K1300 GT Cluth behavior

[dan123]

Hello:

 

I am a new owner of a 2010 K1300 GT and the cluth operation has me scratching my head and I am interested in hearing from others who ride the GT.

 

My last bike was a goldwing. On the goldwing, I could feel the bike start to move soon after the slutch was released and the 'friction zone' was was apparent across the clutch movement. Very smooth cluth operation.

 

On the k1300 gt, the clutch friction zone is maybe 1/4 of the total travel of the clutch. Consequently, there is a sort of lurching of the bike when shifting to upper gears.

 

 

Is this by design or something I should have a mechanic look at? The sdemo bike had the same behavior.

 

Dan

[Dennis Andress]

It improves with miles. After 7000 miles my S is running, and shifting, quite a bit smoother than when new.

[dan123]

Interesting. I will kep that in mind. Thanks.

[Firefight911]

The GT has a very short/narrow friction zone. I would chalk this up to normal and, with time, you will adapt to it quite well.

 

 

[dan123]

Good to know. Appreciate the reply.

[Rphoto]

Ironically I just bought a new wing and it has a very smooth linear clutch. My 09 k1300gt clutch is more abrupt but some of that I attribute to weaker off idle torque compared to a goldwings massive low end grunt and low gearing. That said my gt's clutch action does not seem as bad as you described.

 

Good luck with your gt. Will be interested to hear how it compared to your wing -- especially regarding ease of service and reliability. In my case there is no comparison- the wing has been bulletproof with the gt sitting at the dealer for 5 weeks now why they try to fix it.

[dan123]

It almost two weeks since I bought the GT. I love the way it handles. The cornering and general stability of the bike is what convinced me that the GT was the bike for ME. I expect rock solid reliability (German engineering don't fail me!).

 

The Goldwing has its own positives. Reliability is astounding. I had the goldwing for 5 years. Other than scheduled maintenance, nothing broke or needed attention.

 

 

[BVO]

Don't know about the 2010 K1300GT, but on my 01 K1200LT, there is a 3-position adjustment for clutch lever travel before it engages all the way. I use position #2, but it's still not a smooth as previous Wings I've owned.

[dan123]

I put some miles on it over the weekend and I have adopted to the GT's clutch operation. Not a big issue.

 

 

[dan123]

Yes th GT also has an addjustment on the clutch. Mine is set to minimize the distance between the lever to the handlebar.

[Dennis Andress]

Also, my wife has a set of Pazzo levers on her S. They make a noticeable difference in the spread of the contact point. She has the long levers, which took a bit of effort to adjust. I think the short ones would be easier.

 

Dennis