Posted: Apr 10, 2012 08:21 AM  (Msg. 2 of 32)

Your clutch is slipping look for some of the posts on clutch springs they are known to be week on the 1400. You should look into bleeding your clutch also and make sure you arn't using an oil that is not rated for a wet clutch.
From what I have seen the springs usually cause your clutch to slip in higher gears when you get on it hard. If it starts to happen to you back off the throttle and let the engine catch then
add power slowly. Never had a clutch slip in first gear though.
Should be someone along with some better insight for you.

Goin' for a Ride!

Posted: Apr 10, 2012 10:49 AM  (Msg. 4 of 32)

Quote:
Yeah that is too extreme for it to be clutch springs. Sounds like the plates are contaminated....When did you last change your oil newtome1400 and if you did it yourself what did you use?

The car oil with the energy star insignia or any that has that stuff in it can and will cause the clutch to slip. If you did use the wrong oil it can be cleaned up usually with some Marvel Mystery Oil, but let's first see if we can find the cause.

Was this an all of a sudden thing or has it been coming on slowly....getting worse as it goes?

Goin' for a Ride!

Posted: Apr 10, 2012 01:22 PM  (Msg. 6 of 32)

Quote:
Drain the oil removing the oil filter and draining it too, but don' t discard yet. Replace the oil with shell rotella which can usually be found at Walmart for about $20 a gallon if you get the synthetic 5w-40 (which is what I use). Get a couple gallons if you can and a new filter.

Drain the oil and filter. Put the filter back on and refill with shell rotella. I would also suggest using up to a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil (just reduce the oil level so you don't over fill) as this should help clean the clutch plates. You'll probably need to put 50 to 100 miles on it and then dump the oil again....If the slipping has stopped then refill with new oil and this time put on a fresh new filter....If it's still slipping you might need to repeat the process until the plates are clean.

I helped someone do this before and it took us a couple times of doing this to get it right.

Not caffeinated.

Posted: Apr 10, 2012 03:28 PM  (Msg. 8 of 32)

Possible pressure is getting trapped in the hydraulic line?  I guess a quick test for that would be to crack the clutch slave bleeder and see if fluid tries to jump out.

-Craig

Posted: Apr 10, 2012 03:56 PM  (Msg. 10 of 32)

I a still going to do the oil change but what do i need to do for the built up pressure if it has it?

Not caffeinated.

Posted: Apr 10, 2012 04:21 PM  (Msg. 12 of 32)

Quote:
Ok, missed his follow up post in this thread that stated the oil change was done.  Carry on!

-Craig

Goin' for a Ride!

Posted: Apr 10, 2012 06:16 PM  (Msg. 14 of 32)

Quote:
I've used 5w-40 rotella synthetic for years.....works fine in these bikes. He can get MC oil at 10w-40 if he likes, but he just needs to make sure he's using an non-engergy compliant oil regardless of brand or weight.

If he was running 5w-30 non-energy compliant oil he probably wouldn't have had the issues he's having now. The main thing is to get it out of the system and Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) has worked for others when faced with this same issue. It might take a couple changes to get the comtamination removed from the friction plates, but so far I believe everyone that has done this has been successful in restoring the clutches ability to do it's job correctly.

Goin' for a Ride!

Posted: Apr 10, 2012 06:41 PM  (Msg. 16 of 32)

Quote:
It's both a cleaner and a lubricant. You can use it with your oil regularly or in addition to clean out the stuff that has contaminated the clutch. They say to use a volume of not more then 25% of your oil with MMO and it can be ran regularly (basically replacing about 1/4 of your oil with MMO), but I normally don't as the Rotella works well.

You can also use it in your fuel to lubricate the upper engine. I use Sea Foam, but have used MMO as well for that.
Edited by High Desert Intruder on Apr 11, 2012 at 12:18 AM

Uncommon Valor

Posted: Apr 11, 2012 01:14 AM  (Msg. 18 of 32)

The only thing I would add is that I would use the cheapest 10 or 20 - 40 oil I could find for the cleaning process.  Mightt even go with a straight 30 or 40, if it were cheaper.  

BTW that isn't just a newbie mistake.  After 49 years of riding, 23 of them on 1400's, over 250,000 miles on the 1400's.  I did the same thing a while back.  Had the oil for the wifes's buick, 5-30, sitting next to the oil for the bike.  Same brand, same bottle, talking to a neighbor and grabbed the wrong jug.  

HOWEVER, I have Designer's springs in mine, clutch worked fine, for the 4,000 miles I put on the oil.

Designer is DA MAN.

Posted: Apr 13, 2012 09:28 PM  (Msg. 20 of 32)

After changing the oil i was able to go about 40 miles before it started doing it again so i went home and changed it again and was off. I have not had as much trouble with it this time around i think i will change it one more time to be safe and when i can i will be getting Designer springs for it. thank you all for the help on this it means a lot.