Clutch Question

[Rhumba]

Hey All,

I have a question about the clutch. I have adjusted it so that the hand lever has about 1/2" of play at the end of the lever. I know the clutch is disengaging ok because it shifts fine.

BUT...when it's warming up and I have the choke engaged and the RPMs are about 2000-2500, I go to put it in first gear and pull in the clutch lever then lightly push down on the shift lever I can hear the gears beginning to grind and I have to reduce the choke and bring the RPMs down to idle then it will go into first but with a really loud clunk.

Is this because of thick cold oil not allowing the clutch to disengage or is it something wrong with the clutch or tranny?
Once it warms up it shifts ok but it still has a loud clunk going from neutral to first. Aren't the gears in the tranny supposed to stop spinning when the clutch is disengaged?

By the way, I'm running straight 10W-40. (Valvoline)

[petejw]

thats pretty normal
it is 4 my bike, :-)
u can help reduce the effect by
try and changing into 1st at an idle speed,
dtn push down on the lever lightly
b direct with the engagement into 1st.
it can also help holding in the clutch 4 a sec or 2 b4 engaging 1st.
these can b nororious for clunking into gear.

[mason79]

clunky is normal for me

new barnett clutch setup, took a thousand miles to break in now it doesn't creep and lurch nor is it grabby any more,

i try to roll the bike forward when i engage it into first at stops, it helps with the grinding but it does not go away completely.

[prometheus578]

These bikes have clunky sounding gears... so that's sort of normal.

What isn't normal is PeteJW's grammar and spelling.
Act your age...
Quit writing like a damned teenager with one o' dem damn text phones!
Thank You.

[Dennyz]

Checking clutch play at the lever is not always the best place to check. A sticky cable could miss lead you. I prefer to check that the clutch cable can be lifted out of the clutch case hole about an 1/8 of an inch. Try this check when the bike is cold.

[trbig]

I prefer to check that the clutch cable can be lifted out of the clutch case hole about an 1/8 of an inch.

Huh??

If the end of the cable housing fits flush against the clutch cover hole.. how do you get it to go an 1/8 inch past that? Am I missing something?

Tod

[randy]

Rhumba;

You have 1/2" play at the lever pivot? Not good.

First clutch adjustment should be done at the engine side of the cable. Follow the directions in the manual. Then, do the lever end of the cable.

At the pivot, IIRC, there should only be a couple of mm free play. That will give you maximum clutch dis-engagement. Any noises/clunking after you do those adjustments is, as previously noted, normal!

[fredintoon]

"the machine is working perfectly"

Hi Rhumba,
there's an urban legend about an exchange of telegrams between Ettoire Bugatti and a customer.
"The machine sounds like a bucket of ball bearings being poured onto a steel plate"
"From your description the machine is working perfectly"
I keep saying this:- The XS11 shifts like a Russian tractor.
At least, mine does.
I wonder if that's true of all the XS series shafties? My son & I have happened on a total bargain XS750. Once it's running we shall see.

[Dennyz]

If the end of the cable housing fits flush against the clutch cover hole.. how do you get it to go an 1/8 inch past that?

You should be able to pull the clutch cable housing up about an 1/8" from the clutch case when the clutch is in its static postion.

[XSPastor]

You have 1/2" play at the lever pivot? Not good.

He said at the end of the lever - not at the pivot.

[Rhumba]

I have a 1/2" of play at the end of the hand lever. I do it this way because that's how my last bike, a Honda, was set up. I know it's a different bike but the same principle applies. A certain amount of play to insure the clutch doesn't slip and also to insure full disengagement.

I do see the point about the engine side of the equation though. I'll check that as well.

I am just curious about why when the clutch is fully disengaged the tranny gears still spin. It's like the gears are still spinning when I go to put it in first gear and I have to force them together.

I'm thinking warped clutch plates or too thick or sticky of an oil.

Opinions?

[randy]

Adjust it per the manual and you'll probably see an improvement. I've never heard of end-of-lever play having anything to do with clutch adjustment. But, then, I learn something new every day.

[petejw]

has been told :-)

prometheus578 These bikes have clunky sounding gears... so that's sort of normal.

"What isn't normal is PeteJW's grammar and spelling.
Act your age...
Quit writing like a damned teenager with one o' dem damn text phones!
Thank You."


It is a bad habit,
but theres nothing wrong with my grammar. :-)

[Yahman]

Originally posted by Rhumba
I am just curious about why when the clutch is fully disengaged the tranny gears still spin. It's like the gears are still spinning when I go to put it in first gear and I have to force them together.

I'm thinking warped clutch plates or too thick or sticky of an oil.

Opinions?

There are two sets of shafts with gears that are all in constant contact with their countershaft companion. The "Countershaft" or "Drive Axle Shaft" contains the "gears". The other shaft is the "Main Shaft" or "Axle Shaft", this contains the "pinions".

Some of the gears and pinions are connected to the shaft so that they are locked to the shafts rotation, others are allowed to spin freely on the shaft.

About Neutral and the Neutral-1st gear shift:
The hard shift into first gear is normal. The cause is due to how the gears behave when in neutral, and how that effects the shift into first.

When the engine is running and clutch is engaged, and the transmission is in neutral, 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears are freespooling, but their pinions are fixed. Thus, each of these gears is spinning on the countershaft, though the countershaft is not spinning at all (remember, the countershaft and wheel have a hard connection, if the wheel is stopped, the countershaft is stopped).

Since 1st gear is so large, it has a lot of momentum, disengaging the clutch and shifting into first causes the non-spinning 4th gear to engage with the spinning 1st gear. This causes the shifts to be hard. This is why there is a loud "thunk" when shifting into 1st from neutral. To make it worse, the bike is shaft driven; on chain and belted bikes, the chain or belt will bounce to absorb some of the shock.

The way to avoid this is to wait several seconds after releasing the clutch to engage 1st gear. This will allow the gear to slow down enough or stop, so that the shift will be less brutal.

Larry

[trbig]

Ehhh...

Pete, don't mind Pro.. They're trying to wean him off the pain pills right now and he's grouchy. Pretty soon he'll be right back to his old.. ummm.. grouchy self!


Tod