emilyjudy Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Hi, Can anyone give any tips for curing clutch drag on a gasgas 80 please? It's a brand new 2015 model which I believe has an identical bottom end of the 125. When my son got it new for Christmas he rode it for about 30 mins total, clutch dragging straight away. After about 3 or 4 minutes ticking over in neutral the clutch lever would no longer pull in! Luckily he never tried to pull it in any harder. At this point I'm thinking why on earth did I buy a gasgas! Anyway I opened the side casing up and found the centre bolt was undone! I removed it and refitted with blue loctite and went to our first trial with it on New Year's Eve which went quite well considering it was his first trial on a petrol bike, but the clutch dragging is a pain in the ass. He is only 10 so it is quite a struggle for a couple of reasons, one being that if he is waiting at a section and needs to move back while in gear he can nearly pull it back at all, and the other is getting the bike in neutral which is near impossible. Will the drag go with more time on the bike or is there a specific oil that may help because if it stays like it is his confidence will be damaged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerroger Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Try the Dan Williams clutch mod. Had the same on my son's 2012 80, and it worked a treat! Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 If it`s new you should be talking to your dealer. I do not remember clutch drag on my son`s 80. At 10 he is not going to be backing the bike up in gear, but he should be able to find neutral. And you are right about the difference between the electric and gas bikes. Most kids have not made the change very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 You made me think of something. Did you adjust the levers for his hands? The master cylinder piston has to have free play to move it`s whole travel or else it physically cannot push fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shercoben12 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 how did you get a 15 model? my friend tried to get one for his son and gguk said they wont import them due to engine issues? dont touch the clutch plates or mod them.. yes the bottom end is identical to the bigger bikes excluding crank . line away has your son got the 15 one? think the older ones had different clutch and engine all together. my brand new 125 did the same with the clutch drag. mine got better after its ( harsh ) first ride . and my old new jotagas did it as well. they get alot better when you wear them in. mine where dreadful at first. even creeping forward with clutch in. as for getting into neutral all gassers are alittle hard. easier when moving. change the oil to global racing oil ( official product of gasgas and ossa) http://www.globalracingoil.co.uk/gear_extrem_75w or putoline light gear oil ( phone gguk) the amount you put in can vary. everyone seems to fill theres up with their own amount. usually between 375 ml and 550 mls. the more oil the more drag I tend to get. so try just about half way up the sight glass ( 425mls ) ish. as lineaway said above. make sure the the clutch master cylinder is set up correctly with a few mm of play so the piston can return fully out. this is essential. theres also little pin in the lever which you can screw in which will give you more leverage and clutch movement. i have found this to help me sometimes. but you will have to screw out the free play adjuster to re set the play. hope that makes sense haha. any more questions just ask . btw - stick with the gasser. as long as looked after it will be fine! good luck and happy new year. ben -15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilyjudy Posted January 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Hi, and thanks for your replies and Happy new year to you all. I got fed up with waiting for the new bike as I had one on order from around October and to be fair the dealer I ordered it from was really straight with me so it wasn't his fault I never got one. I called gasgas UK and got told they would not be importing them for reasons which I won't go into on a forum. I'd set my heart on getting one as I really didn't want a Beta, so I hopped on the Eurotunnel and bought one in Europe from an authorised GasGas dealer who was really helpful but they have been closed since before christmas so I haven't been able to get any advice from them. I did read that the crank was slightly different, (I'm guessing weight) but the stroke is the same as the 125. The bike seams to be great just apart from the clutch drag oh and the very small amount of throw from the kickstart to turn the motor over can be a problem with my sons short legs! I have adjusted the clutch lever several times and ridden it myself to make sure the clutch is working correctly and returning with freeplay and it is so I think I will get some GRO or Putoline and give that a try, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilyjudy Posted January 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 A quick update, I drained the gear oil today and after much reading about oils etc I decided to fill it with 400ml of Putoline light gear oil as recommended from GasGas UK and I would say it was marginally better. My question is, where do you guys prefer to see your level on the glass. I have read that the more the oil the more drag you get and mine is showing almost at the top of the glass so wondered if I pulled 50ml or so out the drag may stop or at least get a bit better again. What would you recommend because if this doesn't get to a point where I end up with no drag I think the next step is to take the clutch out and do a measure up as per spec in the manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazybond700 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Make sure you are not misreading, so flat surface, and give it some time to settle. Somethimes the glass shows more oil than the actual amount. I put in around 380cc, I would rather have a bit bellow half glass than above (with a two stroke). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shercoben12 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 you need to run the bike and ride around till fan comes on. this will heat the oil up which will make it thinner, there fore you will get more oil out. put the bike on its side and shake it and pump clutch lever. once nothing else comes out refil. put in 350 mls to start. then hold the bike over on its left hand side to allow the oil to flow through into the other side of the case. then put it level and start it up ride around then put it back on a stand or something. ( riding it around will insure the oil has been thrown around is equally distributed) once on a LEVEL stand look at sight glass. should be about half way or said above just under. if not then top up and repeat above process. i suggest you yourself get on it and ride it using the clutch alot. for instance pulling away in 3rd with high revs etc. do some thing like that just to load the clutch up abit. do it a few times.slip the clutch. hope you get what i mean. just try to wear the clutch in a little. because i doubt your son would be stressing the bike enough to bed it in. i wouldnt try adjust the clutch pack itself. they come the same on all the gasgas pros and i havent heard of anyone with an issue from new dragging. just try wear it in!! have you got the master cylinder set up correctly? read my previous post about adjusting it to give you more leverage. where abouts are you in the country? if your not too far i could come have a look for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilyjudy Posted January 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 I did ride the bike round quite a bit and I did load the revs up and slip the clutch a lot but I have to admit I don't recall the fan coming on. The master cylinder is set up fine so I'm thinking it may just need some 'abuse' to wear in a bit like you say. I've stripped the rims out of it now to be anodized black so I won't be able to try it for a week or so anyway. I am quite mechanically minded but I think the gasgas brand is different to anything I have worked on before. I am quite used to european bikes and their querky ways having had KTM's for the last 12 years! So I think I'm on a learning curve with the gasgas brand. I am based in Southampton so I'm not too far from you Ben, Give me a couple of weeks to get sorted and if it's still no good I may put out a distress call! Thanks again, Stuart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earle Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Hi Mate, The fan will only come on once in a blue moon in winter, It's a small pot with a full size rad and waterpump. The fan switch in the newer bikes is mounted in the rad and the switch is junk. I have gone back to the earlier in line one with the hose. Will be doing the same to my 300 soon. Clutch drag is a pain in all the pro engines, My son's 80 runs the Italian AM6 engine but still gets a bit of drag, especially when cold using putoline light gear oil, Personally I don't rate the putoline products, the 2 stroke separates very quickly if left. I will be going back to Ipone when I've used it up. I normally use ATF in my gearboxes as it's the best at reducing clutch drag but it gives a sharper clutch, In 1st gear on the 80 my son just dropes the clutch any way so it will not be a problem when I change to ATF in his too. The clutch drag on gas gas is a side effect of the design, Most people learn to live with it, When I have mine apart next I will be going over the clutch to come up with a mod to fix it. Maybe change to the flexi type levers as they have more adjustment scope in 2 points so you may get more travel on the master cylinder. If you are stuck give me a shout and I will have a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilyjudy Posted January 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Hi Steve, Thanks for your reply, I'm guessing you are Steve Earle of Waltham Chase? It was my son that rode at Hut Hill on Wednesday just gone on the new 80 gasgas. If I'm honest I'm not a great fan of Putoline either and always have sworn by Castrol but after reading many articles about gearbox oil for the gassers the two oils that keep popping up are GRO 75w and the Light fear oil from Putoline which is recommended by GasGas UK. I am aware that doesn't mean GasGas UK's riders use Putoline but is most likely a sponsorship deal. I will get some GRO and try that but if it's no different then I'll try ATF as a final option. the levers you mention, I had looked at those before I even got the bike and wondered about getting a better grip on the bars whilst still being able to use the clutch with kids having smaller hands so I'll get them to try and see if that helps a bit also. Are to saying ipone ATF works well in your bike, or is any ATF good. I had read that ATF can make the plates swell up, is that rubbish or only on older bikes. Cheers, Stuart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfc Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 We have had good results with silkalean light gear oil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earle Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Hi Stuart, Yeah it's me. I use whatever ATF the motor factors have in at the time dex2 or dex 3, It's usually about 12 quid for 5 litres so I change it every 2 rides. I have never had a problem with atf swelling clutch plates. The gas gas factory were recommending it for a while. I used atf in the gas gas boy for 3 years after fitting a new clutch, I checked the clutch just before selling it and was still like new, The little clutch plates in it do take a hammering in the auto as it's designed to slip most of the time so I'm confident with ATF after that. Your lad had a very good ride, Give him a couple of trials and he won't worry about the clutch, He's gonna be top of the group next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Since the bike is down and have plenty of time. Read up on the finger height and clutch pack measurement. Also many swear by the Beta clutch fix. There also several videos out on this subject. Before anything the finger height has to be with in specs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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