Clutch questions

[meangreen11]

Ever since I bought my bike in June, it's a had a high speed high throttle clutch slip, so I drive it easy. Knowing that I must need a new clutch, I decided to try adjusting it first.while doing my adjustment, I noticed that when the cable is pulled, the shaft that the adjustment screw is on by the clutch, moves up and down, not just turning. I'm assuming this isn't normal, any ideas on what it could be? And by the way, clutch still slips at full throttle.

[crazy steve]

Several reasons why the clutch could be slipping, you may not need a new one. First, what oil are you running? These bikes don't like synthetic oil and a slipping clutch is the usual symtom when it's used. The weight makes a difference too. Another issue is some of the newer automotive oils have additives to make them more 'slippery' and those will cause it to slip. These will be marked inside the 'weight circle' label as 'fuel' or 'energy saving', don't use these. Run 20w-40 or 20w-50 non-synthetic without the additives for clutch happiness. You can get motorcycle-specific oils that don't have these additives, but there are still auto oils that will work, you just need to look closely at the label.

It can also be clutch springs that have lost tension over time. Check the manual for specs, and if they're bad get Barnett replacements. Avoid the EBC springs, there's been too many reports of these failing quickly.

As to your original question, no, that shaft should only turn, not move up and down. A small amount of movement is OK (under .010"), more than that and there's a problem in the adjuster. You'll need to pull the clutch cover and look at the cam assembly for looseness and/or excessive wear.