier and less technical than other routine MC repairs like changing fork seals or checking valve clearance.

*If* this is just a simple clutch plate replacement he should have no trouble doing the job if he's half decent with repairs. But the way this narrative seems to be playing out, there's something wrong in the assembly, the dealer is overcharging him to cover the cost of the extra parts and they're not telling him because they screwed it up. No clutch goes out that quickly unless there was something very wrong.
 
*If* this is just a simple clutch plate replacement he should have no trouble doing the job if he's half decent with repairs. But the way this narrative seems to be playing out, there's something wrong in the assembly, the dealer is overcharging him to cover the cost of the extra parts and they're not telling him because they screwed it up. No clutch goes out that quickly unless there was something very wrong.
If that clutch was slipping at 120kmh, you wouldn't get far before she was burned up. Of course it could be a defect but odds are it was rider or adjustment error or both. Maybe the wrong oil was used, wouldn't be the first time I've see expensive motor oil eat a MC clutch.
 
If that clutch was slipping at 120kmh, you wouldn't get far before she was burned up. Of course it could be a defect but odds are it was rider or adjustment error or both. Maybe the wrong oil was used, wouldn't be the first time I've see expensive motor oil eat a MC clutch.

Agree, but things don't add up here. He's claiming the "Gear-shift handle had way too much play"; now, I'm thinking he means the clutch lever? If that's loose (too much slack in the clutch cable) it means the clutch will always be engaged, or partially engaged, unless the springs are broken. There shouldn't be a slippage problem unless the cable is too tight, in which case the clutch won't engage entirely, destroying the plates. If there's really something wrong here, and we're not just dealing with a newbie rider who doesn't understand how a clutch works, the only explanation I can think of is improper spring installation. No real way to tell unless we can take it apart. That's the problem with these kind of threads.
 
OP, here's the bottom line - it's broken.
Take it somewhere, ANYWHERE if you're not comfortable with doing the repair yourself.
Bite the bullet (but not the $1500 one), get it repaired properly and maybe pick up some tips to prevent this happening again.
 
I can't believe the ballers on this thread. A new drain washer!?
 

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