1985 Maxim 700 Clutch Problem

[JohnK]

I stored my bike for a couple of years while building a new house. Now there is no clutch lever resistance for about the first half of the lever travel. Also, pulling fully on the lever does not fully disengage the clutch. Is there any chance something is stuck or frozen but will free up when I first use the bike? Any other ideas? Thanks.

[dwain61]

fun stuff

I had a yammie that did the same sort of thing after being parked for 4 years. Somehow the clutch had come out of adjustment and needed to be readjusted. The problem comes about mainly because the clutch cable streches because of the tension that the cluch springs put on it (at least that was my problem). Try to adjust the cable itself, if that doesnt work then off comes the clutch cover and usually there is an adjustment screw present so you can get the clutch to disengage again. When you have the cover off pull the clutch lever in and adjust the screw until it disengages making sure that when you let the lever go it fully engages again. Hope this helps.

[Bill]

Re: 1985 Maxim 700 Clutch Problem

JohnK wrote:

I stored my bike for a couple of years while building a new house. Now there is no clutch lever resistance for about the first half of the lever travel. Also, pulling fully on the lever does not fully disengage the clutch. Is there any chance something is stuck or frozen but will free up when I first use the bike? Any other ideas?

Dwain's answer sounds right. The XJ700 clutch is a simple, cable operated setup. Try adjustment first, then look further.

If you want to hook up with a group that knows the particulars of the XJ line, you should subscribe to the XJ-Owners Mailing List at http://www.micapeak.com/lists/xj-owners. The content is similar to XS11.COM site, but it's an e-mail list rather than a forum. And, rather than maintain a web site, they have a CD available with tons of information on the XJ bikes.

But don't forget to continue checking XS11.COM for technical information. Nobody does it better!

Hope to see you on the XJ-Owners list!

XSively,