Normal noise from clutch

[suffolkboy]

Hi ! All
I purchased a rather sad xs 400 se 1980 in november 13 and have spent the winter working to restore the old girl as near to original as possible.
On Saturday I got her started for the first time and she seems to run o.k.
My question is are all the clutches prone to rattle a bit I am waiting for a new clutch cable to arrive so don't know at this stage if clutch actually works but when I had the right hand side engine cover off I tried it then and the plates separated alright.
Any clues would be helpful as I don,t want to put it all together to take apart again, and I have spotted a complete clutch assembly on ebay and am wondering if I should buy it.
I will post some before and after photo's asap.

 

[bcware]

My clutch does not rattle at all. The cable should be under a small amount of tension even when you aren't squeezing the lever. The worm-drive rod-pusher also has a small spring attached to it which should keep it from moving as well.

There is a spacer that should be present on the front sprocket cover. See the attached photo.

Are you sure the sound is from the clutch? Does it make a noise when the clutch lever is pulled in? Does it make a noise when the clutch lever is at rest and not being used?

 

[Edgee2004]

so i have the same issue but it is on a 1977 yamaha dt400d. the clutch or ? makes a loud noise, chatter, bearing, ????? if the clutch handle is pulled in the noise stops. also it was hard to shift prior to noise. what i did following up to the noise was adjust my cable to allow a 1/4" gap at my handle before that i had all the playout of the cable, not to tight just no play. any ideas. sorry for hijacking.

side note i joined this site to read up about a 1980 xs400 i just picked up on a trade. very good info.

 

[Edgee2004]

so not sure if this helps but i was talking to a guy at work who was a yamaha tech in the mid 70's he said that my steel disk may be wrapped. may be a good place to start on your bike. ill update if this is my problem.
a good way to check wrappage is with a piece of granet or glass and a feeler gauge. actually there is a good video online for this.

 

[suffolkboy]

Thanks for the info will look for your updates, I will post again if I get any more info

 

[Edgee2004]

good deal

 

[bcware]

The warped steel discs can cause problems to be sure, but I wouldn't think a rattle. These discs are under constant pressure from those beefy clutch springs. Let me know if you make any progress. I've been wrong before

 

[suffolkboy]

So I have now fitted the new clutch cable and the clutch seems to work o.k. the noise I was concerned about is definitely less when clutch is held in with the lever.
I ran the bike on the center stand and was able to engage all gears, I am now wondering if it may just be lack of use and maybe things will settle down when I am able to road test.
The guy I bought her from told me that she had not been used for several years although he had owned the bike since 2003.

 

[bcware]

That's good news! Who knows, maybe just taking things apart and putting them back properly fixed the issue.

 

[Edgee2004]

What was your throw out bearing made of?