I just wanted to share an experience I'd had over the past 2-weeks. I live in the North Eastern US, and we've been experiencing a harsher Winter than we're used to. I started motorized bicycle riding in Fall 2012, and have used my bike as a primary means of transport since: ALL seasons and weather. I fared well last Winter, so when I experienced annoying problems with my clutch engaging THIS Winter, I assumed that since the engine's been exposed to more slush and such than last-year, that my pads were getting too much moisture or that I might have blown a clutch-side gasket. Well, my clutch-compartment was a LITTLE moist, so brake-cleanered it, dried everything out, readjusted the star-nut and lever-arm...I even re-knurled the clutch-plate tightened the shaft-spring. No improvement. So...my clutch would engage, but not fully: starting could be a real pain in the ass, and there was a good deal of slipping up hills and during heavier acceleration. I found that I could force the lever-arm to fully engage the clutch...it required a minimum of effort too, so now I know why they include that long, skinny spring you're meant to place on the clutch-cable between the arm and the cable-post (didn't install it!). On closer inspection, I found that my clutch-cable was being restricted by moisture...the water in the sheath was consistently frozen, and was hindering the clutch's full engagement. I cleaned and re-oiled the cable/sheath, and although the clutch engagement improved, it STILL slipped. I'd then tightened the clutch-spring to its functional limit...STILL NO RELIEF! I was going nucking futs. Thinking that the spring had lost its effectiveness (somehow), I was nonplussed imagining that I'd have to split the case of a really excellently running engine just to replace the thing. Well...as a last-ditch effort, I imagined I might be able to increase plate-pressure by jogging the clutch-shaft towards the sprocket-side (I was desperate). Lo and behold: my bucking-bar hole and poor li'l ball-bearing were dry and showing the first signs of rust. My heart broke: I'd neglected my baby's needs...I hadn't greased that hole in AGES and forgot all about it. After a dollop of grease I reassembled the clutch parts and exercised the lever-arm...it was like night and day. I had gotten so used to the clutch being tight, I hadn't realized how effortlessly a well maintained bucking-bar assembly operates. So, I could have avoided WEEKS of frustration if I'd only remembered that simple maintenance procedure. DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO _YOU_!
