As some of you may have noticed from a different thread, we recently solved a problem I had with the clutch slipping under throttle on my 08 ZX-14. The problem was NOT due to the use of synthetic oil. I kept Rotella T6 synthetic in the bike and switched the clutch lever from a Pazzo that had a worn out bushing to the OEM clutch lever. The clutch has held perfectly well ever since.

I just thought I'd post this thread in case anyone does a search about clutch slippage. The entire discussion about my clutch problem was posted on a thread dealing with the use of synthetic oil and that was not the problem. I also posted an EDIT in my initial post on the other thread indicating that the next 4 pages ended with the discovery that the clutch problem was the lever, not the oil.

So, if anyone needs the info here is a link to the other thread. My problem is adressed on pp 2-5.

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=E0FF25CA-D56B-84E2-1BC5E08EC11AE48C&page=2

Any future info I post on this topic will go here.

So the bushing that allows the little plunger to push in the clutch master cylinder to swivel on the Pazzo lever was worn and kept the master plunger from releasing completely?? How may miles, or years, on the lever? Wow!

yeah. I don't understand why the plunger was getting held in if the the bushing was worn out but that seems to have been the problem. You'd think there would be a loose spot at the end of the travel before full release and the plunger would not touching be the bushing at all but that's not how it wore. Maybe it was like that for a while and I pushed it even farther causing the plunger to seat itself against the inside of the lever?? I'll post pics as soon as I get my photobucket going again.

I have almost 15,000 miles with the Pazzos. A lot more than I guessed. Bare in mind there was a lot of highway and expressway miles in there without a lot of clutch use. I'd say I first noticed the problem 500 miles or so ago so call it 14.5k miles of Pazzos. Last season there was an odd clicking, catching feeling at the end of the travel to full release. I was glad to feel it go away after a couple weeks but perhaps that was a warning sign I should have investigated.

To answer your question D, I didn't see anything different. I tried to post a long explanation but my browser and this forum pooped all over it. So I just clammed up.

To answer your question D, I didn't see anything different.

Here is the Pazzo exactly as I removed it. I know the bushing was not moving because it was frozen in place by all the dust that accumulated from the wear. Notice the bushing hole where the plunger rod seats is rotated way inboard. It may not be so apparent from this picture but the black aluminum part of the lever is worn away from contact with the plunger and the plunger tip was half resting against the bottom of this hole it wore in the aluminum (the lighter colored half moon shape immediately to the right of the bushing hole---that is NOT the bushing hole, its the aluminum lever). The bushing wasn't really doing anything anymore.

Here is the same view of the OEM clutch lever. I have rotated the bushing inboard like the Pazzo but I can assure you, when the lever is installed, that hole is looking straight back at the plunger. The plunger never contacts anything but the bushing.

I still don't understand why the problem with the Pazzo happened. Did the hole in the bushing wear too big and let the plunger slip out? It occurs to me that perhaps it was from inadequate lubrication of the bushing. I didn't ever take them out and lube them but I did regularly put a drop of silicone spray on top and let it sit. That stuff should penetrate when applied like that. That is what I used to free up the frozen bushing that was in the Pazzo and it penetrated quite well. Perhaps I should try installing the Pazzo again now that the bushing turns freely.

Email to Pazzo soon to come.

* Last updated by: Rook on 5/1/2014 @ 7:36 PM *

Perhaps it's a question of geometry.

That is my strongest suspiscion. I don't want to go on at length about it yet because I wouldn't want to lead anyone to believe the Pazzo levers are not properly designed for the 14 unless I'm sure. ...but...I'm pretty sure I saw the wear starting to occur in the black portion of the aluminum early on. ...like immediately after doin a test fitting and then removing the PAzzo. I can say for certain that the Chinese levers start to wear against the aluminum part from the first pull of the lever. I have a pic of it. I never ran the Chinese levers on the bike but I did install them and pull the lever a few times.

here's what happened from the word "GO."

I hope the Chinese levers are not too faithful of a copy. Maybe this unnecessary wear is due to the fact that the Chinese plunger bushing has a cone shaped bottom the the hole? I'm thinking not. The cone shape might hold the plunger in to far but whether it does or not, the plunger should be able to travel freely at any point, being held in partially or fully released.

here is a comment I made on another thread 11 months ago, soon after installing the Pazzos. Might be good reading if you are interested in buying aftermarket levers.

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=7270416A-D56B-84E2-187D362F2D74BF3C&page=1&searchTerm=Chinazzos#10

Me:
"Here's the deal though. Noticed my Pazzo clutch lever was clicking right at the start of the pull like the piston switch might be hanging up on something. Just a small bind I don't usually feel that much with gloves on."

I don't like to rely on my memory for such a small detail but my intuition is raising the hairs on my neck and pulling my ears back....

Here's another comment I made about the Chinees levers on a diff thread. I had not used the Pazzo levers yet:

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=AC570B59-D56B-84E2-16F6506ED047F25D&page=3&searchTerm=Chinazzos#72

Your post got me worried, so I went and removed my Pz clutch lever. The pic of the Chinese knock off wear got me worried. Mine looked brand new; they should because they have only been on the bike for 500 miles. I also looked close at the alignment and your suspicions of misalignment causing the wear. The design looks correct to me, and what I thought about was the plunger position. The plunger is designed to be loose as it exits the master cylinder, mine wiggles around very freely.

I would include a bound up plunger as one of the potential root cause in your failure analysis. I don’t believe you mentioned it, but a plunger that could not move could wear on the hole in the bushing??

Glad you sorted it out before you went in deeper on the clutch pack.

IDK, rudy. The OEM lever I have on now works just fine. It is true that I never lubed the ball end of the plunger. Maybe it was stuck. I will try again soon. Hopefully mine will work properly like yours is.

The theory I might have mentioned earlier that perhaps Pazzo offers the same lever for several Kaw sportbikes cannot be true. The ZX-10 and the 6r don't even have a hydraulic clutch. Pazzo designed this lever for the 14 and the 14 only.

I'm back on this. There are people who have good luck and those like me who don't.

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=78559808-A0CC-E804-4F4B03BAB0870CC9

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=87B2665D-1372-66AE-3B74476DDC8B3B01

I'm going to try reinstalling this thing and look very carefully at it. Compare and measure to OEM, take pics ....dammit I'm laying out the whole case here!!!! I will get to the bottom of this.

I see my problem and all of the excessive wear marks on the Pazzo bear out what I'm saying.

Exhibit A
Here is the newly installed Pazzo clutch lever. The pushrod is not going in straight. Why is the pushrod not going in straight? Because A) the pushrod is too long, B) the hole in the bushing is too shallow or C) whatever stops the lever from flopping forward loosely on the pivot is holding the whole lever forward and too close to the pushrod.

Exhibit B
Freshly removed Pazzo after clutch slipping. Much ground metal. Bushing frozen by dirt. Bushing is rotated outward (toward the direction it was pushed by the misaligned, poorly fitting pushrod. The pushrod has actually worn its own hole in the aluminum where the pushrod was resting in the lever.

Sorry, you will need to rotate that last pic 180 degrees to orient to the top photo. This was taken 4 years ago so I was not planning a Pazzo failure album at the time.

More pics to come.

* Last updated by: Rook on 2/19/2018 @ 8:40 PM *

Top pic in last post, that pushrod would actually get more crooked as you pulled the lever.

If not perfectly straight at 100% throw, it should be angled off of perpendicular to the opposite direction so as the lever is pulled, the pushrod gets perpendicular at 100% pull. What do you say?

Could it be a simple matter of making sure the bushing hole is rotated inward?? I installed mine and it went together with the hole rotated to the outside. That is definitely wrong.

Few more comments on this thread.

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=87B2665D-1372-66AE-3B74476DDC8B3B01&show=0

* Last updated by: Rook on 2/20/2018 @ 8:56 AM *

OK 6 years gone by, I revisited the problem 2 years ago, now I think I have it solved. The clutch lever bushing was very dirty and frozen in place. The pushrod had worn a seat in the aluminum. Obviously it wasn't seated in the hole of the bushing when I was using it. I cleaned and lubed all the joints on the levers and installed the clutch lever today. I was careful to get the pushrod IN the hole of the bushing. The pivot holes lined up without needing to press the pushrod into the master cylinder. I used just a little pressure and the lever pivot dropped right through the perch. The clutch lever seems to operate normally now. The 14 is still in the process of getting dandied up for fall riding but I will do a few WOT tests when I run it and if that clutch holds, the problem is solved. Faulty installation. The pushrod was never seated in the bushing. I will be taking these off at least one time each season to clean and lube those bushings from now on.

* Last updated by: Rook on 7/26/2020 @ 3:43 AM *

I started reading then noticed the dates, and thought what the hell? Scrolled to the end to see who popped this up this thread again, figured was time to buy a watch or something, and it was Rook!! Thanks for letting us know how it went! Actually remembering to let us know is damn impressive, as I forget what dinner was yesterday!

Seriously, THANKS

You got it zxinit. Stay tuned. I'll do the road test soon.