How do I know if my clutch is gone or not...

Hello all, I recently bought a 1982 XJ550 from a guy that I am trying to get going. The gears all worked but I could not ever get the bike back into neutral when I was parking. It was also kind of clunky shifting up or down. I took the clutch cable off and made sure there was no problems there and lubricated it. I then set up the clutch cable from scratch along with the clutch lever. To my surprise when I fired it up and went for a test drive it would go in and out of neutral now with no problem. Very easily in fact but now my problem is that I only have neutral, first and second gear. It will not go up from there. I have read a few posts here about the clutch and shifting gears so I made sure the chain was the right tension and my foot gear changer was positioned right. I went for a ride with a number 12 wrench in my pocket and I tried adjusting the clutch cable in 1/4 turn at a time to see if it would get any better at any point but it did not. I tried adjusting out and it just made the neutral gear problem start all over again. After driving around for like an hour adjusting the cable it made no difference and I just reset the cable back to where I had 1st, neutral and second. MY question is are my clutch plates gone and should I order a set or do you think there is something that I am missing or could do to get my 3rd,4th,5th, and 6th gear back? Also if I need a new clutch pack then where would one get that from? Thanks for your help as always

 

I went out and tried my XJ again as it has been sitting for like 6 hours and completely cold. I took off and had for sure 1st to 4th and then came back to the driveway and tried putting it in neutral and it went but it took me like 15 tries of going through the gears. So it seems that I have more gears with a terrible time of finding neutral or I can only find neutral easier but have few gears??? Whats that all about?

 

Clutch cable adjustment is critical. There is barely enough throwought, and if you don't get the cable adjusted correctly it will not shift right.

Adjustment covered here:
CLUTCHES 101-Part 1: the 400/550/600s with pics
and here:
Clutch Adjustment & Clutch Cable Replacement Procedure

 

Thanks K-moe

 

clutch cable adjusts at both ends.

550 neutral is a hard to find thing its such a small shift

cable routing is important too

 

Thats the first thing that I did was take the cable totally off of the bike and check it out then re routed it as the previous guy has a few funny turns happening for no apparent reason. I put the cable back on and set it up again and that is when I found neutral, first and second but the top gears were gone? I adjusted at both the top and bottom and went from one extreme to another. I just went out and took off the throw out arm adjuster and mounted it giving me hopefully more movement but it had no affect and then I just put it all back together. The only thing I can think of is the clutch plates are worn or done but then I have to pop that side cover off and I don't have a new gasket to put back on. Does that make sense that you would have the first 3 gears and not the last 3 gears do to clutch plates or no?

 

If the clutch was worn you'd have normal shifts and the clutch would slip when you get on the throttle.
This is not a clutch plate issue.

If you are certian that the clutch cable is properly adjusted, then it's time to drop the oil, remove the shifter cover, and look for a broken spring in the shift assembly.

 

How far or much does the throw out arm adjuster actually move when you engage the clutch? Mine moves a good inch and a half to two inches? Does that sound about right? Also I don't know if I feel confident enough to go into the clutch to check the springs. The bike is going to a shop on April 13th so a mechanic can look at my leaky carb so I might just get him to look for the broken spring also. I watched a couple videos on how to open it up and pull out the plates and stuff and it didn't seem that hard???

 

You won't be loking at the clutch side, but the shifter side (on the left).

 

OMG good thing you told me on the shifter side as I was just getting ready to go into the other side where the clutch is. Okay I will take that plate off and see whats inside there.

 

I just ordered a new clutch cable that will be here in a couple days. I might as well start with the easy fixes and work my way from there. I am also trying to find the right gaskets in case I take that apart. Thanks

 

Hey K-moe, do you know if the centre stand off of a 1982 xj550 SECA is the same for a 1982 XJ550 Maxim? I would guess yes but I need an expert opinion before I order one. Thanks

 

yes same part

dont forget to lube that new clutch cable

 

Yay! Thanks man and I will go and order the centre stand. How do you lube the cable if it does not come out of the case? What do you use? thanks

 

gravity and a plastic bag cable through hole in bag tape to outer casing with oil in it let stand overnight

or buy this tool motorcycle cable lube tool then you use spray lube and it flows the length of the cable in a few seconds. it clamps around the end of cable and there is a little hole in it to insert red tube from spray can. i buy chain/cable lube

 

or use a shop vac to draw the oil into the cable,

 

OOOhhhhh you are so smart!!! What kind of oil do you use? WD40? 5w-30?

 

Either cable lubricant (best) or transmission fluid (good enough).

 

i like cable lube but you can use motor oil 30wt

from haynes manual sub funnel for baggie
vacuum subs for gravity

 

Wow that's cool. Okay well once again I say thanks. I ordered the centre stand. I am still working on the headlight and the lack of gears but other than that....lol.....that's all I have to fix and she is good to go.

 

I think on the 550 he needs to look in the clutch side, see attached thread:

https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/thre...ect-shifter-drum-question.129150/#post-648446

 

Thanks for the info Also can someone tell me what the brass rods sticking out of the rubber boots is called and what it is used for? I lost one and the bike was running terrible and I noticed that one was gone so I just plugged the hole and it went back to running great again. I have to buy a couple spares. Thanks

 

It is the vaccum stub for operating the fuel flow from the tank (third one from the left of the bike facing forwards) if you have the factory petcock. The full set of brass rods are for connecting vaccum gauges to balance your carburettors. As you had one of them off (with the cap missing that you plugged) the affected cylinder would be getting extra air affecting the running of that cylinder. You should have a pipe running from your petcock to the third brass stub. The other three should have caps, they look like a narrower version of tyre valve caps.

 

Thanks Franz now that I know what they are called I can try to get some.

 

If you are looking at replacement inlet stubs don't buy the Chinese ones that are sold on E Bay. They are prone to cracking. Be careful with the bolts holding the stubs to the cylinder head as they can shear off. Len will have replacement stubs if you want to contact him on info@xj4ever.com

But if the ones you have are free of cracks I would keep them on the bike as they are servicable and you eliminate the risk of shearing the bolts.

 

Heres one of mine that I just pulled off of my carb.

 

Mine are just pushed in and kind of loose and hence the me loosing one after I went for a ride. I just plugged the hole and all is good. I am having a hard time finding these but are they just put together in pieces by the last guy that owned the bike maybe?

 

You remove the clip and then pull the cap off the brass tube. The tubes should not pull out that is going to cause vaccum leaks and affect engine performance. I would get new inlet stubs. What did you plug the hole with? Be careful you don't want the plug getting sucked into the engine.

New stubs are now essential because you cannot balance the carburettors if the brass tubes are loose. The rubber must have perished.

 

...or the guy that I bought the bike off of just made those ones and drilled a hole (a little bit too big). They are too loose and I will end up loosing a couple more right away. I just temporarily plugged the hole with a screwdriver bit that fit the hole perfectly but is a lot bigger width so it can't get sucked in. So when I am googling them I shall try "inlet stubs?" to try to find them.