evening

I have an 82 KZ550 ltd with around 15k miles on it. Bought it last year after it had sat under someone's porch for some time. I got it started with not much trouble, cleaned it up, parked it during the winter/spring and now having some clutch issues as I am about to get it on the road.

When I got it the clutch lever was very stiff with no freeplay but if I remember right could go into gear and neutral. Didn't ever go for a run with it before parking it so not sure if trannny was sound but nothing unusual and owner didn't come across as wanting to hide anything.

I thought I'd adjust the clutch before riding it and now I have problems with it. I've got the manual and have read through clutch adjustment, problems here to preface but still not sure.

So no free play at lever prior to touching it. I adjusted it per manual (at lever, at the adjuster midway in cable and at screw/nut in side cover). And now it's like I have an extra 1-2 inches of cable to account for that I can't decrease no matter how I adjust midway adjuster or at the lever. And the bike is very slightly engaged in gear depending on how far out I have the side cover screw. And I mean slightly engaged like I can keep the bike from moving by holding it.

I've tried various settings on the side cover screw and doesn't seem to make much difference. And again, the midway adjuster can't take up this new slack and at the lever now it's as if there is and inch or a bit more of free play.

I'm not sure what exactly I did that could cause this as it would seem like it probably is pretty close to what I think it had been at this point and not sure what the problem might be. New cable? plates stuck? ?

I very much would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.

Bob H

 

At 15k miles, sitting for so long and now the stretch? I would probably start with a new cable and go from there.

Welcome to KF and good luck.

 

Thanks for getting back to me. I can understand starting with the cable but still I don't see why the one in there now would suddenly have an inch of slack it didn't have...just wondering if something leaps to mind that could cause it (besides me).

 

I was thinking that maybe the cable is fraying and you may be down to the last strand and that a new cable will enable you to 1) have a new cable and 2) trace where you may be having issues. The worst case scenario is that you would have an extra one on the shelf for a rainy day.

 

I got this fixed...just so if someone else has this ever happen....

I pulled the sprocket cover took apart the mechanism where the ball bearings are, the screw and all was fine but I noticed that the arm mechanism where the clutch cable attached through the cover didn't seem to be really pivoting if I pulled the clutch lever.

I put more slack into the cable at the lever and in the middle as suggested in the manual (though not in the manual when the thing was apart) and made sure that the part of the lever that fits into the ball bearing hub actually was engaging. Once I did that the thing was pivoting as it should, I put the cover back on, adjusted the clutch cable per the manual and all was as it should be and the clutch works fine now.

If any of this is unclear but seems like to might relate to an issue you are having let me know and I'll see if I can get this across better. Anyhow, not the cable itself but how the mechanics of the pivot point engages.

 

Congrats on the fix. Got any pics of the repair process for us? That would be cool, thanks.