Clutch Ceased

[davidsymons53]

Due to a complete mental breakdown (it cycles), I removed the oil pan last fall and did not get it back on until yesterday. Now it seems the clutch is ceased. Is there any hope it will magically un-cease when I fill the engine with oil? If not, how do I proceed?

David

[DGXSER]

No oil = no engine running. So your saying the clutch is not disengaging when you squeeze the clutch lever on the bars and letting the bike roll or the wheel spin?

First, make sure you follow the complete instructions for adjusting the clutch cable free play, start at the engine end, then adjust the lever end. If that does not help, check your clutch cable length. I would also pull the clutch pack out, and separate the clutch friction disc and steel plates, lightly sand with 0000 steel wool or emery pad the steel plates, and maybe 320 grit or so on the friction disc. Put it all back together and see what you get.

[Toolmaker Tim]

Clutch Woes

There is no reason not to try putting oil in and rocking the bike back and forth to get the clutch to release. The clutch in my SF is usally tempermental at the beginning of the riding season, but a couple of hard take offs usually straighten it out.

[davidsymons53]

To clarify, the clutch worked last summer and fall but ceased up over the winter when there was no oil in the bike. I can pull the clutch lever and put the bike in gear. The rear wheel will not turn. I can shove the bike and the tire just slides across the pavement.

If adding oil won't help now, would it it be better to pull the clutch pack out with out the mess of oil everywhere?

David

[CatatonicBug]

To clarify, the clutch worked last summer and fall but ceased up over the winter when there was no oil in the bike. I can pull the clutch lever and put the bike in gear. The rear wheel will not turn. I can shove the bike and the tire just slides across the pavement.

If adding oil won't help now, would it it be better to pull the clutch pack out with out the mess of oil everywhere?

David

Umm... That's what is SUPPOSED to happen. If the bike is in gear, the wheel won't turn unless the engine is running. What happens if you put it in neutral? Or are you saying that while in gear, you pull the clutch lever, and the wheel does not release?

You can pull the right side engine cover while the bike is on the sidestand while it's full of oil, and no major spills will happen. The oil will stay on the other side of the engine.

[DGXSER]

If you put the bike in Neutral does the rear wheel spin freely?

Honestly, if it were my bike, for no more than it takes to pull the clutch out I would do that. You could add oil and mess around trying to get it to break free, but the time you spend fussing with it, you could have the clutch out, prepped and reinstalled.

Definitely, either way, go through the clutch cable adjustment before you try it again.

As Bug suggested, I have on more than one occasion, put the bike on the side stand and removed the clutch cover with little more than a drip or two of oil hitting the ground. Just do not forget about the oil and try stand the bike back up.

[davidsymons53]

Well Cat, did I mention I had a mental breakdown? I suffer with Atypical Unipolar Major Depression. I get so mentally shut down sometimes I have lost whole seasons. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me when "Umm... That's what is SUPPOSED to happen" smacks me in the face, but it still does.

So... the clutch is working like it should work. Thanks for all the help, I really, really need it.

David

[DiverRay]

David,
The clutches WILL CEASE TO WORK if left siting for a while. To get it working again, you need to start the engine with the bike facing a CLEAR PATH/STREET and try to put it in gear. It will probably die the first few times, but clear up and run after that.

[fredintoon]

Due to a complete mental breakdown (it cycles), I removed the oil pan last fall and did not get it back on until yesterday. Now it seems the clutch is ceased. Is there any hope it will magically un-cease when I fill the engine with oil? If not, how do I proceed?

David

Hi David,
you mean seized, right?
Unless you have been messing with the clutch, most likely the plates are just stuck to one another by being parked for so long.
So first try getting two burly helpers to get the bike up to ~8 mph in neutral with the engine stopped, pulling the clutch in and booting it into second to shock the clutch plates loose. Or if no help is available, fill up with oil, start the engine idling, pull in the clutch and then boot it into gear.
The clutch should break loose, most likely with a lurch and a bang.

[yamtom]

like they said

Hi ,

My bikes do the same thing when sitting , David, all these guys have given good advice, Dons method is more labor, but you will get some practice and it should be thouroughly fixed. I just start the bike up, let it warm up a bit, maybe get it rolling a bit, then kick it into second, then ride in second for a bit, then pull the clutch in, and it should be ok if nothing else has changed. Of course, this is after you get the pan and oil back on /in it. This shouldnt be a setback for you at all. Have a good season.

[James England]

Mine was the same once. I started in neutral, engaged first gear and the bike lurched forward and almost hit a tree in the garden!

I started the engine in first gear with the clutch lever pulled in (we can do that on the UK bikes) and it still lurched forward. So I re-started in neutral and left the bike ticking over for 10 minutes. After an initial crunch on engaging 1st gear (the XS's don't do that, do they?) it was fine!

I don't think it's a good idea leaving a bike engine with no oil in and the pan off though.......

[cywelchjr]

Yep, with oil in the engine and running, and let it warm up a little first, then pull the clutch in and put it in gear, it as others said may kill the engine the first couple of times but it should break loose, it's because it's all stuck together from sitting with no oil for that long, but running and oil getting to it and then the shock of putting it in gear should break it loose and it should be fine after that. Even if you would have had oil in the engine, it might have done the same thing, since even on the center stand, pretty much no oil is up on the clutch plates when sitting, its only when running that the clutch is getting it's oil bath.

[Irukandji]

I started in neutral, engaged first gear and the bike lurched forward and almost hit

Would putting the bike on the center stand work for this problem?, or do you need the weight of the bike to let the clutch break free?

[cywelchjr]

Would putting the bike on the center stand work for this problem?, or do you need the weight of the bike to let the clutch break free?

You might be able to do the center stand and really stand on the rear brake as you put it in gear. But what you need it the shock to break the disks free from their sticktion (a term used with hard drives back in the 80s when the heads would stick to the platters when shut down, really common on seagate 20 meg drives, sometimes a lateral shock would break them free (and sometimes damage the heads in the process), much like the clutch disks) so they can work properly. If this doesn't work, you need to have enough room available and help with you so you can use a combination of brakes and the weight of the bike to try and break them free. It should be idling low enough to die rather than go down the road if they don't break free, only about 1100 RPM. If it won't break free with 4 or 5 tries, and rocking it in gear with the clutch pulled in doesn't work either, you may need to pull the clutch cover and pull the clutch apart and actually clean and least service the frictions and steels. This is of course after you have made sure that the clutch is properly adjusted, all bets are off if it's not.

[old_chopper]

I would recommend instead of jamming it in gear while it's running to put the bike in 4th or 5th gear, engine off, pull the clutch in, then rock the bike forward a few times. It will pop the discs loose easier than 1st gear. Mine set for @15 years and was stuck solid. Fresh oil and filter, little rocking and it freed up just fine.