Hyd Clutch issue

[festus]

2016 RGS  has had the "upgraded plunger and update completed last year.
In July or August.   I work out of the country and it was rode twice in september.

Sat until last Saturday April 7th  started and NO clutch. pulled front brake and put it in gear and
it jumped and died.
Rocked it back and forth in gear and kept pumping the clutch lever. and finally got some pump. 
Rode it about 40 miles (was 38 degrees)  never was very good.
Took it to the dealer today and they cleaned and bled it again.
Working ok now.

Anyone else having any issues with winter coming to and end? 

[rbabos]

2016 RGS  has had the "upgraded plunger and update completed last year.
In July or August.   I work out of the country and it was rode twice in september.

Sat until last Saturday April 7th  started and NO clutch. pulled front brake and put it in gear and
it jumped and died.
Rocked it back and forth in gear and kept pumping the clutch lever. and finally got some pump. 
Rode it about 40 miles (was 38 degrees)  never was very good.
Took it to the dealer today and they cleaned and bled it again.
Working ok now.

Anyone else having any issues with winter coming to and end?

That sounds like a master cyl issue as in port blocking or valving of some sort being the cause.
Ron

[N-gin]

I don't know about a blockage having it no lever feel, but I'm thinking along the lines of just a bit of air in the system finally worked its way to the master. tiniest of bubbles aeriated fluid by pumping and bleeding. Just a thought.. Had this happen a couple times, even had a seal leaking do this.

[Pirsch Fire Wagon]

Interesting. I had a customer who said his clutch would do the same thing if it had sit for a week. Or, if he was on the highway for a couple hours. Handle would loose all ability to make pressure without cycling it several pumps.

I rebuilt tha MC and used Premium DOT4 (meets the DOT5.1 Standard) and he said he hasn't had a problem since. His Fluid was saturated with moisture >6% when checked before changing. The Dealer had changed it during the Up-Date.

For some reason, I see a Lot of DOT4 saturated with water. Perhaps a "bad batch?"

An additional thing you may try is to pump it three or four times and Zip-Tie or other means to keep it pulled all the way back overnight. Release it SLOWLY, pump it SLOWLY two or three times. Any air on the pressure side will rise to the top. This also works well for Brakes.

[festus]

Thanks for the suggestions.
If it happens again I will get a sample and check for water.
It is kept in climate control with fans running constantly.

[chaos901]

Two years ago we were riding at altitude in CO when my clutch started to act like that, had to pump it up.  Changed my fluid when I returned home and last year out there I did not have any problems.  Now going to change every couple of years, also bought something referenced on this site to use to check the moisture content of the fluid.   

[14GuineaPig]

Your problem sounds like the reason for the recall which affected 2016 RGS models

Manufacturer Name : Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Submission Date : JUN 28, 2016
NHTSA Recall No. : 16V-471
Manufacturer Recall No. : 0169

Description of the Defect : Harley-Davidson has learned that the hydraulic clutch system with black
master cylinder part numbers 36700049B, 36700056B, 36700146 and
36700186 on certain model year 2016 Touring and Softail model motorcycles
may exhibit a condition in which it may lose the ability to generate enough lift
to disengage the clutch after being parked for an extended period.
FMVSS 1 : NR
FMVSS 2 : NR
Description of the Safety Risk : If this condition remains undetected it could lead to a loss of control of the
vehicle when started in gear or first shifted into gear after being parked for an
extended period.
Description of the Cause : A chemical reaction inside the sealed clutch system creates gas bubbles which
may cause loss of clutch lift.
Identification of Any Warning
that can Occur :
In vehicles in which this condition is present, the customer may notice a large
amount of "free play" in the clutch lever when they first squeeze the clutch
after being parked for an extended period of time.

[N-gin]

If this condition remains undetected it could lead to a loss of control of the
vehicle when started

Got to love how they word the TSB as its the operators fault, When its their product.

[festus]

Your problem sounds like the reason for the recall which affected 2016 RGS models

Manufacturer Name : Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Submission Date : JUN 28, 2016
NHTSA Recall No. : 16V-471
Manufacturer Recall No. : 0169

Description of the Defect : Harley-Davidson has learned that the hydraulic clutch system with black
master cylinder part numbers 36700049B, 36700056B, 36700146 and
36700186 on certain model year 2016 Touring and Softail model motorcycles
may exhibit a condition in which it may lose the ability to generate enough lift
to disengage the clutch after being parked for an extended period.
FMVSS 1 : NR
FMVSS 2 : NR
Description of the Safety Risk : If this condition remains undetected it could lead to a loss of control of the
vehicle when started in gear or first shifted into gear after being parked for an
extended period.
Description of the Cause : A chemical reaction inside the sealed clutch system creates gas bubbles which
may cause loss of clutch lift.
Identification of Any Warning
that can Occur :
In vehicles in which this condition is present, the customer may notice a large
amount of "free play" in the clutch lever when they first squeeze the clutch
after being parked for an extended period of time.

This has been completed on my bike.
So this was not a fix for me.
Dealer said it was air but im getting a tester to check for moisture.

[rbabos]

Your problem sounds like the reason for the recall which affected 2016 RGS models

Manufacturer Name : Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Submission Date : JUN 28, 2016
NHTSA Recall No. : 16V-471
Manufacturer Recall No. : 0169

Description of the Defect : Harley-Davidson has learned that the hydraulic clutch system with black
master cylinder part numbers 36700049B, 36700056B, 36700146 and
36700186 on certain model year 2016 Touring and Softail model motorcycles
may exhibit a condition in which it may lose the ability to generate enough lift
to disengage the clutch after being parked for an extended period.
FMVSS 1 : NR
FMVSS 2 : NR
Description of the Safety Risk : If this condition remains undetected it could lead to a loss of control of the
vehicle when started in gear or first shifted into gear after being parked for an
extended period.
Description of the Cause : A chemical reaction inside the sealed clutch system creates gas bubbles which
may cause loss of clutch lift.
Identification of Any Warning
that can Occur :
In vehicles in which this condition is present, the customer may notice a large
amount of "free play" in the clutch lever when they first squeeze the clutch
after being parked for an extended period of time.

This has been completed on my bike.
So this was not a fix for me.
Dealer said it was air but im getting a tester to check for moisture.

So, unless the fluid level was too low or MC piston piston sealing is screwed and somehow sucked air in , where did the air come from? Unless that can be explained, just bleeding the system is not the actual fix. It might occur again, is what I'm saying. Moisture itself won't cause that as water is no more compressible then the fluid in a cold state like first thing in the morning.  Hot, that's a different story, otherwise, it just corrodes things, you know, like those damn ABS valves.
Ron

[14GuineaPig]

Well if the rebuild of the clutch master did not work then maybe it's time for the dealer to replace the master with a new one.  As rbabos said, air just doesn't get in the lines/master unless something is wrong.  HD has had several recalls on clutch master cylinders since they first appeared on the 2014 touring models.  I would call HD Customer Service to get a "complaint number" (as I'll call it) for your problem.  I would also register a complaint with the NHTSA.