Newb - Problems With Clutch

[pablito]

I have recently bought a 1996 honda xr80. The clutch was working good but for some unknown reason it didn't spring back all the way after a few weeks. I had heard that the threads where the cable goes in to the clutch could loosen and tighten the clutch so I started playing with that. Now my clutch is hard to pull in, but it does spring back, but it doesn't work right. If i shift into gear and then pull the clutch in it should be in neutral right?? but the bike doesn't roll usually but even if it does roll it feels like its not totally in neutral, theres some resistance.

any help would be appreciated

 

[MikeT]

Your clutch is not adjusted properly. It isn't supposed to spring back all the way. You need to adjust the cable so that when the lever is all the way back there is a space between the lever and the perch that you can squeeze a nickel in between. The thickness of a nickel is the amount of freeplay that you need. If you have more freeplay you will have trouble getting the bike in gear and it will pull you when the clutch is in. If you have less freeplay and the lever springs all the way back then you will quickly burn up $100 clutch.

Adjust it correctly and you will have no problems if you havent already burnt it up.

 

[pablito]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to adjust it to get it working properly.

 

[MikeT]

Good. The clutch is something that a simple adjustment in the wrong direction could make the thing toast or perfection. Tell us how it goes.

 

[pablito]

I can get the lever springing back the right amount but it still doesn't work right. The bike still doens't go fully into neutral.

 

[CaptainObvious]

If i shift into gear and then pull the clutch in it should be in neutral right?? but the bike doesn't roll usually but even if it does roll it feels like its not totally in neutral, theres some resistance.

No, pulling the clutch lever doesn't put the bike in neutral, it disconnects the primary drive from the transmission, via the clutch. Neutral is a designated location in the transmission - usually between 1st and 2nd gear - but you knew that.

Also keep in mind, when the engine isn't running and the transmission is in gear, there is significant clutch drag - even with the clutch lever fully engaged. This is normal. If you need to move the bike around with the engine off, put the transmission into neutral.

 

[pablito]

ohhh. Now it makes more sense. i'm going to test out my bike tonight and i'll tell you how it turns out.

 

[pablito]

I got my bike running again and tryed it out and it worked great. Thanks for the help!

 

[MikeT]

Just a little learning curve. The more you ask the more you'll know.