I had a '76 550F....great bike. How many miles are on your bike and has it sat for a long time?
The clutch should not take a lot of effort to disengage the clutch. Have you tried lubing the cable? May be time for a new cable??
Thanks! The bike has 30k miles on it and ran well enough when I bought it. Pulling the clutch lever feels smooth but my problem is I don't think the clutch is disengaging all the way judging by how hard it is to spin the rear wheel by hand while the bike is on its center stand. Shouldn't the rear wheel turn easily when the clutch lever is pulled all the way in?
NO. In gear with lever pulled in, still lots of drag. HArd to get one full rev. In neutral with lever out, much less drag, but still 1 full rev with a stout spin, is OK.
Better to judge, does it shift smoothly when under way? Does it coast nicely when clutch pulled in at speed: ie; doesn't feel like a brake is on.
On the centerstand, in neutral, does the wheel turn from internal friction and stop turning when brake is tapped without dragging down the engine? All OK. (DO NOT try to slow the tire by hand or foot during this test.! Tapping foot brake only.)
Does it not slip at speed and power? Probably OK.