Clutch won't disengage. No slack left.

N

nsxcorvette

New Member
Hello, I'm having some trouble with my bike. I built this one about 4 months ago, and have put around 5k miles on it. The last 2 weeks, my clutch lever started not quite fully disengaging the clutch when I pulled it in. I figured the cable had got some slack in it, so I adjusted the cable, and it was as good as new. A day later, it was back to the same. I marked the cable and the lever on the engine to make sure they weren't moving. After 2 more adjustments, it would adjust anymore. I took the cover off and manually tried to push the clutch pin in and it wouldn't move to disengage the engine. I've ridden these things for years and have never had this problem. Any ideas?
Thanks!
CareWb
 
it sounds more like your cable end is slipping back off when you ride you normally cant just push the bucking bar in with your hand try re adjusting the cable and mark the cable ith some paint or a permanent marker mine was slipping and i ended up lock-titeing it in place
 
Hello, I appreciate your reply. The problem is definitely at the engine, rather than the cable or lever, since I should be able to push the clutch pin in manually to disengage, but when I push on the clutch pin, there is no give. weird!
CareyWb
 
You can not push that pin in by hand. There is a spring behind it that is a lot stronger than you. It requires the leverage provided by the clutch actuating parts in the cover.

You clutch cable has stretched, possibly unraveling inside the housing. Cable stretch is common and requires occasional adjustment. Also the handlebar lever will wear. If you have in fact accured 5K miles in just four months then wear and stretch is to be expected.

You also need to lubricate the clutch actuating mechanism inside the cover including the pin (bucking bar) and the ball bearing behind it. Those parts can also wear and reduce the effectivness of the cable and handlebar lever.

Tom
 
sounds a bit like the clutch wasn't tightened down on its taper tight enough at the factory (happens a lot) - put a piece of 2x4 on the pressure plate, give it a good smack with a hammer, then see if the nut on the shaft will tighten a bunch more
 
Make sure the nut that goes onto the clutch shaft and secures the drive sprocket is tight. I had one work loose on me one time, as it was coming loose the whole clutch shaft was moving toward the gear side of the motor, the more it moved the more pull it required to open the clutch. During the ride it did seem like the clutch cable stretched or slipped, but it was the clutch shaft moving away from the actuator....
 
Thanks all. When I say I can't push the pin in manually, I mean manually pushing on the lever bolted on to the engine. Normally, I'dd be able to push the lever in by hand, and the clutch would disengage. So that's what tells me it's not in the cable. Nightcruiser, I did notice with I took the clutch arm off, the bolt for the lever only took a turn or two to come off and was easy to remove. My first instinct was that the lever was moving somehow, which is why I marked it with a sharpie, but didnt see any movement. However, I only checked for horizontal movement, not vertical, which would be affected by the bolt loosening. I will see if I can tighten that. Has to be something in that arm unless it's something internal, which doesn't sound like it would be too fun. Will let you know if I fix it.
 
nsxcorvette said:
Nightcruiser, I did notice with I took the clutch arm off, the bolt for the lever only took a turn or two to come off and was easy to remove. My first instinct was that the lever was moving somehow, which is why I marked it with a sharpie, but didnt see any movement. However, I only checked for horizontal movement, not vertical, which would be affected by the bolt loosening. I will see if I can tighten that. Has to be something in that arm unless it's something internal, which doesn't sound like it would be too fun. Will let you know if I fix it.
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood me. The part you are talking about (I believe?) is the lever on the clutch cover plate? The top of the actuating lever is ribbed and so is the inside of the arm and they mate pretty solid even without the nut on top. Not that something can't go wrong here, but if you pull the cover plate off and work actuating lever around and you can't make it bind up then it's probably not your problem.

What I was talking about was the nut that goes onto the drive sprocket under the cover. With that nut removed the entire clutch shaft can actually be removed through the gear side of the motor, bearings and all. That nut is the only thing that holds the clutch in the motor other than pressed bearing and the woodruff key in the drive sprocket that might pose a bit of resistance to movement. So, if that nut is loosening when you ride, the entire clutch shaft can move in the direction of the gear side of the motor, which moves it away from the actuating lever and thus requiring more movement of the lever to open the clutch. On my first build I had this happen to me, I thought it was cable stretch, after tightening the cable a couple times the nut came all the way off and the woodruff key came out and the chain jammed. I popped off the motor chain and peddled home, when I realized that nut (that holds the drive sprocket and clutch shaft in place) came off I decided I'd better fix that right!

First I tried to tighten that nut down with the spark plug tool they gave me but couldn't get proper leverage to do a good job. Right away I realized I need a real socket wrench to tighten this nut, so off to the hardware store to buy a socket the same size as the tool that came with the kit. When I used the socket to tighten the nut I was shocked that it kept on tightening and tightening, I almost thought it was stripped! It eventually bottomed out and I realized that I was actually pulling the entire clutch shaft back into proper position as I tightened this nut. I also put blue loctite on the threads and let it dry overnight to make sure it stays put, haven't had that problem since.

I could be barking up the wrong tree here for your problem, but I thought I should at least be clear about what I am saying.....
 
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