| Author | Message | ||
     Saszta |
Yes my clutch is getting engaged, it's been a long courting period but alas it's meant to be... Ok, seriously, what do you guys experience regarding clutch engagement? Does the clutch start to engage when letting it out half way from the bar? This is what I'm experiencing on my 2003 XB9s and was wondering if my cable may need replacement. I've adjusted the freeplay as per manual, setting the adjusting screw 1/4 turn CW from lightly seated. The only thing is that I feel it should be engaging sooner, is that correct? | ||
| Scottsts |
I haven't scientifically studied the exact moment my City X engages but what you describe sounds normal to me. I've found my clutch engages pretty much where every jap bike i've ever owned engages, though the clutch pull is a bit heavier because it's cable operated. | ||
| Sparky |
I think one of the things that affects the engagement point is the condition of the clutch disks and plates. If any are warped even the slightest, the amount of warpage is going to add to the distance from the grip where the engagement starts, all other things being equal. So what I am saying is that, in the perfect world, if the pressure plate and all the disks are flat with no high points, then the engagement point should be precise with the lever fairly close to the grip, with nominal free play adjustment of course. Factoring in production tolerances and normal wear on the clutch parts, an engagement point halfway from the grip is probably on the high end of normal. A new cable might improve things if there is more friction in the old cable relative to a new one. What happens with an old cable is that increased friction can cause the cable to stretch like it is "springy" which would add to the engagement point. There is hope, however, for your present cable providing it is in good condition with no broken strands: Lube it with a good quality cable luber, the kind that pressure squirts the lube into the cable at the top end. Be aware, however, that this will force any accumulated dirt & gunk into the primary. Not good. So, what I did was to unscrew the cable from the primary cover and pressure lubed the cable until the fluid running out was perfectly clear. The result was a light feeling pull at the lever and I could adjust the engagement point where it felt good for my size hands. Note: you don't have to remove the cable. You can stuff a rag into the primary at the end of the cable to catch any gunk that comes out. YMMV, if you do remove the cable, be very careful not to break the fitting where it screws into the cover. It's very fragile. | ||
| Saszta |
Alright then, good info thanks. I think I'll give it a good cleaning and see how it goes. I actually had it engaging very close to the bar with lots of lever free play, like that feel better, but it was not fully disengaging when fully pulled in so I had to adjust it. Now it starts to engage halfway out, not so practical for a guy with "mechanic" sized hands (aka small). You know what they say about guys with small hands don't you? small gloves....  At this point it looks like there's no way to really adjust the engagement point as the clutch components wear, you can only the adjust the lever freeplay. Correct me if I'm wrong. Steve. | ||
| Jackbequick |
All the wear on the plates wear is compensated for when you do the adjustment as long as you follow the procedure in the service manual. You have to first back the clutch lever freeplay adjuster. That is the cable housing length adjuster located about midway down the cable. Back it off until there is not the slightest load on the cable (the clutch lever is floppy at the bar). If you reach in with your finger, the arm the cable pulls on can be moved all the way to the right (towards the back wheel) as far as it will go. That way, when you take the adjusting screw down to a touch (CCW) and then back it off 1/4 turn (CW). If you don't slack the cable first, part of the range of travel is "lost" and you can't get the right feel or complete disengagement. The 1/4 turn CW freeplay adjustment is important because it unloads the throwout bearing. With that adjustment right, there is no load on that bearing except when the lever is pulled in. With locking nut in place (you can go CW a tiny bit more if necessary to get it to drop in place) and the spring and cover back on, you can adjust the clutch housing length adjuster. Turn that to lengthen the cable housing until all freeplay is out of the ca ble. Then pull and release the lever a few times to seat the clutch plates. The final adjustment for freeplay is that if you grab the ferrule on the end of the clutch cable, where it enters the clutch perch, and pull on it as hard as you can with two fingers, you want a 1/16" gap where the ferrule meets the perch. When I had a M2 I used to take 1/2" and 9/16" wrenches with me and finalize the freeplay adjustment along the road after everything was well warmed up. I generally lengthened the cable housing another 1/4 turn or so when I did that. The holy trinity of getting the shifting and clutch action right, starting with a cold engine, is to do the primary chain freeplay adjustment, back off the clutch lever freeplay and adjust the clutch adjusting screw, and then set the clutch lever freeplay. Jack | ||
| Saszta |
This is what I was looking for Jack, thanks. I was creating the slack in the cable but I wasn't moving the arm, that the cable pulls on, back towards the rear as you mentioned. This could be why I am getting the engagement point at the far end of releasing the lever. Also, I was not taking out all the slack before pulling in the lever 3 times to seat the ball/ramp mechanism. I would pull it in while the lever was still floppy and then take out the slack from the cable using the cable length adjuster. I'll redo it all as you suggested and post my results. I'll check the primary chain as well. Thanks. (Message edited by saszta on May 27, 2007) | ||
| Greg_e |
Jack, Thanks! Worked great, if I can get it put together I have a quick video of the steps. |
