2014 RTL slow clutch engagement when cold

[Coolvirgo54]

Just acquired a 2014 RTL with 33K on the clock. Bike is excellent now after sorting brakes badly pulling to the right, fitting decat pipe, Akrapovic muffler, heavy sway bar and Kumho front tyres.Only one niggly thing that may or may not be normal. The clutch is slow to engage when cold - need a lot more rpm to start moving. Behaves perfectly when warmed up.

Hoping this is normal behaviour???

Worried it may have the wrong oil in it. Actually really worried the oil may not be an MC oil as this is what friction modifiers do.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Mikey]

I would change the oil and filters and see what if anything changes, I am thinking your all set, but doing this last step will give you a piece of mind.

 

[Tarzan]

Just acquired a 2014 RTL with 33K on the clock. Bike is excellent now after sorting brakes badly pulling to the right, fitting decat pipe, Akrapovic muffler, heavy sway bar and Kumho front tyres.Only one niggly thing that may or may not be normal. The clutch is slow to engage when cold - need a lot more rpm to start moving. Behaves perfectly when warmed up.

Hoping this is normal behaviour???

Worried it may have the wrong oil in it. Actually really worried the oil may not be an MC oil as this is what friction modifiers do.

Any help appreciated.

I agree about friction modifiers possibly being the culprit. Also I wonder if a full synthetic oil can cause that and maybe that’s the oil in yours. I know on Victory motorcycles that some people have reported mixed results with full synthetics. I run Rotella Semi-Synthetic in my Victory XC and will probably do the same in the Spyder when I finish putting the engine back together.
But as stated above, maybe just a simple oil change could possibly fix it.

 

[Snowbelt Spyder]

Just acquired a 2014 RTL with 33K on the clock. Bike is excellent now after sorting brakes badly pulling to the right, fitting decat pipe, Akrapovic muffler, heavy sway bar and Kumho front tyres.Only one niggly thing that may or may not be normal. The clutch is slow to engage when cold - need a lot more rpm to start moving. Behaves perfectly when warmed up.

Hoping this is normal behaviour???

Worried it may have the wrong oil in it. Actually really worried the oil may not be an MC oil as this is what friction modifiers do.

Any help appreciated.

Some things to remember.

The clutch in the 1330 SE6 is all computer controlled by the TCM. It's a completely different animal than your old SE5. The TCM uses a map controlled program to control hydraulic pressure. Pressure control is based on the temperature of the oil entering the HCM. There's a temperature sensor on the pressure pump inlet. You may also see a slight increase in idle speed on a cold engine startup. The RPM that the TCM commands clutch engagement will be slightly higher during this time period.

However, what has already been mentioned would be a good practice to check on. A HCM oil filter change was due at 28K miles. Typically, a person may defer maintenance if the plan is to sell the machine, so you might want to confirm if that item was taken care of.

Bottom, line, if you don't feel any slippage, just a slightly higher RPM before the clutch is commanded to engage, then yours is acting just like mine - which is brand new. But check on the filter change.

 

[Coolvirgo54]

Some things to remember.

The clutch in the 1330 SE6 is all computer controlled by the TCM. It's a completely different animal than your old SE5. The TCM uses a map controlled program to control hydraulic pressure. Pressure control is based on the temperature of the oil entering the HCM. There's a temperature sensor on the pressure pump inlet. You may also see a slight increase in idle speed on a cold engine startup. The RPM that the TCM commands clutch engagement will be slightly higher during this time period.

However, what has already been mentioned would be a good practice to check on. A HCM oil filter change was due at 28K miles. Typically, a person may defer maintenance if the plan is to sell the machine, so you might want to confirm if that item was taken care of.

Bottom, line, if you don't feel any slippage, just a slightly higher RPM before the clutch is commanded to engage, then yours is acting just like mine - which is brand new. But check on the filter change.

Perfectly logical-thanks. Of course the engagement is going to be at slightly higher rpm to compensate for cold start cycle higher idle rpm.

 

[Jetfixer]

If it's not an issue with incorrect oil, then a quick hookup to BUDS and letting it "re-learn" the clutch engagement point will cure it.