loosening clutch

W

Wood.Neely

New Member
i've been riding for about a week on my 66cc grubee skyhawk, run through about a gallon and a half of gas to break it in and i am ready to see what this thing can do.... before i get crazy, i wanted to see what was going on with my clutch. the more i ride the more loose it gets (obviously) but as it loosens i am having to tighten the clutch cable in order to disengage the engine... will it ever get to a point where i don't need to worry about the cable anymore or am i burning up the clutch?? i just wanted to see if this was a normal occurrence or whether i was doing something entirely wrong...

thanks for any help

also wondering if anyone was having a problem with these engine leaking gas... if so any suggestions for fixing that... the bulk of it comes from the gas cap so i thought there may be some more available...
 
The gas cap has a vent underneath it, so if you ride fast, or on a bumpy hill on a full tank of gas, then it will spill on the tank. The clutch cable on my bike hasn't loosened, but maybe you should just tighten the screw that holds it in better.
 
Xiodinc said:
The gas cap has a vent underneath it, so if you ride fast, or on a bumpy hill on a full tank of gas, then it will spill on the tank. The clutch cable on my bike hasn't loosened, but maybe you should just tighten the screw that holds it in better.
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yea that's exactly what's happening with my cap, but i didn't know if there was any way to remedy that problem...

as for the clutch... it just needs to be pulled in further the more i ride to disengage the engine it's not the cable loosening, i simply have to tighten the cable and the screw in order to get myself into neutral...
 
also wondering if anyone was having a problem with these engine leaking gas... if so any suggestions for fixing that... the bulk of it comes from the gas cap so i thought there may be some more available...[/QUOTE]


I put small pieces of old leather belt into the space between the silver cap and gold colored inside. It keeps the gas from coming out and I left small spaces in between to let air in.
 
Nougat said:
Instead of adjusting the clutch cable, take the cover off the right side, and tighten the flower nut over the clutch plate. Do this with the clutch lever pulled, it's easy. I'm guessing you're probably just wearing in the pads a little bit. Make sure you're pedaling up to a little speed before letting the clutch out, or you'll burn up those pads in no time. A few pedals, drop the clutch quick, and go.
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ok, so i took off the cover, found the what i think is the flower nut and i am read to tighten... problem is that there is a locking screw that just spins and will not come out... and i cannot figure out a way to tighten the nut without getting the locking screw out. any suggestions??
 
just to make sure we are talking about the same screw... there is a nut in the middle that looks like a flower (flower nut) and around the outside there are small notches... there is a small phillips screw in one of the notches inhibiting the flower nut to spin.... this has to be the right screw... i tried to get something behind it to get some leverage and then unscrew it but that didn't get me too far.
 
Do NOT ADJUST THE FLOWER NUT! Do you guys even know what that does when you adjust it? It doesn't adjust the tension either....it's a range of engagement adjustment.

I would look to the cable end stop to make sure it is tight enough. It only has to move a tiny fraction and you will experience the problems you describe.
 
Bikeguy Joe said:
Do NOT ADJUST THE FLOWER NUT! Do you guys even know what that does when you adjust it? It doesn't adjust the tension either....it's a range of engagement adjustment.

I would look to the cable end stop to make sure it is tight enough. It only has to move a tiny fraction and you will experience the problems you describe.
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end stop... the brass lock with a screw in it?? that is tight, the problem is not with a loosening cable, the problem is that the clutch is requiring me to pull it further and further in to disengage the clutch
 
Wood.Neely said:
end stop... the brass lock with a screw in it?? that is tight, the problem is not with a loosening cable, the problem is that the clutch is requiring me to pull it further and further in to disengage the clutch
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Listen to Joe and quite arguing with experience. These people who want to jump into adjusting the 'flower nut' as soon as someone says the word 'clutch',
do not have a clue as to how the clutch works. What you are experiencing is common cable stretch which will require some adjustment of the clutch cable tension until the cable has reached a point where it will not need it. Loosen the cable stop, the little brass collar, move the clutch arm in as far as you can with light hand pressure and tighten the cable stop snuggly against the outboard side of the clutch arm. You want little to no slack in the cable. You might have to do this a couple of times in the next few miles but eventually you'll be able to leave it alone. Just a hint: When the bike is parked, leave the clutch lever on the handlebar in the locked position. This will keep tension on the cable and help stretch it to the length that it needs to be to retain your adjustment. Leave the 'flower nut' alone and don't mess with internal spring adjustment either.
Tom
 
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alright, joe and 2door i appreciate the advice, and i think we have found the answer... what 2door was describing seems to parallel what i thought would happen i.e. it would eventually get to a point where i won't need to adjust the cable anymore.

thanks again
 
It doesn't take very much stretch or slippage to cause your problem, Just a small fraction of a mm.
 
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