I did not read Correct Procedure for Adjusting Clutch and now i'm stuck

[Jackblackjeet]

Of course I did not find the good instructions "Correct Procedure for Adjusting Clutch by Micah Hodges" until after I went crazy with the screw driver and now cannot disengage my clutch.

So my clutch lever was not as tight as it had been and I decided to adjust it according to the manual. I noticed that the adjustment at the lever was maxed out and knew that I'd need to order a new cable. I just wanted to get it working until the part came in so I decided to check the mechanical adjustment under the side cover. I backed off the locknut and adjusted the philips screw until I was satisfied that I had "touched the pressure plate" and came back off 1/4 turn, then tightened the locknut back. I started the bike on the centerstand and put it in first. Of course now the clutch lever has no resistance at all and the wheel is spinning like a mother.

Have any of you guys had to take the clutch cover off and adjust what the manual lovingly refers to as "the balls" to get this mechanism working again?

I'm hoping that it's just behind the cover and that I don't have to go messing around past the star nut and springs, etc.

[DGXSER]

First, I can assure you, if it worked well before you made your adjustments, that it is not behind the star plate or beyond, well, most likely not anyway.

Fortunately for me, I have not yet needed to adjust the my clutches balls. I'd start by readjusting that screw. If your cable is that stretched, 1/4 turn may be to much. Try going an 1/8 of a turn instead.

A couple tricks that can save you some effort, put the bike on the side stand, then remove the clutch cover. With it on the sidestand, the oil level is below the clutch cover and you can remove it without draining the oil.

[James England]

The clutch balls are not adjustable.They are three chromed balls, held in place by a lugged triangular, flat plate, which roll up little ramps. They do this when the clutch arm is pulled by the clutch cable. As they roll up the ramps, it forces the clutch rod against a cup in the star plate and disengages the clutch. You've adjusted the arm correctly by the sound of it. That's the only adjustment you can do at that end. If your clutch cable has stretched, or has an inner cable of an incorrect length, then the clutch arm will not be pulled enough to disengage the clutch when you pull the clutch lever in at the handlebars.

You can get wear on the balls and the ramps but I doubt it's enough to cause unadjustable slack at the clutch arm. I've found that sometimes the top ball loses its chrome because of emulsified oil sitting on it and the water corrodes the chrome, then the ball wears and gets pits. All you need is three 10mm ball bearings.

[FANNING507]

When I adjusted mine, there was not much room for error. I ended up adjusting and readjusting about 4 times before I got it right. Follow the instructions exactly and you will get there.