XJ750 Clutch question

I was trying to put on a new clutch cable today, and I noticed that the little arm that hooks to the cable, that comes out of the cover, seems really easy to move up and down. This is my first XJ and I am not familiar with this setup. I can literally move the lever up and down, easily, with just one finger under the lever..is that normal?

 

There should be a C clip on the top of the shaft. Is your's missing?

 

No, the C clip is there. Seems way too easy of a pull, I can pull the lever on the handlebar in with one finger, and I'm sure that cant be right. I did take the clutch cover off a while back to polish it, but I did not touch any part of the mechanism under the cover.

 

When you had the clutch cover off did you make sure to align the gear with the plunger? The clutch should not be a one-finger pull.

 

I thought I did. I know I looked at my manual before I did it, but I agree, I finger pull, no bueno. Dang, I just put a fresh load of oil in it, too. Do I have to drain it to take off the clutch cover again?

 

Forgot to ask; before I wrestle the exhaust system back on, it seemed like a good idea to test the neutral switch first. Am I correct in assuming that the switch is normally open when in gear, but when in neutral it is closed, grounding the green light so it lights up? If so I think I may have a problem. As far as continuity goes, I have it in all gears, as well as neutral, meaning as far as the switch is concerned, it is always in neutral. Bad switch?

 

You are correct about how the neutral switch works. Most likely it is gummed up. Since you have to drain the oil to deal with the clutch rod, and the exhaust is still off, now is the time to deal with the neutral switch.

Fair warning: getting the switch out with the engine in the frame is not fun. There will be modifying a cheap socket and cursing involved. If you want to avoid that you can run seafoam in the oil to help free the gunk from around the switch (they hardly ever go bad, but they do get stuck from sludge buildup).

If you want to avoid dropping the oil you can lay the bike on its left side, preferably on a sloping hillside.

 

Remove the c-clip and lever from the spindle. Rotate the spindle clockwise until it bottoms out (there should be a detent on the spindle that should align with a mark on the clutch cover). Replace the lever and clip. The clutch now has complete throw out.

Gary H.

 

Fair warning: getting the switch out with the engine in the frame is not fun. There will be modifying a cheap socket and cursing involved

I cant even imagine; when I was trying to get the tiny screw on the the switch with the wire, for the first time in years I took a screwdriver and hurled it... man that felt *good*
Would it be easier to just put a jack under it, remove mount bolts except for the rear ones, and jack the front of the engine up a little bit?

 

Thanks Gary, Ill try that this morning!

 

That would get you more clearance to work. BE very careful that you spread the load of the jack well. I use a 6" diameter aluminum disc to spread the load across the oil pan (it's handy, but you can use wood). You will need to loosen the rear engine mounting bolts, and remove the airbox boots so the engine can tilt without damaging anything.

 

I got the switch out this morning. What I know about clutches would fill both sides of a matchbook cover. I took the cover off, and here is what I have.
I also got the neutral switch out and I am guessing it was bad; the little plunger you can wiggle back and forth quite a bit, cleaned it and still got continuity open/closed, so I just ordered a new one.

 

Stupid switch. I'm glad that ti was worth the effort to pull it. Would have sucked to find that it was in working order, but just gummed up.

At the center of the clutch is the plunger. On it you'll see a geared face. On the inside of the clutch cover you'll see that the business end of the clutch rod has a gear on it. Those two parts have to mesh. There should also be an e-clip on the end of the shaft to keep it from being able to be removed. I see that the clutch arm was removed. Do you have the spring that sits under it, or was it missing?

 

The hardest thing about getting the switch out was finding a six point 1/4" drive socket in the tools to grind down, after that it was easy

Yes, I have the spring that goes under the lever. I have no less than three books for the bike, a Haynes in a .pdf and two Yamaha factory manuals, and they all say precisely the same thing, to align the pull-rod (the flat threaded part) down and to the left, 45 degrees, and that is it! Nothing about what the throw distance should be, or the force required to move the lever. I have had the clutch cover on/off numerous times, incrementally adjusting the angle on the pull-rod, and does not seem to make any difference. As I said, I never had the clutch itself apart, just took off the cover to polish it. Something is not right, when I still had the cover on, it was not moving enough to operate the clutch, not sure what is going on. I can shift the transmission into first/second, and into neutral, but the clutch does not seem to be working.

 

1. Install the clutch cover.
2. Rotate the splined arm clockwise until it stop.
3. Install the arm/spring where the dot indent aligns with the mark on the cover (keep the rod bottomed out cw).
4. Install the e-clip.
5. Install the cable.
6. Adjust the cable at the perch.
7. Adjust the cable at the bracket.

This pic is with the handle pulled in.

This pic is with the handle at rest.

Gary H.

 

I wonder if the clutch springs are still in good shape?

Follow what Rocs just posted and see if the clutch pull is where it should be. If not, then further inestigation into the clutch is warranted.

 

Rocs and k-moe, thanks for all of your informative replies. Not being familiar with this clutch setup, I *mistakenly* assumed that since I could not move the lever with my fingers, something must be wrong The main problem apparently was that I did not have the lever back far enough. After that was set correctly, the clutch did indeed operate; kind of a hard pull, but it works. Thanks again!

 

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Gary H.

 

It's supposed to be a hard pull. It is a motorcycle for grown-ups after all.

 

Grown-ups... where do these rules keep coming from? Oh well, If I have to I can always use two hands to operate it while riding