Topic: clutch

[themotoworks]

weirdness is going on in my 400f clutch.  when I start the bike up, if I'm in gear not neutral, the back wheel jumps a bit, and when it's on the stand and running in gear with the clutch in, the back wheel will turn, slowly, but not with a lot of force.  the clutch is fully disengaged, and fully engages, so it's got full travel and when I pulled the clutch, all the plates and springs were in tolerance.  wtf?  I have a theory though... I think I overfilled the oil by a quart maybe, which I think is when the problem started, I drained about a quart out, until the dipstick level was right, but haven't ridden it since because the weather is still bad here.  so can extra oil screw with a wet clutch like that?

[Gordon]

That's completely normal.  With a properly adjusted clutch and the bike on the center stand, the rear wheel will spin with the engine running and the transmission in neutral.  It's an benign anomaly of the wet clutch system. 

[themotoworks]

cool... it's weird that I rode that bike a year without it happening or without me noticing it

[Gordon]

cool... it's weird that I rode that bike a year without it happening or without me noticing it

If it wasn't happening, then your rear brake may have been out of adjustment.  If the rear brake is binding at all, it will stop the wheel from spinning while in neutral. 

Also, this effect will diminish as the engine warms up (but won't completely go away).  When the oil is cold, it is more viscous and transmits movement more readily.  Once it warms up it loses some of that ability.