new clutch

Hi there,
I bought a project XJ 750 from a guy who dropped it and couldn't live with the ding in the gas tank. He said just prior to his bail he had rebuilt the clutch.

The bike idols fine but as soon as I put it in gear it starts lurching forward. Once I start going on it the bike runs fine. I've tried adjusting the clutch as per a posting on this site but no matter what I do it seems to grab just a little bit.

Any suggestions? Could this just be because the clutch is new? Will it wear in?

Thanks,

Aaron.

 

It sounds like he didn't soak the fiber plates before assembly, or it wasn't put together properly.

If it has been sitting for quite some time, the plates may be slightly rusty.

You may want to take it apart, inspect, and reassemble.

 

Yeah, it sounds like it was not reassembled properly.

You should be able to pull the clutch lever all the way in and the engine should be totally disengaged from the engine.

Now, is the clutch cable new? It could be totaly out of adjustment room because the cable has stretched to its adjustable limits.

I put in a New Barnett Kevlar clutch, new steels, new Barnett springs, and a new cable And it behaves as if it were brand new! Smooth shifitng at all RPMs.

Most folks don't like the Barnett springs because they are so stiff, but I like the direct, positive "hard" feeling.

Replace the cable and see if that gives you the adjustment room to fully disengage the tranny. Then we can look at the possibe incorrect assembly of the clutch basket.

Oh, also make sure the lever that is attached to the rotating arm is in proper alignment. There is an arrow on the rotating shaft, and the lever that connects to the cable at the engins side. If it is off, even by one spline, you are not going to get the full throw of the clutch and that may keep it from fully disengagning.

Report back what you find.

 

Do a simple test.

Pull the Clutch Lever all the way back to the Handlebar and tie it there, ... TIGHT!

Then, ... take a big Adjustable Wrench to the Throw-Out Lever the Clutch Cable attaches too.
See if you can move the Throw-Out Lever any further towards the Front of the Bike.
If there's MORE Throw-out ... then ... you have to readjust the whole Cable, Throw-Out Arm and Clutch Lever adjustments.

Jerking into gear. Red-light creep and Neutral Fight can be adjusted out.
You have to remove the Cable at the lower end and the Throw-out Arm on the Activating Rod to get it right.

Want to do a Test that takes 10 seconds?
Pluck the Clutch Cable below the lower Cable End.
Is is like a Clothes Line or a Guitar String?

The correct answer is Guitar String.

 

Oh sure, Rick, make it easy why don't you! LOL

Great suggestions! I'll tuck those techniques into my brain for later use. It seems that people ask me questions like that at gas stops, food stops, etc, and I gotta go all complicated.

Occam's Razor seems to follow me around, I just have to remember it. I tend to apply the "anti-Occam's Razor,"

"when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, and the simpler one is the better, employ the more complicated one"