Clutch

[agedbikeman]

Is clutch fluid replacement a service item? I have all the service records back to day 1 of my 1995 aspencade with religious changing of brake fluid but no mention of clutch. looking through the master cylinder window it looks dirty where the brake one looks clean.
It seems to operate very near the top of lever travel, very little lever movement will dis-engage clutch, there is the required amount of lever slack, no clutch slip at all, pulls away very smoothly, bike's done 50,000 miles.
Feels like the correct amount of lever travel for pulling away but much less to dis engage for gear change.
First manual clutch bike I've had for many years so don't know what normal feels like.

Thanks
Alex

[Rambozo]

Just like brake fluid, there is a service interval.

[Elmobile]

Same DOT 4 fluid as the brakes... So yes, it does require identical service.
Now as the fluid is dirty at the master cylinder, imagine what it looks like in the slave cylinder. I would consider taking this cylinder apart and give it a thorough cleaning, if not rebuilt, when you replace the fluid...

[bellboy40]

I also think you should remove the slave cylinder and give it a good cleaning. After all these years with no service, you can bet it will have a lot of crud inside. Here are some pictures of what mine looked like.

clutch slave cylinder (1)

clutch slave cylinder (2)

clutch slave cylinder (3)

[agedbikeman]

I changed the clutch fluid, what a difference, the lever is much easier to pull, it all works just as I expect it to.
I drained all the fluid out so I could clean the reservoir, it was full of grit and bits, went through half a litre of fluid to get the air out, I will service the slave cylinder after my holidays in a few weeks but it's working fine for the moment, don't want to start the job without a service kit to hand.
Strange how the brakes were done regularly but not the clutch, always serviced at a Honda dealer.
this was my reason for the original question.

Have you ever seen brake fluid as dirty as this, it was darker until some new was mixed in during bleeding

I will do the brake fluid aswell for good measure.

Thanks for your input and help
Alex