clutch adjustment?

[jeffnew29]

Just want to me clear. Is the 2-3 mm of freeplay between the clutch lever and base handle( not locknut and barrel)? Should there be no tension on the lever until it is depressed 2-3 mm, ie slack, not under tension?

Sorry just wanted to be clear. I am getting gear chatter going from 1st to 2nd and hoping to fine tune the clutch engagement. I may have the "2nd gear problem" described in the forums. Shifts with a clunk on almost every gear.Bike has only 9200 miles.

[bikerphil]

Small amount of freeplay at the lever. You'll know if you have the 2nd gear problem if you gun it in 2nd gear and it skips. There is a good mod when fixing 2nd gear which involves moving a washer on the gearshaft to prevent premature failure.

[CA]

Ya i got that...

I rarely give out advice but I too asked this when I first came on....

And I was told that these things shift like Russian Tractors...

It takes some getting used to, but these do not shift smoothly especially from 1st to 2nd, yet the 2nd gear problem is when it actually slips out of 2nd under acceleration. Mine has never done that.

Just drive with a firm foot. As long as your clutch engages and disengages fully you are good to go.

[dbeardslee]

Jeff - You only adjust the freeplay at the handlebar - the clutch is adjusted at the other end of the cable. It's relatively easy to do, but depending on the condition of your clutch, it can also be a somewhat precise setting. On mine I've found that if I set it cold so the clutch engages towards that last part of the lever (as you let it out), as the engine warms up I get more clutch, and it starts engaging more towards the 'top' of the lever. Tech tips will tell you how to adjust it at the motor. The short version is disconnect the cable, loosen the locknut, back the adjusting screw out 1/2 turn or so, tighten it until you begin to feel tension on the screw, then back it out 1/8 turn. "Feeling tension" is somewhat subjective, and you may have to do it a couple times before you get it right on the money. Tighten the locknut with a screwdriver on the adjuster to keep it from turning while you tighten the lock nut. Reconnect the linkage, and then set your freeplay to 1-2mm at the lever.

[CatatonicBug]

With my clutch, I found that if I backed the screw out the recommended 1/4 turn, I would get some clunking at idle, with the clutch pulled in (like while waiting at a stoplight). I screwed mine in until it met resistance, and left it there, and it works great.

[oseaghdha]

With my clutch, I found that if I backed the screw out the recommended 1/4 turn, I would get some clunking at idle, with the clutch pulled in (like while waiting at a stoplight). I screwed mine in until it met resistance, and left it there, and it works great.

Boo.

Not recommended.

[CatatonicBug]

Boo.

Not recommended.

Please elaborate. All I know is that when I adjust per the manual (1/4 turn out after seated), the gears don't fully disengage. When I put the screw in that extra 1/4 turn, everything is happy. What difference does it make, as long as it works?

[oseaghdha]

Please elaborate. All I know is that when I adjust per the manual (1/4 turn out after seated), the gears don't fully disengage. When I put the screw in that extra 1/4 turn, everything is happy. What difference does it make, as long as it works?

Not to start a big piss-up, Mr Bug.
But this is a new guy (more or less) that you are giving advice to, and this advice is incorrect per the manual and every other motorcycle clutch adjustmnent I have ever done.

With no free play I would expect slippage/wear when the unit heats up.

These bikes have a clunky first gear. That is pretty much common knowledge here.

Perhaps you have warped plates causing exessive drag, or an extra steel?


Peace

[CatatonicBug]

I hope you don't think I'm upset. To the contrary! I am purely curious. I do not consider myself an expert at all, so things like this, though a tad bit different from the OP's question, can be very important for everyone to know. I'm simply trying to understand what problems, if any, I might be leading myself into by taking the route I have.

I know these things shift with clunks and thuds. However, once they have shifted, there should be no additional noise or impacts in the transmission. What mine was doing when adjusted per the manual was not disengaging the gears fully, causing a very slight impact of the gears at idle. As I have already done the "2nd gear fix" 3 separate times, on 3 separate gears, I really don't want to be doing something that might damage things further. Is there anything about this seemingly tiny adjutment that might cause some other problems down the road? Is it causing the gears to not mesh all the way once the clutch is released?

[TADracer]

Its only the air gap.

When you back out the 1/4 turn like the manuals say you are setting the air gap to the factory setting that occurs when the lever is pulled in. If for some reason that 1/4 turn does not give you enough air gap to fully disengage the clutch then backing out less than 1/4 turn (or none at all) will make your air gap bigger when the lever is pulled in.

As long as the adjustment screw is not pushing in on the pressure plate enough to KEEP an air gap when the lever is out, there should be no ill effects by making a different adjustment. If it locks up when the lever is out and disengages fully when the lever is in, it is working poroperly for that particular clutch pack.

[Bigfoot]

Sometimes it is pretty tough to actually feel when that screw touches while adjusting the clutch. On my XJ I also had to go less than that 1/4" to keep it from slipping. Could this indicate worn plates?

[oseaghdha]

If you have to go less than the 1/4 turn, it probably indicates that the throwout mechanism is worn and you have lost motion.

If you cannot adjust within the factory recommendations, something is used up and needs to be replaced. It's just a failure in progress.

[dbeardslee]

If you have to go less than the 1/4 turn, it probably indicates that the throwout mechanism is worn and you have lost motion.

...unless, of course, you turned it in too far to begin with. If you hit it exactly on the money when turning in, you may be right, but we're back to 'feeling tension' being somewhat subjective. I wouldn't go so far to say that a little less than 1/4 turn is a failure in progress. My $.02

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Bug,

The other thing is that AS the clutch wears, the plates and pressure plates move closer together, and the star plate will move closer to the clutch cover and throwout rod, so that after even a little wear, the throwout rod may put too much pressure against the star plate keeping the clutch pack from fully engaging=slippage.

So...with a closer than 1/4 turn out adjustment, it would be recommended to check that adjustment setting more often, since clutch wear will cause the star plate to make contact with the throwout rod sooner, but 1/4 turn or 1/8 turn should be fine, but NO turn out might be just a bit too close...as was stated, with engine warming up and parts expanding, not much/any clearance/allowance for that, and the throwout rod may be putting too much pressure against the starplate when it's supposed to be fully released to allow full engagement/tension of the clutch pack...that could lead to premature slippage of the clutch, especially under hard throttle, and Xsive slippage also leads to more WEAR. The clutches don't wear when they are fully engaged and fully released, just when you are slipping them!
T.C.

[XJ Rob]

With the short experience I have had with my XJ, I found if I shift at a lower M.P.H. around 15-20 I don't get the hard "clunk" 1st to 2nd.Same applies for the rest of the gears. But there is NO fun in shifting that soon. Sometimes I think it just takes time to get it dialed in. After the lower adjustment is adjusted to spec, the fine tuning can be done at the lever.Very small tweaks on the barrel. Just my .02