Why is my Clutch not fully engaging?

[Kbeezer101]

I recently took off my clutch plates for the second time, the first time I did it I put it back together and everything was fine. This time when I was tightening the four bolts with the springs on them I accidentally turned the nut so hard I rotated the outer clutch basket. Now when my bike is turned off and in gear, if I pull in the clutch, it is very hard to move the bike. What the heck did I do and how do I fix it? Thanks for any input guys.

[Motofool]

Welcome to the site, Ken.

For what reason did you take off your clutch plates for the second time?

[Kbeezer101]

my bike fell over on it's right side at about 10 mph and my back brake pedal bent over into the oil check peep hole breaking it. I took off the cover and discs in order to get all the glass out and then gave it a good flush with about nine fresh quarts of mobil 1 10 w 40 to get the little pieces out. That was stupid expensive but the kawi shop told me to use the same oil I ride with for this process. I am fairly sure the problem is with me accidently turning the clutch basket and not me wrecking it because I took the cover off and turned the basket one turn in the opposite direction and then the clutch was ALWAYS fully engaged after I put it back together, then I took it apart again and turned the basket to the right, and now I'm back to square one.

[alex.s]

1: the shop lied to you to sell you a bunch of expensive oil, i would complain and then not shop there again
2: the clutch basket rotates when it is running so if when you rotate it, it goes from being fine, to not being able to rotate, it sounds like your clutch basket might be bent or something
3: maybe it's your imagination? the bike is normally stiff to move when its cold but gets easier when its warm

[Kbeezer101]

Thanks, I'm gonna go work on it now for a while. I'll be back to post what happens. I hope it is my imagination.

[Kbeezer101]

It rides great, but when the engine is off it still doesn't move while in gear and clutch is engaged.

[Motofool]

Is the lever moving the whole range?

Is the resistance to clutch-in normal?

How much slack between lever and handle bar support?

[Kbeezer101]

There seems to be to much slack in the clutch cable, I can't adjust it out any more. I am ordering a new one but, the bike still runs normal when the engine is on...in any gear I pull the clutch and the bike rolls easily....if the engine is off and in gear, clutch pulled, it is extremely hard to push. WTF?!

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Kbeezer101

There seems to be to much slack in the clutch cable, I can't adjust it out any more....

That is the problem, you can not separate the discs far enough and they drag.

For changing gears, that is not very important, some people don't even use the clutch at all.

The engine and the brakes are strong enough to overcome the friction when you are at a stop and in first gear.

For you to make it slip by hand is not that easy.

Your cable may be elongated because is in the process of breaking up.
Some of the strands of steel wire break and the others get overloaded and elongated.
The process continues until the whole cable breaks.

If that is not what is happening, you could try some of the regulation down by the engine, close to the clutch cover.

[Kbeezer101]

I think you are right, now I have to wait 3 to 4 business days for a dang cable to arrive in the mail. But at least it's a simple fix. Thanks for all the feed back guys...one more thing, I'm supposed to be taking a 7 hour trip today for Thanksgiving to see my family and my bike is my only transportation, do you all think I will hurt my bike if I ride it on a 14 hour round trip. Or should I skip the trip and tell my family I'll see them at christmas when my new clutch is in?

[Motofool]

I would go, if it would be highway riding mainly, without excessive clutch-in / clutch-out cycles (and the rest of the bike has been serviced and is in good condition).

You could take the cable out and inspect the strands by the end close to the clutch lever, which is the most common point of failure, making an estimate of the remaining life.

Just in case of an emergency:

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Can_I_r...able_breaks%3F

[Kbeezer101]

Awesome, that was the answer I was hoping for! I havn't been able to ride in over a week, and I am looking forward to my first motorcycle trip longer than two hours. Thanks for all the help motofool.

[Motofool]

Have a safe trip, Ken, after you get properly prepared for the road:

http://motorcycles.about.com/od/tour...nningTrips.htm

You are welcome !

[Lychee]

for clarity, clutch lever in DISengages the clutch.

[Kbeezer101]

Thanks Jon

[Kbeezer101]

I do have one more question that is bothering me, when I rotate the outer clutch basket counter clockwise a few turns I have a lot of slack in the cable. And when I rotate clockwise it reduces the slack, but not enough for my stretched cable to disengage the clutch......what is happening when I rotate the outer basket?

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Kbeezer101

my bike fell over on it's right side at about 10 mph and my back brake pedal bent over into the oil check peep hole breaking it. I took off the cover and discs in order to get all the glass out and then gave it a good flush with about nine fresh quarts of mobil 1 10 w 40 to get the little pieces out. That was stupid expensive but the kawi shop told me to use the same oil I ride with for this process. I am fairly sure the problem is with me accidently turning the clutch basket and not me wrecking it because I took the cover off and turned the basket one turn in the opposite direction and then the clutch was ALWAYS fully engaged after I put it back together, then I took it apart again and turned the basket to the right, and now I'm back to square one.

Regarding the cable, its possible it was damaged in the accident. Its more likely that it wasn't reinstalled properly. When you are riding, if you can come to a stop without the engine stalling, then your clutch is probably working fine. Pregen clutches are very sticky when cold. Turning the clutch basket didn't do anything, but I am curious why you were messing with it in the first place if all you had to do was put in a new sight glass.

As for flushing with oil, that is just BS the shop was giving you. Run the bike a few miles and the glass will all be trapped by the screen and the filter. No need to change it until its normally due. But when you do, you need to clean the screen and change the filter. And most of the glass is going to be in the clutch chamber where its easy to get at.

Also, you should only be using synthetic oil in your pregen. The bike desperately needs it because of the high reving it does. Except for break in, you shouldn't use non-synthetic oil.