loose clutch = useless bike

W

Wood.Neely

New Member
hello all. this is my second attempt to fix this issue of my loosening clutch (i could be phrasing this wrong) and hopefully you all know how to fix a beginners ride.

let me explain what is happening... when i first started riding the bike, everything we working wonderfully, but as time expired when i pulled the clutch handle it didn't disengage the clutch (put the engine into what i think is neutral) therefore i came to a jerky halt when i had to slow down. this also puts me at a disadvantage because i cannot get it started at all when i have no neutral because i am unable to get enough speed to drop the clutch.

what i did to fix the problem... i loosened the screw in the brass stop, pulled the clutch line taunt, and slid in the clutch arm until it was snug. having done this, the bike was running like a champion thoroughbred. but alas the same problem occurred... the arm needed to the pulled even further in to disengage the clutch (or put the engine in neutral) and i again had to tighten the cable.

this is the 4th time i am having to tighten this wire and i don't know how much further i can even pull the clutch arm. i have a couple of buddies who got bikes that i assembled and they are not having this issue at all.

last time someone mentions the flower nut on the right side of the engine but i was cautioned by some guys who know what they are talking about. any ideas or suggestions or even stories are welcome and needed, hopefully i addressed the problem fully and we can figure this out and i can get back on the road, thanks
 
that is strange indeed. Is your setup new ish like under 80 miles i had to adjust mine 3 times now its good cables stretch when new it seems. dont be afraid to adjust it via the motor this is the best way.
 
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when you re-adjust the cable lock "with the clutch lever (on the handle bar) released"

Is the clutch arm (on the engine) moving further to the other side of the engine,too take up the slack in the cable??
 
check your cable. they're pretty cheap, and i've seen the clutch cable housing seperate from the inner spiral-wound metal part. what happens, is when you pull on the lever, the pressure on the cable housing causes the inner part to squeeze through the cable stops, and it basically makes your cable longer.

lemme try to make it clearer.

you have the plastic coated outer cable (housing) and the inner wire that attaches to the handlebar lever with the nub, and the cut end that attaches to the clutch arm at the motor.

inside the plastic coating is a spiral-wound metal tube, and the inner wire slides through this.

sometimes, the plastic covering gets compressed, causing the spiral wound part to stick out past the housing. the more you squeeze the lever, the more it compresses. the plastic housing still stops when it's jammed up against the adjusters, but the spiral wound inner housing doesn't.

if you take the cable off and see an inch or so of spiral windings, then you'll know what i'm typing about, and to fix it, go get a brake cable from the bike shop.

hope this made sense.
 
Had a look at the clutch rod? It sometimes wears causing this issue.

Its the 8mm rod that the clutch cam pushes on.

Once it wears through the case hardening it wears away fast.
 
alright, all good advice and i'll try to answer or address everyone...
oldspeed: it is a new setup with probably around 100 miles, i've ridden it pretty hard in the last 2 weeks to get it there though
corgi: yea it have tightened it every time without the clutch handle pulled in
bairdoco and bikeguy: i am now insisting that the cable is not slipping neither from the cable stop or being jammed in the casing IT IS AS TIGHT AS IT WILL EVER GET
wildemere: that sounds like it could be promising, would love to get some more information

i don't mean to be a little ***** on here, especially since i don't know too much about bikes but the issue i am having doesn't seem to be understood completely i don't think... my kill switch is out of commission so i kill the bike every time by simply easing off the clutch, maybe this is doing something...

continuously trouble shooting....thank you everyone for all the help and hope to hear more
 
bairdco said:
check your cable. they're pretty cheap, and i've seen the clutch cable housing seperate from the inner spiral-wound metal part. what happens, is when you pull on the lever, the pressure on the cable housing causes the inner part to squeeze through the cable stops, and it basically makes your cable longer.

lemme try to make it clearer.

you have the plastic coated outer cable (housing) and the inner wire that attaches to the handlebar lever with the nub, and the cut end that attaches to the clutch arm at the motor.

inside the plastic coating is a spiral-wound metal tube, and the inner wire slides through this.

sometimes, the plastic covering gets compressed, causing the spiral wound part to stick out past the housing. the more you squeeze the lever, the more it compresses. the plastic housing still stops when it's jammed up against the adjusters, but the spiral wound inner housing doesn't.

if you take the cable off and see an inch or so of spiral windings, then you'll know what i'm typing about, and to fix it, go get a brake cable from the bike shop.

hope this made sense.
Click to expand...

cable is officially checked, it seems fine. there is a little bit of melting on the outer casing but it did not effect the inner wire or metal tube... i pulled the clutch handle to make sure nothing was catching when the wire was completely detached and it runs smoothly.
 
i think where we are getting lost in translation when we start talking about with clutch wire... it seems to be more about the clutch arm... when i woke up today i wasn't even able to push the clutch arm in to get into neutral, there is simply nowhere for it to go, causing me to be stuck in gear and unable to start the bike.

as far as the clutch rod... i am assuming this is the either a)the rod that is in the engine (slides in and out) which the clutch arm contraption pushes or b)the inside part of the clutch arm that pushes this rod

if we are talking about B, then there is a little bit of wear on the edge where the lower part of the arm would push this pin, but it doesn't seem like enough to make any difference...
 
wildemere said:
Had a look at the clutch rod? It sometimes wears causing this issue.

Its the 8mm rod that the clutch cam pushes on.

Once it wears through the case hardening it wears away fast.
Click to expand...

ok i have attached a picture of the clutch rod and cam...the rod looks fne, but i can see some wear on the cam... also attached a picture of the clutch arm (handle not pulled in) so everyone can see how far in the arm is having to be pulled...

the more i read and understand, i am starting to believe the worn cam is having some sort of effect on pushing the rod, therefore not disengaging the engine. when i pull the clutch handle in now (the way it is in the picture) the clutch are gets snagged and i have to pull it back with my hands, again i think this is happening because of the worn cam and rod.

hope this helps everyone, and thanks for continuing to post
 

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I had this same problem with my bike. I traced it to the small pin, in your first pic. The small ball bearing that this pin engages was wearing a divot into the end of that pin. Every time I would replace that pin the clutch would work like a champ and the bike ran great. After a few miles it would start to do the same thing again.

I bet you're having the same problems I had. I tried everything I know. I hope you find a fix and if you do please post it here.
 
thanks for the response nunya, i just got off the phone with the support people i bought my bike from, he said that may be the problem (and yes i do have a slight divot) but he thinks it's the FLOWER NUT... like i said before, some forum vets told me not to mess with this but it seems like this is more the problem than the divot in my rod.

i don't know why i was told not to mess with this before, but i am running out of options and think this is my next venture...
 
alright, i tightened the flower nut... bike is running great and like new. i originally loosened too much (well i think to much) because when i dropped the clutch it wasn't catching enough to start the engine every time. so i went back in and tightened until it was catching when i dropped the clutch (enough to start) and then i went and tightened the clutch arm so it was running smoothly... after about 3 attempts i got the flower nut tightened perfectly and the clutch arm tightened appropriately so i am now able to use the clutch lock on the handle and be in neutral and as soon as i drop the clutch it catches like a champ!

will keep everyone up to date, but i think this was the final fix to the problem, BIKE IS RUNNING BETTER AND SMOOTHER THAN EVER. thanks to everyone and i hope this answers others questions as well.
 
The only thing the return spring is good for is making it harder to pull the clutch lever. There is more than enough spring pressure in the clutch itself to return the lever.
 
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