Is my clutch adjusted correctly?.

crawsue · Post by **crawsue** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:23 pm

After a successful rebuild of my G5 I had the clutch just right(ish),then after 300 mls or so the centre "nut" came loose,I took off the prim drive cover and jacked up the nut " real tight" re-assembled and now I have a good strong clutch but it isn't disengaging completely giving me problems selecting neutral when at standstill,and "creeping" when in gear with clutch pulled in.Is it possible that I have overtightened the three thrust screws when I reassembled.I'm reluctant to pull it to bits again as it is rideable (except in stop start traffic)and I want to get the benefit of this excellent summer.If this is Global- warming lets get more coal fired power stations started up as soon as,------pity about the polar bears though-----and do you know that their fur is black ----or is that their skin? See "how much is too much"

Gstovold · Post by **Gstovold** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:28 pm

Don't know if this will help. My G9 occassionally suffers from clutch slip after being ridden for a while. I used to laboriously take the clutch apart and clean the plates in petrol etc. I got bored with this and tried revving the bollocks off it while it was in slip mode (i.e. riding along, detect slip say going up a hill, rev it like mad). This seem to work a treat, clutch starts to grip nicely after about 15 seconds of this treatment and is fine for another couple of hundred miles. Brutal but effective.

good-hifi · Post by **good-hifi** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:16 pm

quote: I got bored with this and tried revving the bollocks off it while it was in slip mode

Hmmm, I think I prefer the pure engineering and mechanically sympathetic route of solving this..

Cheers

crawsue · Post by **crawsue** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:11 pm

An old timer has suggested replacing the oil in the chaincase with a smaller ammount of power steering fluid--the theory is that it keeps the primary drive lubricated but doesn't compromise the clutch plates---discuss!

itma · Post by **itma** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:18 pm

An even older timer will point out that power steering fluid is sae 20, similar to auto trans fluid, sae 20 or 30 being what this old twerp always recommends
but Micks problem is the previous owners mischief,and incompetance

good-hifi · Post by **good-hifi** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:36 pm

This might seem stupid but aren't these clutches supposed to work when coated with oil.

Cheers

jim501 · Post by **jim501** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 9:47 pm

quote:
This might seem stupid but aren't these clutches supposed to work when coated with oil.

Cheers

Yes

cheers
jim

itma · Post by **itma** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:35 pm

the oil is only intended to lubricate the chain and the centre bearings. not the plates themselves.
"Theoretically"..... the oil is supposed to be kept clear by centrifugal action.

crawsue · Post by **crawsue** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:37 pm

Which is why anything with a consistency thicker than water should work in there.It is noticable that in the "tech pages" of some m/c publications people are being warned off the fully synthetic stuff as it is just to d%mned slippy,even for some fairly modern stuff.

jim501 · Post by **jim501** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 9:37 pm

quote:
Which is why anything with a consistency thicker than water should work in there.It is noticable that in the "tech pages" of some m/c publications people are being warned off the fully synthetic stuff as it is just to d%mned slippy,even for some fairly modern stuff.

Picking up on Itma's post and dead right too, the 'oil bath clutch' is a complete nonsense or, rather, it's a classic engineering 'compromise'

A clutch is a friction function. The last thing you need around it is oil !! What about the chain though ? It needs oiling and they are both in the same case ?

Result ? Provide enough plates and frictional area to transmit 10 times the available power to allow for the oil you have to put in to lubricate the chain, allowing, as Itma says, for the fact that most of it will not actually be between the plates thanks to centrifugal force.

It works and all is wonderful unless you choose a super slippy modern oil or add some Halfreds No Slip additive.

The most basic straight mineral oil is what goes in chaincases. As thin as possible. It's a chain lubicant, nothing more. The clutch will look after itself. Avoid anything synthetic or semi synthetic.

I'd be interested to hear from anybody who has tried Auto Transmission Fluid or Power Steering Fluid (same stuff, Dexron 2) in a chancase. Generlly rated 0/20 it's designed to work in auto boxes with friction clutches. Not recommending it but has anybody tried it ?

Final thoughts. Theoretically, modern synthetic gear oils should be better in non synchro bike boxes. Any comments ? I have no redcommendations and apologies if this has all been done to death, previously.

cheers
jim