What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
Thread Starter
|
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 257
From:
What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
I was tearin' up the new D606s, first time out this year. About 90 minutes into the ride I noticed the clutch lever wasn't coming all the way out on it's own (I had to push it out). Stopped the bike and shut her down. I could pull the lever in and it would STAY IN. Started heading back and it started working normal again. By the time we were done, it would go out most of the way (not all) on it's own. I looked at my friends Yamis and a quad and noticed a return spring wrapped around the post going into the clutch cover. Mine doesn't have that but has an indent where it looks one could go.
1. Did that spring break off ? Do we even have one?
2. It's got ~700 off road miles, I haven't lubed the cables yet, is that my problem?
I always thought the springs in the clutch would be strong enough to return the lever no matter what. Could an unlubed cable hold that back? Could something else be wrong? Like I said, she seems normal now and I plan to lube the cable tommorrow and grease the bushing where the post goes into the clutch cover, but am I missing something here?
1. Did that spring break off ? Do we even have one?
2. It's got ~700 off road miles, I haven't lubed the cables yet, is that my problem?
I always thought the springs in the clutch would be strong enough to return the lever no matter what. Could an unlubed cable hold that back? Could something else be wrong? Like I said, she seems normal now and I plan to lube the cable tommorrow and grease the bushing where the post goes into the clutch cover, but am I missing something here?
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,689
1st Gear Member
RE: What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
There is no external spring. Take and unhook your clutch cable at the handle bars, you may have to completely remove the lever to do so. Try to turn the stub sticking out of the motor, I tried to spin it for some slack when putting on my new clutch lever and it was a bear to turn. If yours turns easily then something internally let go. I lubed my clutch cable at 2700 miles, didn't feel any different to me.
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 339
From: Abedeen,Maryland
RE: What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
Theres not a lot of parts to cause this in the clutch itself sounds like you have got water and dirt in the cable .... Hard to say but with the low miles something internal would most likely not be the problem ..... A lot of hard clutch slams over a period of time will cause the inner hub to get notches in it and cause the clutch to chatter and grab but not with 700 miles....
Good Luck
Good Luck
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 656
From: Houston
RE: What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
Try loosening the bolt/standoff where your factory handgaurds use to attach. When I removed mine I noticed if I had that too tight my lever wasnt springing back either so I loosened it just a tad and it works fine now. I know it sounds crazy but its free and easy to do [8D]
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,332
RE: What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
ORIGINAL: Bad Bear
Theres not a lot of parts to cause this in the clutch itself sounds like you have got water and dirt in the cable .... Hard to say but with the low miles something internal would most likely not be the problem ..... A lot of hard clutch slams over a period of time will cause the inner hub to get notches in it and cause the clutch to chatter and grab but not with 700 miles.... Good Luck
Theres not a lot of parts to cause this in the clutch itself sounds like you have got water and dirt in the cable .... Hard to say but with the low miles something internal would most likely not be the problem ..... A lot of hard clutch slams over a period of time will cause the inner hub to get notches in it and cause the clutch to chatter and grab but not with 700 miles.... Good Luck
No way is it a clutch problem......those springs are way tight.....it's gotta be a tight cable or restriction. Look at the lever..... you normally can use your finger to move it..... just disregard the kick starter.
Thread Starter
|
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 257
From:
RE: What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
Thanks, guys, I'm pretty sure it's at the lever or cable and will be checking/lubing everything before Saturdays ride. If something inside fails, the clutch springs should force engagement, not disengagement. Guess it's time to get that FSM. Anyone know off hand all the 'supplements' I need to cover our bike?
Finger Mullet, when the rod at the top going into the cover turns, what happens inside to disengage the clutch? My Suzuki Z400 had a rod that went from one side of the engine to the other to push it open, this looks different than that.
Finger Mullet, when the rod at the top going into the cover turns, what happens inside to disengage the clutch? My Suzuki Z400 had a rod that went from one side of the engine to the other to push it open, this looks different than that.
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 297
From:
RE: What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
It sounds like your clutch was overheated from slipping. If you were working it hard, lots of fast starts and such, you may have experienced a temporary clutch issue caused by swelling of the fiber plates and a bit of debris built up betweem them. Typically, when this happens, your clutch will return to a more or less normal adjustment after it cools and you have operated it with the motor running but without the slipping for a few minutes. The latter helps to wash out the debris. Also, the plates shrink back to normal size once they've cooled. When the clutch is swolen, it affects the adjustment. If this process goes too far, you will lose your clutch altogether and it won't return.
Of course it could be cable related, but not likely unless you dunked the bike. If that had happened, it isn't likely that it would have returned to normal so quickly.
The question is, "Did you slip the clutch a lot?" If so, this is very likely what happened. If it happens another time or two, you might want to consider replacing the plates, possibly springs too to prevent a hike and a push.
Good luck!
Bill Dragoo
www.rideok.com
Of course it could be cable related, but not likely unless you dunked the bike. If that had happened, it isn't likely that it would have returned to normal so quickly.
The question is, "Did you slip the clutch a lot?" If so, this is very likely what happened. If it happens another time or two, you might want to consider replacing the plates, possibly springs too to prevent a hike and a push.
Good luck!
Bill Dragoo
www.rideok.com
Thread Starter
|
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 257
From:
RE: What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
After looking at it today, I'm going to go with Shadetree and JB1 on this, tell me if this makes sense.
The adjustment **** was loose, and had worked to the point that I wasn't completely opening the clutch(i.e. SLIPPING) when shifting. And I was shifting a lot. The lever was loose almost 1.5 inches, WAY past the .4 to .8 recommended. What compounded the problem was the fact that the nut JB1 mentioned was too tight, so I never noticed the extra slack since the handle never went back. When I had replaced the handguards I put the two nuts back on the bottom, not noticing that when I tightened the one, it snugged up the other and caused the handle to bind just enough to not notice. I might even go out on a limb to say that that stretched the heck out of the cable since it was getting pulled on constantly. So not only was the clutch not getting pulled the whole way in, it may have been slipping a little all along...not enough to notice but enough to heat it up. After it cooled down the problem went away and stayed away because at that point I rode her home in first, pushing the lever the whole way out when I did have to shift.
Make sense? She is adjusted and shifting nice and crisp now. I think the clutch survived, Saturday will tell. Hope to make the clutch a winter project
The adjustment **** was loose, and had worked to the point that I wasn't completely opening the clutch(i.e. SLIPPING) when shifting. And I was shifting a lot. The lever was loose almost 1.5 inches, WAY past the .4 to .8 recommended. What compounded the problem was the fact that the nut JB1 mentioned was too tight, so I never noticed the extra slack since the handle never went back. When I had replaced the handguards I put the two nuts back on the bottom, not noticing that when I tightened the one, it snugged up the other and caused the handle to bind just enough to not notice. I might even go out on a limb to say that that stretched the heck out of the cable since it was getting pulled on constantly. So not only was the clutch not getting pulled the whole way in, it may have been slipping a little all along...not enough to notice but enough to heat it up. After it cooled down the problem went away and stayed away because at that point I rode her home in first, pushing the lever the whole way out when I did have to shift.
Make sense? She is adjusted and shifting nice and crisp now. I think the clutch survived, Saturday will tell. Hope to make the clutch a winter project
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 297
From:
RE: What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
You might change the oil, just to make sure you have all the sluff out of the clutch area. It helps when a clutch has been abused a bit but not to the point of total failure.
Sounds like you've solved the mystery.
I might mention that our little KLX seems to have a pretty tough clutch. I got in some nasty mud in Terlingua, Texas in January. A KLR 650 and a DRZ 400 shelled their clutches when mud got packed between the swing arm and the rear wheel. My 250S just kept on chugging and chunking mud.
Check out the whole story in Ride Oklahoma's April issue.
www.rideok.com
Sounds like you've solved the mystery.
I might mention that our little KLX seems to have a pretty tough clutch. I got in some nasty mud in Terlingua, Texas in January. A KLR 650 and a DRZ 400 shelled their clutches when mud got packed between the swing arm and the rear wheel. My 250S just kept on chugging and chunking mud.
Check out the whole story in Ride Oklahoma's April issue.
www.rideok.com
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 656
From: Houston
RE: What HAPPENED to my CLUTCH ?
ORIGINAL: rkutzner
After looking at it today, I'm going to go with Shadetree and JB1 on this, tell me if this makes sense.
The adjustment **** was loose, and had worked to the point that I wasn't completely opening the clutch(i.e. SLIPPING) when shifting. And I was shifting a lot. The lever was loose almost 1.5 inches, WAY past the .4 to .8 recommended. What compounded the problem was the fact that the nut JB1 mentioned was too tight, so I never noticed the extra slack since the handle never went back. When I had replaced the handguards I put the two nuts back on the bottom, not noticing that when I tightened the one, it snugged up the other and caused the handle to bind just enough to not notice. I might even go out on a limb to say that that stretched the heck out of the cable since it was getting pulled on constantly. So not only was the clutch not getting pulled the whole way in, it may have been slipping a little all along...not enough to notice but enough to heat it up. After it cooled down the problem went away and stayed away because at that point I rode her home in first, pushing the lever the whole way out when I did have to shift.
Make sense? She is adjusted and shifting nice and crisp now. I think the clutch survived, Saturday will tell. Hope to make the clutch a winter project
After looking at it today, I'm going to go with Shadetree and JB1 on this, tell me if this makes sense.
The adjustment **** was loose, and had worked to the point that I wasn't completely opening the clutch(i.e. SLIPPING) when shifting. And I was shifting a lot. The lever was loose almost 1.5 inches, WAY past the .4 to .8 recommended. What compounded the problem was the fact that the nut JB1 mentioned was too tight, so I never noticed the extra slack since the handle never went back. When I had replaced the handguards I put the two nuts back on the bottom, not noticing that when I tightened the one, it snugged up the other and caused the handle to bind just enough to not notice. I might even go out on a limb to say that that stretched the heck out of the cable since it was getting pulled on constantly. So not only was the clutch not getting pulled the whole way in, it may have been slipping a little all along...not enough to notice but enough to heat it up. After it cooled down the problem went away and stayed away because at that point I rode her home in first, pushing the lever the whole way out when I did have to shift.
Make sense? She is adjusted and shifting nice and crisp now. I think the clutch survived, Saturday will tell. Hope to make the clutch a winter project