Topic: CB550 clutch not disengaging all the way

[thedrewski86]

There's always a way to screw up!  Any more pics?

[boogiedude]

well, I've come back with tentative good news. I decided to say F it, I'll throw the pipes back on and ride it over to the dealer and see if they can figure it out, And after starting it up and revving it in the garage a few times, the clutch has begun behaving. I'm going to guess that it needed oil pressure to flood the plates and get them to unstick themselves. Took it around town and it seems to be good now.

I did notice that the clutch is much grabbier now than my old one. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it'll take a day of riding to adjust to. Hopefully it stays functioning...

[dave500]

once its been ridden a few times re adjust it and it shouldve settled in.

[boogiedude]

UPDATE: Ive developed a new issue, similar to the original problem that caused me to rebuild the clutch. Currently, when the bike is cold the clutch adjustment at the lever is nice and tight, set right where it's supposed to be with a small amount of play. But as the bike warms up and I put some miles on it the clutch gets more and more loose, the catch gets closer to the bottom of the lever travel, and I'll end up not being able to shift at stops, or at any rpm below ~3k.

I have all new plates(steel and friction) and cable with probably 3000 miles on them. Maybe a little more. The oil was changed about 500 miles ago and is right on the money for oil level. I checked adjustment at the case and the two dots line up perfectly.

Any ideas?

[InTheStreet]

Boogiedude, did you ever get your clutch figured out?  You just told the story of my clutch.  I've it to the point where it works great cold, but never fully releases when warm, which means I have to get into neutral while rolling and can't be in gear when stopped or the bike bucks as I hold the brake to keep it from riding.  No adjusting to any extreme seems to make it better.

[xsmooth69x]

ow god give me the answer to this my bike does the same thing!!! perfect when warming up... after riding a while and the clutch starts to get all crabby too. 1st or neutral clunks hard and sometimes i cant get it into neutral.....

brand new cables did extreme adjustments and im about to change out the entire clutch, plates, fibers stuff the whole nine. but im still going to put money on the same issue arising >_<

[dave500]

gday xsmooth!been a while,check the baskets end float aswell.

[xsmooth69x]

gday xsmooth!been a while,check the baskets end float aswell.

why hello sir! been i while since ive been on or had any PM's so i thought id bounce on - and i missed you 

ya its getting around to riding season so i have a new list of questions that I imagine will plague my riding season again 

this is one of them on the bucket list! im literally going to buy another clutch cable... and actually buy all new clutch stuff instead of using the 3 clutch cages that came with 3 of my motors -_-

i hope the OP comes back and tells me the answer ......



Also that basket end float i imagine is that magnetic stick with with the balls on the ends?

[dave500]

negative!,its controlled by a shim or two under the circlip that holds the basket onto the shaft.

[InTheStreet]

For me it turned out I was too afraid to play with the adjuster on the clutch cover since installing the new clutch. I had turned it a bit in each direction with no difference since replacing all of the pieces of the clutch, but I got frustrated and turned it a few turns clockwise, adjusted the cable to the new cover adjustment and found it was actually slightly loose.  Probably not best method, but....

[eastyork1977]

I would check that the position of the clutch pressure plate is in the correct rotation and its fully secured and tightened down.

I was going to suggest de-glazing your plates but you've got new ones and I'm assuming new cork friction plates.

The steel plates do need some texture to them, if they're silky smooth then they could slip.

Look super close at the steel plates' edges.

They have a hard edge on one side and a beveled edge on the other. Its extremely slight. The same edges has to face in the same direction. The beveled edges should all be facing outward, towards the outside of basket.

[zenocchio]

I have the same issue on my 500.
Brand new cable, bought online.
I have the feeling that the new cable is the issue, did we got a bad quality cable?
Mine is not original, and the metal is coated inside the sleeve.

[eastyork1977]

@ zenocchio. If your clutch isn't disengaging like the above posts, try and replace the petrified cork friction discs with new ones. I've seen the cork come right off the discs in pieces that fell into the pan. Not pretty.

Sometimes when they have sat for a while, they become stuck to each other and a bump start or gear drop will actually break them apart into small pieces.

The outer clutch arm should have enough play that the cable does in fact engage the clutch plate and internals. Adjust the cable as per the manual. Should do the trick.

[zenocchio]

@ zenocchio. If your clutch isn't disengaging like the above posts, try and replace the petrified cork friction discs with new ones. I've seen the cork come right off the discs in pieces that fell into the pan. Not pretty.

Sometimes when they have sat for a while, they become stuck to each other and a bump start or gear drop will actually break them apart into small pieces.

The outer clutch arm should have enough play that the cable does in fact engage the clutch plate and internals. Adjust the cable as per the manual. Should do the trick.

Thanks for the heads up mate!

[xsmooth69x]

so has the OP come up with a solution? 

[boogiedude]

I just happened to see this thread pop back up to the top of the message board.

No, I haven't found a solution yet. It comes and goes and I can't pin down an exact cause of it. I've played with the clutch adjustment at all 3 locations(side case, bottom cable, clutch lever) and it still persists. The only thing I haven't done is try and adjust the basket play with the shims. I don't have any shims like that or know where to get them so I'm kinda stuck there. 

[xsmooth69x]

one other question i have just for fun....

what kind of motor oil do you use?

[xsmooth69x]

bumpin the dead

OP ever get back?

anyone find a fix for this?

[skydaddy2010]

I literally just had the same problem on my 81 cb650. I ended up getting on Skype with my uncle who had the same bike that he bought new. He explained it isn't always a problem with the plates. I changed the plates anyways.  As long as you've got it taken apart might as well do the rebuild.  I ended up replacing the basket. Something about the pressure plate being warped.  Found the whole setup on ebay for 30 bucks. I say change the basket.

[crantonr]

Having had similar problems with a 550 clutch not disengaging especially on a hot engine I decided to have the case off and inspect the plates. First discovery was the shim behind the snap clip (circlip) appeared to be missing. Not good I thought but found it on the clutch shaft behind the basket once I had removed it. I suspect the PO had slid the shim back on so as not to lose it and had forgotten to bring it forward when putting the basket back on.
Question 1 - how much difference would the shim make being behind the basket instead of its intended position? It is obviously controlling the slack regardless of position.
Question 2 - The manual suggests using a 'dial gauge' on the end face of the clutch assembly to check for excessive looseness. I see that there are three different sizes of these packing shims but without the specialist tool is there an easier way of telling if additional shims are required? There is a small amount of play. I think the current shim is 0.1 mm.
Question 3 - Would looseness on the basket cause clutch problems? Otherwise friction disks seem to be within tolerance but I will probably replace while everything is apart.

Thanks
Richard