CLUTCHES 101-Part 1: the 400/550/600s with pics

I have a question i took apart my clutch on my 82 seca 550 and left the clutch basket on the bike like your instructions suggest. The basket looks in good condition. It l0oks very much like the ones in your photo, however my concern is there is a small amount of play in it. I can take my hand and pull on it towards me and the basket will move a little bet towards me. I am standing in front of the clutch and pulling it towards me. Is this normal or do i have a problem.

Thanks
tjm

 

Check again. It may have been a temporary outage at the photo hosting site. I can see them.

 

I have a 1981 xj650 maxim. . The clutch stopped working while I was riding it one day and froze itself into first gear it won't pop up or into neutral. . The cable engages and works to allow free wheel movement why won't it change gears. Is this a clutch plate problem or something else?

 

Great guide Bigfitz! But the pictures have dissapered, any chance that you can upload them again?

 

BigFitz: last seen December 8, 2014.

Sigh.

 

you have a chain guide problem not a clutch problem chain guideectomy time
see this link
http://www.xjcd.org/view/emergency

 

Responding to a post from April 2016.
Zombie thread!

 

Having bought my YX600 at the beginning of UK summertime and frustratingly torrential rain continuously since then, I decided to instal new friction plates. On the few of times I had ridden it I was aware it was slipping a little and at the end of adjustment.
I ordered up friction plates and springs from EBC and a new gasket having read the brilliant ‘how to’ here.
For some reason I didn’t read the whole thread. It would have made my job easier and quicker if I had as I didn’t order new bolts.
Although I was careful re-installing the old bolts on the new springs one of them broke. I was using my bicycle torque wrench - so useful as with several low torques - and tightening in the correct order.
Reading the replies here I ordered up a new set, waited a couple of days and easily spun out the broken one with a small screwdriver.
New bolts arrived and I reassemble plates. The same thing happened with a new bolt.
I took all the plates out again, checking order, positions etc and tamping each one down as I went to make sure they were all sitting absolutely square.
I had to then use one of my old bolts which for some reason has a bigger head size, but it all went back together and torqued nicely.
Gasket in place, casing on, oil in and clutch adjusted and the sun came out!
Fantastic difference, clutch feels stronger, better lever action and full power all the time.
For anyone doing this job, it’s a simple and rewarding one. I’d definitely recommend new bolts as well as springs and when you order them possibly get a couple of spares.
This is a great ‘how to’ thanks

 

I'd contact EBC. New bolts should not break. The old ones tend to break from having reached their limit of stretch, so when you go to set them to torque they have no more ability to distort and fracture instead.

 

Thank you for this. Did you get to make your chapter on the Seca?

 

Fitz has not been here for quite some time he had quite a talent for doing write ups.

 

That's a shame. He was excellent at this. Thank you.

 

Yes, life threw things in the way, so he had to back off of stuff. I just sent an email to him to say hi and that people here still ask about him.

if I get a chance, I’ll try to rebuild his page if needed. It’ll depend if I can get the pics or not

dfox

 

I was in contact with Fitz a week or so ago....everything’s ok, just crazy

 

Any chance someone could give me an example of what 1mm-3mm of play looks like? The phrase "a few mm of play" really shouldn't be hard to interpret but I am none the less having some problems with it. Not sure if it should be a few mm of wiggle at the end of the handlebar lever or where the lever connects to the cable. Haven't really found a clutch setting that feels "right." Either too much play or its too heavy or it feels like the clutch isnt being returned all the way.

Also, clutch lever always feels unusually "heavy" when the bike is off but when it's running it feels totally normal. Weird or normal??

Thanks, guys.

 

an inch is 24 mm
3mm is 1/8 inch
it is the space between lever and perch

lube the cable

 

Question: I recently replaced clutch and have adjusted everything best I can. On a cold bike after start up and brief warm up (in Texas), when I shift into first gear, it clunks real hard and sometimes kills the bike. All other shifts are fine. And, once the bike is warm after a riding a few minutes, it will shift into first smoothly. Why is that initial cold shift clunking so hard into gear?

 

My bike does the same when cold. Here is a modification that I am going to do might be of interest to you.

https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/smoother-shifting-mod.117483/