trouble finding neutral

[Rickrod3]

A new clutch cable will make a big difference. It's amazing how much they stretch over time. Will it fix the problem? Maybe, if they properly adjust it afterwards. As they say in Italian - "Keepa you fingas crossed."

+1
I'd bet the cable and proper adjustment will solve the problem.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey motoman. Bike is with a mechanic. The good news, it seems, is that he believes the clutch cable was the culprit for a few of my woes. It was down to 2 strands and stretched out. Said it will help with better shifting, cure my neutral problem and stop the clutch slippage at WOT in upper rpm range (problem from a previous post). I brought him the new Garrett springs but he said he didn't need them, but put them in anyway since I provided them (kind of wish he didn't because someone here said these springs can make using the clutch in traffic a pain).

I did not ask them to open anything up,..trying to keep the $/hr down. If the cable is not the cure, this will be the next step.

Thank you all for the info!! I should have her back by friday and will report.

Well, even though you asked him not to open anything up, he had to remove the clutch cover to be able to put the new springs in! SO...IF he truly did put the springs in, then he HAD to open up the clutch cover to be able to do that. SO...you're going to have a modest $$ because of that. The new cable should be very smooth/freshly lubed and easy to actuate, and while they had the clutch cover off, they should have applied some fresh grease to the throwout rod/lever parts to further help loosen the action to make it even a little easier to actuate the handlebar lever.

Just remember to grab the lever as far near the end as you can, more leverage there....until you get the muscles built up!

T.C.

[mrhammer2u]

Well that makes me sound like a dummy

You're right, he did open to install springs. I know nothing about this area and meant I didn't ask them to check what motoman was referring to.

[motoman]

Hey motoman. Bike is with a mechanic. The good news, it seems, is that he believes the clutch cable was the culprit for a few of my woes. It was down to 2 strands and stretched out. Said it will help with better shifting, cure my neutral problem and stop the clutch slippage at WOT in upper rpm range (problem from a previous post). I brought him the new Garrett springs but he said he didn't need them, but put them in anyway since I provided them (kind of wish he didn't because someone here said these springs can make using the clutch in traffic a pain).

I did not ask them to open anything up,..trying to keep the $/hr down. If the cable is not the cure, this will be the next step.

Thank you all for the info!! I should have her back by friday and will report.

Either way, ESPECIALLY with cabe replacemt, the clutch adjustment HAS to done FTRST. That is done BEFORE cable instalation!. Undoing the loc-nut and backing csrew out(starting over with adjustment), then gradually screwing in till slightest resistance is felt. Then screwout a half a turm and while holding scdew with screw-driver, tighten loc-nut.............done down there. Install new cable and make CABLE sdjustment by rotaing screw assembly so just a tad of freepkay exist..........now, go ride and report back here how it 'feels'.

[mrhammer2u]

Sorry for delayed response to this thread. The culprit to my slipping clutch under power at high rpm's and trouble finding neutral were cured by a cable replacement and adjustment at the lever.

Went for a long ride last weekend. Bike got hot and had trouble finding neutral again (post cable fix). All I had to do was adjust at the lever a bit and voila.

Thanks all! Hope this helps the next person.

[dbeardslee]

Sorry for delayed response to this thread. The culprit to my slipping clutch under power at high rpm's and trouble finding neutral were cured by a cable replacement and adjustment at the lever.

Went for a long ride last weekend. Bike got hot and had trouble finding neutral again (post cable fix). All I had to do was adjust at the lever a bit and voila.

Thanks all! Hope this helps the next person.

Glad you got her nailed down.

May wanna listen to 34yrs. experience with these ole' scoots

Or not.

Sorry - couldn't resist.

[IanDMacDonald]

Either way, ESPECIALLY with cabe replacemt, the clutch adjustment HAS to done FTRST. That is done BEFORE cable instalation!. Undoing the loc-nut and backing csrew out(starting over with adjustment), then gradually screwing in till slightest resistance is felt. Then screwout a half a turm and while holding scdew with screw-driver, tighten loc-nut.............done down there. Install new cable and make CABLE sdjustment by rotaing screw assembly so just a tad of freepkay exist..........now, go ride and report back here how it 'feels'.

Hey Moto- In my experience, this adjustment does not work on my XS bikes. Every one of them likes the book's way of adjustment, which is a quarter-out after softseat. If you back it out any further, you feel a clunk in the clutch handle, which I don't think is proper. 1/4 turn out, and it's smooth.

[dbeardslee]

Hey Moto- In my experience, this adjustment does not work on my XS bikes. Every one of them likes the book's way of adjustment, which is a quarter-out after softseat. If you back it out any further, you feel a clunk in the clutch handle, which I don't think is proper. 1/4 turn out, and it's smooth.

You can move the clutch engagement in and out at the handlebar lever by tweaking the lever adjustment under the cover. And with a brand new cable sometimes that's the only place you can adjust it as new cables that haven't stretched tend to need all the slack taken up at the handlebar cable adjuster.

When I redid my brother's clutch a couple months ago I had to take the adjusting lever apart 'cause the ball bearings on the pusher assembly had popped out of place. That center bolt you turn for the adjustment goes all the way through to the center of the clutch assembly, and when you pull the lever the ball bearings ride up in a groove and cause the center to move farther in and disengage the clutch.

For whatever reason I've noticed that XS clutches tend to act differently when they're warmed up than when they're cold and on the ones I've seen you have to pull the lever back closer to the handlebar for full disengagement once they're warmed up.

Even the manual tells you to readjust as necessary after a test drive. But the real test is this - does the clutch fully disengage when the lever is pulled back? I check that by putting the bike up on the center stand and checking to see if the rear wheel turns when the clutch is pulled and I put it in gear. It's always going to turn a bit at first, but I stop the wheel with my foot and make sure it doesn't start turning again. And the other part of the test is to see if the clutch slips under heavy throttle. If the wheel doesn't turn, and the clutch doesn't slip, you're good.

[IanDMacDonald]

You can move the clutch engagement in and out at the handlebar lever by tweaking the lever adjustment under the cover. And with a brand new cable sometimes that's the only place you can adjust it as new cables that haven't stretched tend to need all the slack taken up at the handlebar cable adjuster.

When I redid my brother's clutch a couple months ago I had to take the adjusting lever apart 'cause the ball bearings on the pusher assembly had popped out of place. That center bolt you turn for the adjustment goes all the way through to the center of the clutch assembly, and when you pull the lever the ball bearings ride up in a groove and cause the center to move farther in and disengage the clutch.

For whatever reason I've noticed that XS clutches tend to act differently when they're warmed up than when they're cold and on the ones I've seen you have to pull the lever back closer to the handlebar for full disengagement once they're warmed up.

Even the manual tells you to readjust as necessary after a test drive. But the real test is this - does the clutch fully disengage when the lever is pulled back? I check that by putting the bike up on the center stand and checking to see if the rear wheel turns when the clutch is pulled and I put it in gear. It's always going to turn a bit at first, but I stop the wheel with my foot and make sure it doesn't start turning again. And the other part of the test is to see if the clutch slips under heavy throttle. If the wheel doesn't turn, and the clutch doesn't slip, you're good.

From my understanding, the only purpose of the adjustment on the lever, is to provide the 2-3mm of slack in the clutch lever prior to engaging the friction zone.

I've never found a cable-pull clutch to act differently whether hot or cold. My hydraulic clutches are another story.

[dbeardslee]

From my understanding, the only purpose of the adjustment on the lever, is to provide the 2-3mm of slack in the clutch lever prior to engaging the friction zone.

I think it's supposed to give you a little slack to make sure the adjusting lever doesn't have tension on it. It's amazing how much those cables stretch over time, and with a new cable they can be pretty tight at the top, even adjusted all the way in.

I've never found a cable-pull clutch to act differently whether hot or cold. My hydraulic clutches are another story.

I've got two of them sitting out in the garage right now, and they both act the same way.

The manual doesn't say whether to adjust the clutch warm or cold, but I'd be inclined to say warm is probably the better way to do it.

[motoman]

I wasn't talking about making an adjustment at the shifter cam. I was talking about the adjustment at the clutch cover. The lever I was referring to was the clutch lever on the handlebar.

Nope........has to be checked for alignment behind the left side cover FIRST.

[skids]

Hey Moto- In my experience, this adjustment does not work on my XS bikes. Every one of them likes the book's way of adjustment, which is a quarter-out after softseat. If you back it out any further, you feel a clunk in the clutch handle, which I don't think is proper. 1/4 turn out, and it's smooth.

I agreed with that..

[motoman]

Hey motoman. Bike is with a mechanic. The good news, it seems, is that he believes the clutch cable was the culprit for a few of my woes. It was down to 2 strands and stretched out. Said it will help with better shifting, cure my neutral problem and stop the clutch slippage at WOT in upper rpm range (problem from a previous post). I brought him the new Garrett springs but he said he didn't need them, but put them in anyway since I provided them (kind of wish he didn't because someone here said these springs can make using the clutch in traffic a pain).

I did not ask them to open anything up,..trying to keep the $/hr down. If the cable is not the cure, this will be the next step.

Thank you all for the info!! I should have her back by friday and will report.

To bad you didn't mention cacle cond. from the get go.