Clutch not engaging or disengaging

[mmaddix]

Some time ago I noticed under WOT the clutch slipped so I finally got around to adjusting it last night at the engine first then at the lever. I loosened the nut, loosened the screw then tightened the screw til I just felt it get resistance, loosened it 1/4 turn, and held it while I tightened the nut.

On the way to work this morning my clutch kept getting harder to pull. Once I got to work I realized shifting became harder. I realized the clutch wasn't fully engaging when I pulled it and that's why shifting was harder( I was basically shifting without pulling the clutch. Once i got off work I tried adjusting the clutch again but it didn't change anything. With the bike off I put the bike in gear, kept the clutch pulled and tried to turn the back wheel but it is hard to turn.

When I try to ride it and release the clutch slowly it doesn't release slowly. the lever some times will be like half way out then all of a sudden the clutch would release to that point then release the rest of the way normally.

I rode it home anyways, and I will be pulling the clutch cover off and maybe even the basket tomorrow.

Also in the last week I have started using Valvoline motorcycle 20w-50 to refill my leaky engine instead of the autozone brand 20w-50 regular oil

Any help would be appreciated as always.

[ManagerMike]

The way you describe it, it sounds as if you have a cable issue as opposed to a clutch issue. Open the clutch cover so you aren't actually operating the release bearing against the clutch springs and see what kind of results you get while operating the lever. That should tell you if your cable is failing or has failed.

[mmaddix]

I have and the cable moves freely. And it moves freely in and out when it's not connected to the engine.

[BA80]

OR, the clutch lever didn't seat on the flats of the throwout rod properly and it slipped.

[DGXSER]

Did you adjust the free play at the lever end? IF you have to much free play there you will not pull the clutch far enough to disengage. Then it will be tough to shift, the bike will feel like it wants to move with the clutch pulled...etc...BTDT Printed the T-shirt.

[mmaddix]

The lever on the engine is fully seated and yes i have adjusted the free play at the handle bar lever. It does it even with the free play adjusted so much that the clutch lever is pulling the clutch even when it is released

[WMarshy]

Maybe its just the way you wrote your first post but, before you adjust the clutch down on the engine, loosen the handle and allow lots of free play. Then adjust the through-out on the engine then set your free play...

Usually you can get real close with just feeling for resistance on the phillips bolt, then I like to start the bike in neutral on the center stand, pull the clutch and put it in first. If it clanks hard and your rear tire rolls then you need more dis-engagement from the clutch. Make your adjustment and repeat the above check on the center stand. The true test is finding neutral, if you dont have enough dis-engagement then you wont be able to find neutral and it will just skip right over it... Mare another adjustment and try again until you can find neutral easily, set your free play then go ride and make sure it doesn't slip under hard acceleration.

Form what you described you already know your not getting enough dis-engagement, are you sure you are going the right way with the adjustment? Also, I dont think your issue is oil related. If you get the adjustment set right and it still slips under WOT then its time for friction plates and skuff the steels...

[mmaddix]

I will try to loosen the Phillips more as you said. I did try to tighten it beyond the point of the first resistance just to see what would happen and it didn't change anything. I understand that I probably should of tried loosening it beyond the point of first contact but at that point yesterday I was pretty irritated so I wasn't thinking perfectly strait and that's why I walked away and wrote this on the forum.

I also just remembered that I should of mentioned on the first post, the reason why I think it is internal is because on the way home from work yesterday sometimes the clutch would randomly start working normally again but most of the time it would do as I described in the first post.

[mmaddix]

I tried with the Phillips screw out as much as it would go and still same problem. I'm going to be taking the cover off and probably the basket out to

[mmaddix]

So i took the cover off and it looks like the Phillips screw was out to much causing the whole plate not just the Phillips screw to touch the star plate. As you can see from the pictures below.


I don't understand because i adjusted it multiple times. Maybe that is just from before.

I took the part with the triangle ball bearing plate apart just to to see if anything was wrong but it looks fine to me.



There is a little bit of corrosion on the cover that I'm going to clean off but that shouldn't cause this problem.

So i took the basket off and at first with the bike in neutral i tried with a socket and 1/2 inch ratchet. Of course the basket moved so then i took a hammer and started lightly tapping the ratchet. To my surprise it started loosening fairly easy. Then i noticed the lock washer, that i flattened out before i started loosening the nut of course, was spinning with the nut. Once i got the nut off i found the tabs that hold the washer in place were broken off. I found them inside the basket. Here is a picture of the one i took off (on the left) and the one i installed (on the right)


So my thought process was that the whole basket came lose and was out to far so i looked at the friction plates and they looked good. So i put everything back together with the new washer hoping that would be the problem. Nope the problem its still there. I'm going to try another set of springs i have from another clutch today.

[mmaddix]

I replaced the clutch basket including the springs, the star plate and the whole mechanism that you use to mechanically adjust the clutch including the triangle plate with the ball bearings in it and now the clutch is working fine but I think I have a oil problem that might have caused the other clutch not to work because it wasn't getting oil. See my new post about the oil problem?

[BA80]

The clutch is in the engine oil, there is no way it's not getting any. There is no "oil pressure" to the clutch.

You might drop the oil pan and take a look. What oil are you running?

( Oh man, here we go with the oil thread again. )

[mmaddix]

Also in the last week I have started using Valvoline motorcycle 20w-50 to refill my leaky engine instead of the autozone brand 20w-50 regular oil

I know its allot to read so you probably missed it. I'm about to change the oil with the 20w-50 Valvoline motorcycle oil. Its probably just has been to long since I have changed it.

[BA80]

As long as the little circle thing looks like this...........



blank at the bottom, you should be OK.

I chang my bike oil the same as my car. Every 3000 miles or 3 months.

Did you ever drop the pan and work on those gears?

[WMarshy]

Here's a thought... did you put the clutch shaft bushing on backwards? If you put it on backwards it wont let oil get to the clutch IIRC... It has a spiral grove in the OD of it and fits between the shaft and basket...