DCT sluggish clutch after a lie up of a few weeks.

[dduelin]

Ok. I have'nt changed oil yet and will do so later. However for the purpose of this discussion I decided to experiment. I wanted to pinpoint exactly the engagement point of the clutch when the bike is started from cold.

So I started the bike and it immediately fired up and remained at about a steady 15/1600 rpm as it always does. I am not normally given towards knocking it into gear at those revs but for the purpose of the experiment I gritted my teeth and did it. The engagement point while it is in its (15/1600) warmup revs is 2000rpm.

I then allowed the revs to drop to normal tickover of about 11/1200rpm and tried again. This time the clutch engagement point had also dropped to about 15/1600rpm. Accordingly the conclusion is that the engagement point when cold seems to be allowing for the fact that the engine revs are higher during warmup. I suppose that makes sense to me because otherwise the bike would take off during warm up if the engagement point was lower than 2000 rpm when drive engaged. I know one person who had such an issue with an S. Eventually a DCT reset alleviated that issue.

My normal procedure when cold is to let the bike freewheel down my sloped drive and engage D while it is rolling. That way there isn't as much of a thump engaging 1st gear. However the other day when I encountered the sluggish engagement I had used a different procedure and it was static when I engaged 1st.

One other aspect to consider is that there had also been a considerable increase in average ambient air temperature since I had last ridden the bike.

More later.......

The part about engaging D when rolling is interesting. My DCTs would not go into gear if the bike was rolling more than maybe 1 mph. I have a sloped driveway and end up at the bottom still in N. How fast will your bike allow shifting into D?

 

[the Ferret]

Ok. I have'nt changed oil yet and will do so later. However for the purpose of this discussion I decided to experiment. I wanted to pinpoint exactly the engagement point of the clutch when the bike is started from cold.

So I started the bike and it immediately fired up and remained at about a steady 15/1600 rpm as it always does. I am not normally given towards knocking it into gear at those revs but for the purpose of the experiment I gritted my teeth and did it. The engagement point while it is in its (15/1600) warmup revs is 2000rpm.

I then allowed the revs to drop to normal tickover of about 11/1200rpm and tried again. This time the clutch engagement point had also dropped to about 15/1600rpm. Accordingly the conclusion is that the engagement point when cold seems to be allowing for the fact that the engine revs are higher during warmup. I suppose that makes sense to me because otherwise the bike would take off during warm up if the engagement point was lower than 2000 rpm when drive engaged. I know one person who had such an issue with an S. Eventually a DCT reset alleviated that issue.

My normal procedure when cold is to let the bike freewheel down my sloped drive and engage D while it is rolling. That way there isn't as much of a thump engaging 1st gear. However the other day when I encountered the sluggish engagement I had used a different procedure and it was static when I engaged 1st.

One other aspect to consider is that there had also been a considerable increase in average ambient air temperature since I had last ridden the bike.

More later.......

Interesting.

I have never tried bumping mine into gear while rolling. or bumping it out of gear while rolling either

I wish I could tell exact rpms lol... but on my tach it's bars. Upon first firing up cold, it will show 3 bars above 1 and it eventually drops down to 2 bars above 1 and then 1 bar above 1 which is the warmed up idle. I also assume each bar represents about 200 rpms since there seems to be 5 of them between each numerical number, but who knows?

I just came in from a ride so I can't test cold engagement point , but on mine when warm it starts engaging or pulling at 1 plus 2 bars or 1400 rpms?

Idle...1 plus 1 bar ....1200 rpms?

3 plus 3 bars ... 3600 rpms?

 

[INTHEWIND]

Honda moved to 10w30 as the primary viscosity recommendation in liquid cooled street bikes starting with MY 2007. This change was the practical result of an extensive oil study commissioned by Honda and undertaken by Idemitsu. Idemitsu Lubricants is Honda’s oldest trading partner and found 10w30 gave the lowest oil temperatures in camshaft bearings and cylinder heads.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[INTHEWIND]

My normal procedure when cold is to let the bike freewheel down my sloped drive and engage D while it is rolling. That way there isn't as much of a thump engaging 1st gear. However the other day when I encountered the sluggish engagement I had used a different procedure and it was static when I engaged 1st.



If you think the DCT "thump" is bad, try it on a Harley. Sounds like the trans is going to fall out on the roadway. lol

The Honda engineers planned for that shift into D, no worries.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

The part about engaging D when rolling is interesting. My DCTs would not go into gear if the bike was rolling more than maybe 1 mph. I have a sloped driveway and end up at the bottom still in N. How fast will your bike allow shifting into D?

Mine goes in at about a brisk walking pace. However it will not select neutral at all while still moving.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

Interesting.

I have never tried bumping mine into gear while rolling. or bumping it out of gear while rolling either

I wish I could tell exact rpms lol... but on my tach it's bars. Upon first firing up cold, it will show 3 bars above 1 and it eventually drops down to 2 bars above 1 and then 1 bar above 1 which is the warmed up idle. I also assume each bar represents about 200 rpms since there seems to be 5 of them between each numerical number, but who knows?

I just came in from a ride so I can't test cold engagement point , but on mine when warm it starts engaging or pulling at 1 plus 2 bars or 1400 rpms?

Idle...1 plus 1 bar ....1200 rpms?

3 plus 3 bars ... 3600 rpms?

Not dissimilar to mine tbh

 

[dduelin]

Mine goes in at about a brisk walking pace.

That would be about 3.5 to 4.5 mph according to fitness sites. I will have to try that. Can you shift from D to N while the bike is moving 3 - 4 mph?

 

[Deleted member 1183]

That would be about 3.5 to 4.5 mph according to fitness sites. I will have to try that. Can you shift from D to N while the bike is moving 3 - 4 mph?

No it won't go into neutral while moving, however slowly.

 

[lootzyan]

My normal procedure when cold is to let the bike freewheel down my sloped drive and engage D while it is rolling. That way there isn't as much of a thump engaging 1st gear. ...

Have you tried to confirm this kind of behavior like your DCT with other X-Adv owners? What year is your Honda X-Adv? Are there any new clutch operation features compared to older DCT generations?

 

[Deleted member 1183]

Have you tried to confirm this kind of behavior like your DCT with other X-Adv owners? What year is your Honda X-Adv? Are there any new clutch operation features compared to older DCT generations?

Not really as I never saw the need to compare. I just do it. Furthermore these things are not thick on the ground in the english speaking countries. In Ireland alone there are only a handful and although much more densely populated the same applies to the UK. The engine is the same as any other NC motor I assume. Year is 2017.

 

[dduelin]

No it won't go into neutral while moving, however slowly.

To my surprise my 2013 will go from N into D while moving. I tried it this morning twice - at 2 and 4 mph showing on the speedometer. For me it's more of a "how about that" thing as I don't plan on doing this every time I roll down the driveway. Speaking only for myself I want the bike in gear when It's moving and the engine is on just in case I would need to suddenly accelerate out of a situation.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I changed the oil and left the bike overnight. The following morning I went through my usual procedure prior to commencement of the ride and all seems in order. I will check it again tomorrow, but as matters stand I do not see the need for a DCT reset. The "incident" a few days ago may have been just related to a change in procedure on my part or a "one off".