Question about Noise while releasing clutch

And with that said let's never speak of oil in this thread again.

The dealer sent images/video to Triumph and according to them there is nothing wrong with any of the clutch components which means that they'll put everything back together. When they first removed the clutch at 800mi, without disassembling it, and put it back in the noise/vibration did not come back for another 600mi. Maybe it'll be gone forever now that they had it apart. Maybe they secretly changed out some components, the disks would be a no-brainer, as to not have to admit that there is a problem and have to deal with others. I don't know, time will tell.

Journeyman said:

Maybe I'm beating a dead horse here, but I started (again) having hard shifts and trouble finding neutral (like 3-4 attempts). So, I once again bleed the clutch MC and it's now perfect- big, big, difference. As I said before... I used to have that juddering clutch issue and since doing this procedure I no longer experience that. Is it because of this? I can't say for certain, but it's now gone.
Given all the bad reports of negligence from shops in recent posts, I would not necessarily trust that they bled the MC, no matter what else they claimed to have done involving the clutch. This literally takes 15 minutes and is worth a shot...

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This theory doesn't seem to have gained any traction, so I'll not bring it up again (in this post). IF the problem goes away and they have not changed the clutch plates then the one thing they will have changed (or at the very least, bled) is the clutch fluid. I suspect, despite what they've said, that they also did this the last time when it went away after they tinkered with it. I can't think of any other explanation.....

If the problem reoccurs later then you may have a leak (as I do, possibly at a banjo bolt) letting air into the system. I have to bleed the clutch every so often. If you also are noticing that it is a little harder to find neutral, then this surely is the problem. When mine needs to be bled I also notice the jutters happening when it's cold.

Journeyman said:

This theory doesn't seem to have gained any traction, so I'll not bring it up again (in this post). IF the problem goes away and they have not changed the clutch plates then the one thing they will have changed (or at the very least, bled) is the clutch fluid. I suspect, despite what they've said, that they also did this the last time when it went away after they tinkered with it. I can't think of any other explanation.....

If the problem reoccurs later then you may have a leak (as I do, possibly at a banjo bolt) letting air into the system. I have to bleed the clutch every so often. If you also are noticing that it is a little harder to find neutral, then this surely is the problem. When mine needs to be bled I also notice the jutters happening when it's cold.

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They did change/bleed the fluid the first time they took it out. This time they disassembled the clutch and it'll probably be fine at least for a while. If it comes back I'll try bleeding it.

My clutch fluid has been dark/dirty ever since I first looked at it, maybe they need to replace the master cylinder reservoir.

Protonhound said:

My clutch fluid has been dark/dirty ever since I first looked at it, maybe they need to replace the master cylinder reservoir.

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Yeah, the first time mine looked like a dirty pond. It took a couple more partial exchanges (just removing from MC) before it started looking more normal. It's as if the inside of the hoses are causing the discoloration. Bleeding (or burping) the MC is super easy, as is changing out the fluid there.

Journeyman said:

Yeah, the first time mine looked like a dirty pond. It took a couple more partial exchanges (just removing from MC) before it started looking more normal. It's as if the inside of the hoses are causing the discoloration. Bleeding (or burping) the MC is super easy, as is changing out the fluid there.

Finding Neutral - the fix

I was having trouble getting into Neutral. I wondered if it was the change in motor oil brands, no, or if I had actually started wearing out the clutch at just under 30K miles. My suspicion, though, was that the hydraulic clutch fluid had somehow gained some air in the system and this actually...

www.r3owners.net

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I'm getting my beast back this Saturday and now that they have taken the clutch actually apart and put it back together I'm hoping that it'll just magically not have the issue anymore. They told me from the beginning that if they tear it apart and find nothing wrong I'd have to pay for it, I said go for it. Triumph will not pay the dealer but I have a good relationship with them. They are not bleeding the clutch this time because then we'll never know what caused it so I'll ride it and if it comes back then they we'll bleed it and see. I'm keeping detailed records of anything else going forward in addition to the dealer records. Out of my 2yr unlimited mile warranty I still have 1yr and 1mo left but I also don't want to keep doing this and getting my lawyer involved is just such a hassle and I don't want to wind up hating the bike. So I'll ride it and enjoy it and we'll see how it goes.
They said they had a Harley guy who has never ridden a Rocket ride it who thought there was a weird crank vibration but how would he know, my mirrors show a very minor vibration but that's probably normal. I'm not far from the Sacramento area where @Mighty Mouse lives as far as I know so I might visit him, assuming he'll put up with me, and let him ride it for some feedback.

I got my beast back Saturday after sitting in the shop for 2 months and am very happy to ride it again. Weather's been crap and with the holidays as well as the dealer's painfully slow communications with Triumph it is what it is. We decicded to not bleed the clutch yet to see what it does. No one seems to know what's going on. When I went for a ride yesterday I thought I heard a quick little same old noise, maybe. I'll be riding it to work for the rest of the week since morning temps are 35°F+ this week and if it still persists I will follow the advice of @Journeyman along with his video and bleed the **** thing. That seemed to work the first time it was in the shop but I did not get any paperwork then, no charge, and they don't remember anything about changing fluid/bleeding though I do. The fluid actually looked cleaner then and no noise for 600mi so they probably did.
If I have to do that every now and then so be it, I have a gremlin and probably just have to accept that.

Yep, my brakes are out again too. Takes two pulls on the front before any response and three pumps on the rear. My Triumph days are running thin.

I put about 500mi on the bike since I got it back and so far no noise. The more I think about it the more @Journeyman 's suggestion about air in the lines makes sense. The warmer the ambient temp the worse it got so when parts are slightly more expanded and there is air in the system it wouldn't push things apart enough not to bind and have to break loose. For all I know it may never do it again now that they actually had the clutch apart.
Anyhow, I'll be looking at putting the Penner tune on it fairly soon.