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[T-Roy]

Well I had to come to New Orleans on business and when I got downtown this morning I lost all hydraulic pressure on the lever when coming to a red light. I was able to get stopped and into a parking lot without running over anybody. I pumped the lever a few times an the pressure was back. I pulled the cover and the reservoir was full. At that point I headed to the New Orleans harley shop. About 6 miles from there it got to the point where I had to continuously pump the lever to maintain pressure. That was an interesting 6 miles!! My factory warranty expired 4 days ago. The harley shop is going to replace the master cylinder under my ESP even though they know I have a Barnett clutch. I just hope that fixes it because any farther into the clutch and it will be without ESP. So I am on a rental bike while down here because they had to order the master cylinder. Yall keep your fingers crossed for me.

[moscooter]

 
It would seem to me the Barnett clutch plates or whatever.......has absolutely nothing to do with loss of hydraulic pressure in the clutch lever.  This whole deal should be on their dime (Harleys),  and the fact that you have some Barnett clutch parts in no way is the culprit.  

[T-Roy]

It would seem to me the Barnett clutch plates or whatever.......has absolutely nothing to do with loss of hydraulic pressure in the clutch lever.  This whole deal should be on their dime (Harleys),  and the fact that you have some Barnett clutch parts in no way is the culprit.

I agree, but I was surprised for them to even do the master cylinder without a bunch of fuss. If the master cylinder does not fix it I will fight that battle then.

[MrSurly]

Your description of the failure is 'textbook' for a bypassing master cylinder.

I expect you'll be good and there are worse places to be stranded(!)

Now, how LONG you'll be waiting on the part.....

[T-Roy]

Your description of the failure is 'textbook' for a bypassing master cylinder.

I expect you'll be good and there are worse places to be stranded(!)

Now, how LONG you'll be waiting on the part.....

That is gonna be great when that fixes it. They overnighted the part which ships tomorrow. So they should have the master cylinder changed Wednesday and I was going to be here till Wednesday anyway. If that does not fix it I will return the rental bike and my daughter will come get me. She is only about 1.5 hours away. It could have been so much worse. Like it could have happened in August on the way to Sturgis. Also the Harley shop lowered the bike rental rate to match what ESP will pay. ESP will pay for rental for 10 days but I have to head to Galveston Texas on Thursday to go offshore to work, hopefully on MY BIKE.

[T-Roy]

Another thing that makes it not TOO BAD is I am eating oysters on Bourbon street as we type.

[cambo]

I had the exact same problem on my 2015 Non-CVO Ultra Limited with 480 miles on it. The dealer called late Saturday and told me that it had half the fluid and blamed HD for not filling it properly. They had it all fixed and ready for me to pick it up, which I couldn't do until today. When I picked up the bike today the clutch was still not operational. They took the bike back to the shop and told me it was bone dry (their words) again! This time they changed the master cylinder, filled it with fluid, rode it around the block and gave it back to me. I rode it around for 60 miles and so far so good. Unfortunately it will be raining the rest of the week and I won't get to ride until Saturday to see if the problem has been remedied. What concerns me is that the mechanic who worked on the bike had no idea what happened to the fluid they put in on Saturday if it was bone dry again by Monday morning since there was never any fluid around the bike. 

Cam

[MrSurly]

Did he bother to check the trans fluid?
I had to think on that for a minute, but yes, a leaking slave would put brake fluid straight into the trans.

I'd be greatly troubled by his "IDK" response. It isn't that complicated. If fluid left the reservoir it went SOMEwhere.
If it's not on the floor, it's in the gearbox.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[T-Roy]

My master cylinder was still full of fluid. I could hear a slight sloshing sound while working the clutch lever. I really think and hope it is isolated to the master cylinder itself.

[fastfreddy]

i lost the lever pressure on mine when it was a couple months old, the shop rebuilt the master cyl. & all has been good since, in fact they had the kit in stock and it was done in a couple of hours...good luck

[120R]

I'm having the same issue with my 07 EG CVO since August last year and till now it was not fixed, they've changed the master cylinder and all clutch related parts but with no luck, I've googled the problem and there was one post mentioning that the DOT4 oil filled should have the highest boiling temperature, I've informed harley and they said the one they have is up to 300f so I've told them to drain the oil and replace it with DOT5 oil which its boiling temperature is 500f so they promised they will do it tomorrow and test ride it to see if this will be fixing the problem, the reason I'm suspicious about the oil is that I remembered that before the issue starts one mechanic was fixing the primer due to oil leak and he also opened the lower clutch cover for checking and my believe is that he added DOT4 oil to compensate the oil lost from the case opening because after that my problem started; when the bike is cold the clutch is fine but when in normal traffic the problem starts, will keep you updated.


Giulio

[moscooter]

 

Hey 120R.............You need to review the DOT fluid types and understand that synthetic fluid (DOT 5).........should NOT be put into a bike with an ABS brake system.

How Many Different Types of Brake Fluid are there?
There are several types of brake fluid. They include glycol-based fluids DOT 3, DOT 4 and DOT 5.1, as well as a silicone-based brake fluid named DOT 5. The silicone-based brake fluid is put only into vehicles with non-ABS systems. These must not have ever been filled with the glycol-based fluids. The different DOT categories refer to the different boiling points of the fluids and DOT stands for Department of Transportation. The higher the DOT number, the better quality of the brake fluid, as well as the more expensive it is. Your car's manual can tell you which one is best for your car or truck's optimal performance level.

[grc]

DO NOT USE DOT 5 FLUID in your late model Harley brakes, or in any Harley hydraulic clutch.  The factory standard fluid is DOT 4, as noted in the manual and on the cap of the reservoir.  If you want a higher boiling point fluid, you can use DOT 5.1, which is not silicone based like DOT 5 is.

Jerry

[snowrider13]

There was a recall on this problem...had the same thing happen to my 2013 Cvo RG. non-ESP.

[jpb]

I had the exact same problem on my 2015 Non-CVO Ultra Limited with 480 miles on it. The dealer called late Saturday and told me that it had half the fluid and blamed HD for not filling it properly. They had it all fixed and ready for me to pick it up, which I couldn't do until today. When I picked up the bike today the clutch was still not operational. They took the bike back to the shop and told me it was bone dry (their words) again! This time they changed the master cylinder, filled it with fluid, rode it around the block and gave it back to me. I rode it around for 60 miles and so far so good. Unfortunately it will be raining the rest of the week and I won't get to ride until Saturday to see if the problem has been remedied. What concerns me is that the mechanic who worked on the bike had no idea what happened to the fluid they put in on Saturday if it was bone dry again by Monday morning since there was never any fluid around the bike. 

Cam

Hello Cam,

Like I said the other day, if you could not find any leaks on the floor it's in the tranny.  I think the slave is leaking like a mofo.  Sorry to be the bad news guy but the new master cylinder won't fix your problem.  Make sure when you take it back to get it fixed correctly with a new slave that they change out the contaminated tranny fluid as well.  I don't know for sure but the lubrication properties could be altered in a seriously negative way.  This could, Maybe?, affect the seals as well.

Will you have it back for this Saturday's ride?

John