Clutch Adjustment Question

New hardware is in, clutch adjusted nicely... engages right about the middle now!


Bad news, Im in for another carb cleaning after sitting for only 3 months. It was running rough, left side had blue flames shooting out the back and it seemed like it was firing intermittently. oh well... project for after the weekend!
 
I have a theory, if you drive it everyday, you can use cheap gas. if you are going to let it sit for more than 3 days, you have to use non-corn syrup gas. I don't know if a total fuel drainage works, cause what I did last winter, didn't really work, I still had to clean my carb after wards. before it would work this summer.
 
I have some facts: cheap gas is only cheap at the pump. It cost more down the road. Fact: Ethanol is corrosive to brass and other alloys, and can attack certain types of rubber. All are found in our carbs. Fact: Ethanol pollutes as much as pure gas, just different pollutants that are not tested for, hence the claim of less pollution. Fact: Ethanol has NOT reduced the US's dependence on foreign oil (Canada still provides the majority of US oil imports every day), but it has driven up the cost of food. Need more? Do some of your own research!

Bottom line: Do NOT run E10 or E"anything" in our bikes without specifically building and tuning the carbs for the E mixture you are wasting your money on. An emergency is the only exception. And then only put enough in to get you to a station with pure gas.

Ethanol is a terrible fuel and causes all kinds of problems. Don't like this? Follow up with your local politicians.
 
I'm not shocked the carbs are dirty, I didn't do a full cleaning after winter storage. The gas is ethanol free Shell premium to my knowledge. I think the new baffles might be making it run a bit rich now which could be contributing to the flames out the exhaust?...

I would be surprised if any of the gas in New Jersey came from the great white north. We have several ports that store refine and distribute oil and gas. (Helps contribute to the smell of north jersey)
 
Blue flames out the exhaust is the result of running very lean. A lean mixture takes a long time to burn and it burns hot. I'd guess either very dirty carbs or vacuum leaks such as not having the vacuum line to the petcock connected or leaking carb mounts.
 
Carb boots are brand new so must be the very dirty carbs, going through them today or tomorrow as soon as i get my bench clear! took apart and cleaned roommates Keihin carbs off his CB... its amazing how much easier Mikuni's are to work on (plus only having 2 instead of 4!) built a cheap manometer so i dont have to have the shop sync them anymore

I dont believe the pushrod seal is leaking, there have been no drops after sitting on the side stand for over a week. coming up on the 1year mark with the XS and ive put less than 50 miles on it... that has to change!
 
I'm going to resurrect this thread because I'm having the same issue (clutch not engaging until level is 99% released) and I feel like I've adjusted the thing 1000x now without much luck.

Does this behaviour indicate that the adjustment screw is in too far or out too far? or is there something else I can try.
The adjustment at my handle level is all the way out, without that I can't change gears. Even changing gears I find tricky like the clutch isn't released.
 
Make sure you have the ball bearing in the end of the case adjuster and at the end of the rod at the clutch basket. If one of those are missing you will have a lot of slack in the cable. But even with the proper amount of slack these clutches only have a little amount of "grab" and that's at the end of the lever or maybe 75%. Not like a car clutch. I have even used heavy duty springs and it don't help much.
 
Last edited:
New correct cable? Did you adjust the top all the way in for the most slack before you adjusted the case adjustment? Do that first then take the extra out with the top one.
 
Make sure this is "clocked" in the right spot.
 

Attachments

  • clutch adjust2.jpg
    clutch adjust2.jpg
    187.9 KB · Views: 237
Yes to the first one. Not sure I understand the second one? clocked? I assume I'm looking at those 4 teeth but how do I know its clocked?
 
If the screw gear isn't all the way in and in that position like in the pic you will not get the proper amount of actuation to push in the clutch.
 
Thanks for the tip. I payed much closer attention to this when I just re-did the adjustment again. I don't want to start it at this hour (she's loud) but I will say it feels like it's shifting better/easier. I will give it a test tomorrow, fingers crossed! It's the last thing I need to do before getting it safetied and on the road.
 
So I played with it last night a bit and while it's shifting much better the bike stalls out when shifting out of neutral. Like the clutch isn't fully disengaged when I pull it in so it's trying to grab right away and idles out.

Any thoughts?
 
Back
Top