My bike pulls with the clutch fully engaged, and the shifting is sticky. What's the problem here?

Question

So, when I come to a stop, and pull the clutch lever in all the way, the bike still pulls if it's in gear. Sometimes this causes the bike to stall out. Also, the gear shifting is sticky, sometimes it's really hard to downshift, and getting the thing in neutral is pain in the ***!

The bike is a 2002 Suzuki Bandit 1200 with 25-30,000 hard, estimated miles (I had it in Streetfighter setup for a couple years with the gauges off). A buddy of mine has the exact same bike, albeit with far fewer miles, and we switched. His bike shifted like a dream! Great feel in the lever, the shifts were solid and precise. That was how my bike was when I first got it! He does have those braided steel lines on his clutch though.

I changed the clutch fluid last year. Is it time to change out the clutch in my bike? And if so, is there any way to modify it for improved strength and durability? I do beat on the old girl like a red-headed stepchild. But she sure does like it. Heh heh.

Answer 1

its either the oil you used or the clutch is just going out.  if its the clutch, new plates and heavy duty springs will fix the problem

Answer 2

try adjusting it

Answer 3

Get the Clymer manual, which will walk you through the clutch adjustment.

You also need an oil change.