Time to work on the bike

[DarthJ]

Well, had my GL1500 for 6 years now, this site has been a godsend of information and tips. Time to replace some stuff, make a couple additions, etc. Planning to take her up to see a lady I'm seeing who lives in the Ft Worth area and rides her own VT750. Time for a new air filter (also doing cruise and sub as they are cheap, so what the hell) fuel filter, plugs. Brake pads, also going to change out the fluid. Bleed the brakes and clutch line, brake pads (checked rotors with calipers)

Also plan to pull the trigger on LED headlights and maybe a modulator before I go, if I can swing it beforehand. And will but a spare speedo cable, as I've had one go bad during a long trip, and that's no bueno.

[DarthJ]

Ugh, when I rode the bike last, noticed the clutch reservoir was low, figured, "what the hell, may as well bleed it anyway." OF COURSE my Mityvac won't hold a vacuum (with no hoses, I can maintain one by plugging the end with a finger, so it's not the vac itself) and had to do it manually. Guess it's time for new hoses.

[newday777]

Ugh, when I rode the bike last, noticed the clutch reservoir was low, figured, "what the hell, may as well bleed it anyway." OF COURSE my Mityvac won't hold a vacuum (with no hoses, I can maintain one by plugging the end with a finger, so it's not the vac itself) and had to do it manually. Guess it's time for new hoses.

Hoses? For the mighty vac I assume......

The slave cylinder probably needs a rebuild kit is the usual cause of leaking fluid. Gunk from the master cylinder travels down to the slave and gets behind the seal.

[DarthJ]

Yup, the vac hoses. I'll look at the slave and see.

[newday777]

The slave will leak into the clutch first then eventually they leak out and eat the paint on the rear case under the slave cylinder once it gets bad.

[DenverWinger]

OF COURSE my Mityvac won't hold a vacuum (with no hoses, I can maintain one by plugging the end with a finger, so it's not the vac itself) and had to do it manually. Guess it's time for new hoses.

Before connecting the vac to the bleeder, unscrew the bleeder and slather some grease on the bleeder threads then screw it back in. The vac might just be sucking air past the bleeder threads instead of from the hydraulic system.

[dingdong]

Ditto on what Denver said. I have to seal the nipple threads every time I use the vacuum bleeder.

[WingAdmin]

The slave will leak into the clutch first then eventually they leak out and eat the paint on the rear case under the slave cylinder once it gets bad.

...or leak INTO the crankcase and destroy the main crank bearings, at which point it's new engine time. So yeah, don't delay on that.

In fact, if you don't see visible evidence of a leak anywhere, it's probably prudent to do an oil change just in case.

[DarthJ]

As soon as I can clear some space around to be able to get my lift under the bike, I'll lift her up and take a look, take some pics and see what I can see. I have an inspection mirror as well. I've had zero issues with using the clutch or shifting so 99% chance we caught it early. I'll go ahead and get a rebuild kit and do it regardless. Definitely want it to be in as good a shape as possible, don't need issues between El Paso and Ft Worth.

[DarthJ]

So, looked with my mirror and then took the attached pic. Yup, slave is leaking, so need to get a rebuild kit and get it done.

[newday777]

The slave will leak into the clutch first then eventually they leak out and eat the paint on the rear case under the slave cylinder once it gets bad.

...or leak INTO the crankcase and destroy the main crank bearings, at which point it's new engine time. So yeah, don't delay on that.

In fact, if you don't see visible evidence of a leak anywhere, it's probably prudent to do an oil change just in case.

Yes indeed. Time to do a Seafoam engine flush to clean the clutch discs.

[DarthJ]

Ok, update: Not much, just ordered the needed parts, the rebuild kit and the seal, going to put her on the center stand, plug the tender in, and check on how easy it'll be to reach in/see without using a lift.

[newday777]

If you pull the alternator out it is easy to get to.

[DarthJ]

Ok, figured into give an update. I did get the slave cylinder out, one bolt needed a touch of break free, but it came out fine after that. And no, I didnt need to take the alternator out, though I wished my gal didnt move in ft worth so she could have helped me with an extra pair of eyes. I'll be cleaning it this afternoon as the weather is nice to have the garage open for a few hours. Took a pic of the seal area, and will take another after I clean it up.

[newday777]

Did you get another seal?

[DarthJ]

I've got one and will put it in after I clean the area well. I'm cleaning the cylinder and rebuilding it first. From what I can see, the weep hole did its job, it did leak out of the cylinder, but as I've got the seal and the slave is off anyway......why not.

[DarthJ]

Got the parts of the cylinder as clean as I can get them. Going to wait till tomorrow to clean around the seal and replace it

[DarthJ]

Decided to take a break from working on the bike, got a call from my dad this morning and one of my uncles had passed away last night (as my dad NEVER calls me in the morning I had a sense of dread) Needless to say, my head isn't in the game to continue the work today.

[newday777]

Decided to take a break from working on the bike, got a call from my dad this morning and one of my uncles had passed away last night (as my dad NEVER calls me in the morning I had a sense of dread) Needless to say, my head isn't in the game to continue the work today.

I'm sorry for your loss.
My mom's oldest brother passed last August. I had planned to ride up to the services in the southern Bay area, but the CA wild fires put the kibosh to those plans. I'm down to only 1 uncle and my mom left on both sides of my family. That generation is quickly passing on. It's All a part of life. Remember to good times!
Now I'm awaiting (any time) the birth of my second granddaughter. The dr will induce tomorrow if she doesn't come along today. Life is what you make of it. When you get lemons.....you make lemonade.

[WingAdmin]

Brake cleaner will dissolve a lot of that crystallized gunk and flush it away. Makes cleaning easy.

[DarthJ]

That's what I'm using. A rag dipped in cleaner to get the big crap out, then a couple short bursts with the can to flush the remainder.

[DarthJ]

Ugh, the seal is the biggest pain in the 4th point of contact. I remember a post on a seal puller someone used, but for the life of me can't find it. Also, when I reassemble the cylinder, should I use something to lubricate it?

[newday777]

Ugh, the seal is the biggest pain in the 4th point of contact. I remember a post on a seal puller someone used, but for the life of me can't find it. Also, when I reassemble the cylinder, should I use something to lubricate it?

The seal in the case remove by screwing in a sheet rock or sheet metal screw into the old seat and pull out with a pair of plyers.
The seal in the slave cylinder used clean brake fluid to assemble and lube.

[DarthJ]

The seal in the case remove by screwing in a sheet rock or sheet metal screw into the old seat and pull out with a pair of plyers.
The seal in the slave cylinder used clean brake fluid to assemble and lube.

I'll try that tomorrow, thanks.

[bellboy40]

Ugh, the seal is the biggest pain in the 4th point of contact. I remember a post on a seal puller someone used, but for the life of me can't find it. Also, when I reassemble the cylinder, should I use something to lubricate it?

Here is a sketch of how one of the members (I think it was Bike & Dennis) pulled the seal out of his. Screw in a bolt or screw that is a little larger than the hole in the seal with a box wrench over the screw. Then use a pry tool to pull the seal out. Looks like it would work ok. You might could pull it out without prying on it but I don't know. I didn't change mine out when I redid the clutch slave.

clutch cover seal removal tool