Clutch not engaging

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cafenewb

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Hello,

I'm having a clutch issue. The clutch lever felt really good pulling it in. Perfectly tight and it released well. Then, I realized the back tire wouldn't spin when I had it pulled in. I tried a hundred combination of messing with the adjustment screw on the lever, as well as the screw that pokes through the clutch cover on the left hand side of the bike. Neither of those things worked.

Today I took off the cover on the other side and got into the clutch plates. They're all in great condition, plenty of oil in there, etc. When I put them back on and pulled the clutch it is really inconsistent as to where the plates separate.

Does anyone have a photo or video of what the clutch plates should look like when the clutch is pulled in? Should there be equal distances between all the plates?

Does anyone have any recommendations?
 
I rubbed oil all over the plates and the fibers when I put them back on. It feels as if there is some sort of suction happening that is preventing them from separating evenly.
 
it's possible you might have different lenght springs in your clutch, (old trick was to put in 3 stiffer racing springs and 3 stock springs) to improve clutch so they might be all on one side instead of every other one, you need to measure/inspect the springs then make sure plates are in correct order
 

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The springs are the stock ones. It was working just barely before I changed the clutch cable awhile back. When I first got it the clutch wouldn't engage unless it was damn near touching the grip. And it was incredible difficult to pull. PO said he didn't make any changes... the clutch just got worse over time. I think the cable was stretched and never lubed.

Should I be oiling all the plates or cleaning them or what? Everything looks incredibly clean in there.
 
even if they're the same plates that have been in there? If it hasn't been running for awhile can the plates dry off enough to need to be resoaked?
I haven't replaced any of the clutch parts. It all appears to be in good shape.

For the springs, I backed out a couple of them a few turns to seem if loosening up that tension would help. It didn't. The only thing that remotely worked was making the cable as tight as possible, and then tightening the screw on the left side cover really far in. The tire couldn't spin freely, but I could muscle it around with someone else holding the clutch in.

Thanks for your help with this Jayel. Hopefully I can figure it out soon.
 
Does anyone have any little tricks or things to try so I can eliminate any potential problems?
I feel like someone on here always has something.
 
Just out of curiosity, have you tried it with the bike running? My bike clunks into gear the first time each day when the oil is cold. Once warmed up, it is smooth as silk.
 
reading your 1st post, the back wheel doesn't spin when its pulled in means its working, or am I missing something?
 
This sounds a bit similar to what i was experiencing. With the clutch pulled in and bike in gear i couldn't roll backwards.

I replaced the cable, completely cleaned and degreased the metal plates and installed new friction plates. I soaked the all the plates in new oil overnight before reinstalling. I adjusted the screw on the sprocket cover then the cable at the lever.

Posted via Mobile
 
Drewpy - I'm unable to coast with the clutch pulled in. the only way my bike will roll is if it's in neutral.

I changed the oil last night and will hopefully start it up tonight and see if the warmed up oil helps.
 
Cafenewb, I think part of the issue here is terminology. You are saying your clutch won't engage, yet what you are describing is a clutch that won't DIS-ENGAGE.

I'd suggest that before you go any further, you start over with the clutch adjustments. Fully seat your clutch lever cable adjustment. Then re-adjust the pushrod adjustment on the left side cover. Finally, adjust the clutch cable at the lever for the correct freeplay.

After you have done this, if the clutch still won't release with the lever pulled, you will need to look at opening the engine back up and finding out what you did wrong. Did you loose the ball bearing? If there dirt or debris binding somewhere? Are the disks stuck to the plates?...
 
Yeah. I have the terminology backward. The clutch won't disengage. (For some reason in my head the result of pulling a lever means something engaging, but I know understand in this situation after thinking about how the clutch works, that it is backwards).

I redid all the adjustments, opened the case and nothing. My current hope is that the new oil change and running the motor for a bit will loosen it up. If that fails, I'll start all over.
 
When you put the clutch back together do you make sure to align the clutch boss and pressure plate. There are two arrows that must align or it wont work correct.
 

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^ I looked for something like that when I put it together and didn't see anything.

I finally started it up and after a minute of idling it worked. Maybe since it sat for months without being started it seized up a little?

Either way, I shredded around the block a couple times. the straight pipes are wayyyyyy too loud. Gotta figure that out. But, she runs, and that's awesome.
 
Nice. Out of interest, what oil did you use?
Might be worth trying stuffing steel wool in the pipes held in place with a lollypop washer.
This set up but it might tame the exhaust bark a bit but not sure how much
 
I think the the plates have stuck together with its storage (without oil?)

the steel rusts and binds the plates making dis-engaging impossible.

If you have carried out the correct adjustments, try riding and pulling in the clutch at the same time braking, this usually shocks the pates off each other as something has to give!
 
I used some Motul 10w40 oil.

I checked the manual and it called for 10w30, but after a little research it sounds like what I used will be fine.

I'm tossing around a few ideas for reducing sound. I currently have the budget washer deal in there, but it doesn't help much.

Other options:
1) Go to the local boneyard and try to find some mufflers that I like with the same outer diameter.
2) Try some of those $10 can-opener style baffles that slide in.
or this - http://www.motosport.com/cruiser/LA-CHOPPERS-UNIVERSAL-EXHAUST-BAFFLE-WITH-PACKING-24
3) stuff it with steel wool or other insulation material - same as above but more bootleg.

Does anyone have any experience with the perforated metal and stuffing?
 

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