How long to work in new clutch plates?

Hi again, I have a 1983 XJ550 Maxim. I just got a certified Yamaha mechanic to put in new clutch plates and pressure plates and I am working them in. I was wondering approx how long does it take to actually work in a new set of clutch/pressure plates? Also is there a better way to do it as in city driving versus on the highway or does one just drive normal as one would drive? Thanks
p.s. I put in the plates as I was having a hard times with the gears. here is what is and what would happen:

- Start off in 1st (the only way to get to neutral or first is to manually bend down and put the gears into neutral with the bike off)
- Get up to 2nd and then I could go back down to 1st and then back up to 2 nd over and over again but...
- Once I got up to 3rd I can only go down to 2nd again and I can not find 1st and I would have to pull over again to manually find neutral again and start over.
- Once I go from 3rd to 4th,5th, and 6th then shifting down I can only go to 3rd and 2nd and 1st is lost again.
*** does anyone know whats going on and if the new clutch and pressure plates

 

Are you sure your clutch cable is properly adjusted?

 

work in new clutch plates? about 5 minutes.
sounds like there may be some spring problems under the shifter cover

 

You do not have a clutch problem - the xj (and all bikes for that matter) afaik, have dog gearboxes, and can change gear up or down without a clutch while on the move, all it takes is a little RPM matching and quick movements of the selector.
So you have a selector problem, usually caused by a chain guide breaking up if I recall? Maybe there is another possibility, and you should be able to open up the casing to have a look see.
@Polock beat me to it....

 

The cable was adjusted by the mechanic. I rode for a couple hours today in all the gears and I think the clutch was slipping more at the end of the ride then at the beginning. Is there pics or videos anywhere to how to open the gearbox and what it should look like? Thanks for your help. Appreciate it.

 

The mechanic may have adjusted it, but odds are that he didn’t adjust it properly.

Proper adjustment is covered here.
https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/clutches-101-part-1-the-400-550-600s-with-pics.29541/

 

So both of my problems of a slipping clutch and not finding gears is caused by a shifter problem and I don't have to go into the clutch itself anymore?

 

Thanks K-moe for the good reading

 

So K-moe you are saying start from the proper set up adjustment of the clutch cable? Then go from there.

 

Yes eliminate the easiest possible potential causes first. Chances are the cable is not adjusted correctly and following the correct procedure with fix the bike.

 

Thanks Franz

 

Just checking did the mechanic fit new springs and bolts when he fitted the new clutch plates? These should be replaced.

 

No he never. I just got the clutch and pressure plates thinking this would fix all of my shifting problems.... lol

 

And did the mechanic confirm he was an expert in Yamaha xj bikes, and did he have a tee shirt and baseball cap with Yamaha XJ on them?
No? Well that's the problem then....
Get him to strip it again, in the right dress, fit all the recommended bits, amd let us all know if it fixed your problem?

 

Highly unlikely, one eliminates the other, ignoring the fact that you don't need a clutch to change gears.

 

Yes he is a mechanic at our yamaha dealer here in the city. No XJ hats or t-shirt....lol. I just redid the cable and the clutch mechanism so tomorrow I will take it for a spin and let you guys know

 

Yes.

 

If he's under 50 he would have never worked on an XJ, let alone enough of them to be familiar with their quirks.

 

I'd totally be down for some xj4ever t-shirts. That would be the true identifier of XJ fan.

 

That sounds like a great idea Eric but how does that help me fix my bike....lol That's true K-moe but I bet there are a few of them. There are a few XJ's for sale here for a good price and fixed up. People are still loving them.

 

Better to be forewarned than risk this. See Polock's clutch. Fit new bolts, they are inexpensive and they must be torqued properly.

https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/clutch-replacement.39555/

 

Thanks Franz I shall give it a read.

 

Don't most guys pre-soak clutch discs in oil overnight before installation, not saying that's your problem but just wondering if it a common practice?
Cheers 50gary

 

I saw that to on a YouTube video but I don't know if my mechanic did that but I am guessing he did. He had the bike for a week and either way I have put about 100 kliks on it already since I got it back. I still haven't had the chance to test drive it since I adjusted the clutch cable/pivot arm. Maybe today if I get a chance. thanks

 

You see, I have an issue with this. As allways, the xj is different, and you need to read someones (well put together actually) photo blog thing, or else you are an idiot...
So, from this, there are - actually, no there is nothing that tells me, as a first time stripper rebuilder of an xj clutch, that you need to watch/read/absorb this. There is nothing special about an xj clutch.
Sure, you can suggest where the actuator arm sits against the lifter, but that's common sense, and the angle varies between the 550 600 and the 650 up.
Sure you should change the springs and bolts, and torque them up correctly.
But there is nothing special here, so why say there is?

 

The Xj has quirks, as do almost all motorcycles.
One of them being eactly zero wiggle room for clutch cable adjustment, and a service manual that is not exactly clear on how to adjust it correctly.
Common sense must be either taught, or learned by making a lot of mistakes. Most current dealership techs are parts changers who were never trained to work on older machines.
The OP is new to motorcycles, and either has to trust a mechanic that likely does not know exactly what he's doing (the clutch would be working properly if he did), or learn enough abut how things work so he can either do the work himself or verify that work was done correctly before he leaves the shop.

I stand by my statement.

Please note that I never called ANYONE an idiot.
As always; feel free to disagree, but don't insult me or put words into my mouth.

 

i moved the cable to a new hole, one diameter + closer to the splines.
now i have enough adjustment to move the engage point around. it's a bit harder to pull but not very much

 

My appologies, of course you didn't, but the inference was there. And again "trust a mechanic that likely does not inow exactly what he's doing, the clutch would be working etc" so now you know the op has a clutch issue, definately, and not a selector issue? And this mechanic may have years experience actually working on these bikes, and others? Maybe he doesn't whatever, but he's only setting a lever on some splines and turning some adjusters to zero out free play.
There you go, point missed again, maybe I made it badly, again.

 

Okay so I readjusted the clutch and actually its worse. Just so you know I purchased 2 of these bikes and am working on both of them at the same time trying to get one running good enough so my son can use it and take his motorcycle test. One is silver and the other is black. The reason I am explaining this is because I got the silver one first and kind of learned how to set the clutch up with this bike. The silver one ( aka the bullet as in the silver bullet) now has all the gears but still has an issue with first that I am working through. The black bike that the mechanic just did the clutch plates on is 85% ready to go is having the clutch issues/shifter issues. When I just redid the clutch on the black bike I redid it just like I learned from doing the silver bullet bike but it actually made it worse and the clutch barely engaged so now I have to redo that part and move it more back to where the mechanic had it or even farther. The mechanic also pointed out that the shifter on the black bike that he did the clutch plates was worn out and had too much play. He said that I will need a new one of those and a spring that attaches to that shifter also. I will work on the clutch a bit more and price out the parts needed for the shifter. The black bike is now the one for my son as it has everything working as in the sensor on the kick stand, all the lights, etc. The silver bullet I am getting ready to sell as my son only needs 1 bike and I drive a older Goldwing so its an extra bike at this point.

 

Fair enough. I did not mean to imply anything. Ignorance of a procedure doesn’t make someone an idiot.