| Author | Message | ||
     Ratbuell |
So I replaced my stator a couple weeks ago. Put it all back together, shifting has been weird ever since. Checked and triple checked my clutch adjustment, all by the book, can't find anything wrong, good lever feel, good freeplay...but felt weird 3-2 and 2-1. Sometimes it refused to go 2-1 unless I slipped the lever a bit first, then it would drop with a heavy clunk. Tonight...nothing but neutral. Clunk into first, let the clutch out...nada. Pull up into second...same thing. It never slipped under power. But now it just does nothing. Clutch cable off the lever, adjuster full-slack, light bottom, 1/4 turn out. Set the freeplay, lock the adjuster... Nothing. Did it like 20 times tonight. It's been so long since I messed with a bike...do the xbs have the "grenade plate" or was that just a tuber thing? | ||
| Smorris |
I have no expertise to offer, but feel the frustration. confident someone here will have the solution | ||
| Tempest766 |
What I remember about the Uly clutch was that it rode against the inside of the aluminum housing and was a possible weak point. Inside wear of the case could drastically change its operation. Might be worth cracking the case open and taking a look. it's aluminum, so has the durability of styrofoam. | ||
| Tpehak |
Does it drag at 1st speed when you hold the clutch lever squeezed? If it does then the clutch screw is not set properly. Also like I said before the procedure in the manual is not completely correct. You have to wiggle the clutch ramp to find the lowest spot (aka the true bottom) and not just turn the clutch screw one time until you feel the bottom. The ramp balls can be not in the lowest spot but they can maintain resistance when you tighten the clutch screw making you feel like this is the bottom but it might be not. Now about the weird feeling. You have to slip the clutch on each gear because of without sleeping the gear might not slide completely into the proper spot (the gears dogs finish the complete shifting when you maintain some friction on the clutch and forces between the gears) and then you might not be able to shift to the next gear or the shifting to the next gear will have more resistance than usual. What you actually feel on the shift lever when you press it is the shift drum channel turns when the gear does not seat in the proper spot completely and you force it to go from the spot where the channel has different angle (which maintains more resistance) and turn (which maintains bump or shift lever resistance spike feeling). Also when clutch plates are worn they might slide with very low resistance between each other and then the dogs will not pull the gear completely to the spot because of lack of force between the gears and you had to sleep the clutch a little to maintain more force between the gears. If the clutch sleeps under power then it is the time to replace the clutch plates. In some cases the clutch spring, but it is more likely the clutch plates. The clutch spring on Buell engine is disk spring and it has very short stroke and when the clutch worn the clutch starts slipping very rapidly. Go find the service manual, extract the clutch plates and measure the clutch stack thickness and compare it with the specification in the service manual. If it is thinner than the specified limit then you have to replace the clutch plates. I had Barnett clutch plates for a period of time and they were eaten just within 4000 miles and the clutch started sleeping badly in higher gears. The motorcycle was not able to go faster than 40 mph because of the wind resistance in just less than an hour after the first symptoms of slipping clutch appeared. That's because of the clutch spring is disk spring and it is very sensitive to the clutch pack thickness once the clutch passes the lowest thickness limit. My clutch pack was like 1 mm thinner than the lowest limit when it started slipping so I had to replace the clutch pack to make the clutch works again. There is no grenade plate on Buell XB Also make sure you poured oil into the primary case. (Message edited by TPEHAK on May 24, 2022) | ||
| Smorris |
What was the resolution? | ||
| Ratbuell |
Idiot mechanic. When I did the primary/stator job, I never unhooked the clutch cable from the clutch lever. On reassembly, I started "where it was"...and buggered up the adjustment completely. I pulled the cover. Pulled the frictions and steels out. Mic'd them and they all checked out OK. Put it all back together (again) and did the adjustment process the right way. Amazing how doing it the RIGHT way (cable completely unhooked to start with) makes the clutch work properly... | ||
| Smorris |
Thanks for update. Noted in my field service manual | ||
| Teeps |
You're lucky that the threaded cable adjuster didn't break off. | ||
| Tpehak |
Which is again means the clutch ramp was not in the low spot position because of it rested on the cable and the cable did not allow it to turn further to reach the lowest spot and the clutch screw was not at the real bottom position. You do not need to unhook the cable completely, it is enough just to loosen the cable adjusting nut completely so the cable is loose at the clutch ramp low spot position and does not restrict the clutch ramp movement so you can wiggle and rotate the ramp while tightening the clutch screw to find the real bottom. | ||
| Tootal |
Now that you mention it I do recall the wiggle and tighten method until it wiggle's no more! Glad you figured it out Joe! |
