Topic: CB350F clutch issues.

[camshaft1991]

So I got really frustrated with my clutch. I kept rapidly squeezing the clutch lever while throwing the back wheel side to side. In a fit of rage, I pulled the back wheel hard in one direction with clutch pulled in and.. the back wheel moved while in gear. !!! It felt like the clutch wasn’t entirely free but something kind of worked. The clutch is dragging.  I’m not sure if adjustment will work, but anything is better than taking everything apart again. I’ve lost so much sleep over this I feel almost too tired to be excited about progress 


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[camshaft1991]

I oiled my clutch before I installed the assembly, but the crank case has no oil. Am I  experiencing this drag do to no oil in the case? I keep adjusting my clutch and nothing  takes away this drag. In fact my clutch is now tighter than it was initially and I can turn the back wheel without pulling the clutch lever. When the clutch is pulled all the way in the drag feels unchanged. Adjusting free play in the clutch lever just reset everything to how it was originally. So adjustment won’t fix this drag. I might just pass out from sitting. I’m gonna need a week or two hiatus from this


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[Little_Phil]

It's a wet clutch. Always run in oil.

[camshaft1991]

Cam- how smooth is the clutch center, could the clutch plats be hanging up on the basket?

I’m going to play with the adjustment again. I probably won’t have any success and I’ll pull the clutch. I read another post in 2013 of the same issue but he put the collar in backwards. So I’ll check the clutch center and quadruple check everything else when I do pull it out. Today will be better than before because I’ll be working with an even-keel. If I can’t solve it today then I’ll have my local shop teeter with it. It will cost an arm and a leg but I’ll keep my sanity. Then all my major troubleshoots will be done with and I will one day figure out where my slow dribble of an oil is coming from.

[camshaft1991]

It's a wet clutch. Always run in oil.

So no matter what I do right now it won’t work without oil in the case? Can I soak the assembly in oil to simulate? I poured oil all over the assembly before reinstsllling but maybe that was not sufficient enough?

[camshaft1991]

Also is there a way the measure the free play in the clutch on the handlebars using gap? Both my books reference measurement of free play through the amount of travel at the end of the clutch lever, 10-20mm. I can only eye that kind of measurement, but measuring gap would be more accurate.


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[Robbo]

Also is there a way the measure the free play in the clutch on the handlebars using gap? Both my books reference measurement of free play through the amount of travel at the end of the clutch lever, 10-20mm. I can only eye that kind of measurement, but measuring gap would be more accurate.


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Hold a piece of card stock or cardboard underneath the grip and lever.  Mark the cardboard with lever fully open and then again with lever at max free play position...then measure the difference.

You can do this alone by holding the cardboard and grip with one hand (palm up, fingers holding cardboard steady, thumb on top of grip).


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[camshaft1991]

Thx robbo don’t know why I didn’t think of that.

So I got distracted yesterday from the project but I’m tinkering at it today so here’s a collage of my clutch arm.
(I completely messed this pic up but some of the pictures aren’t identical, you get the point
I started at a point where everything slips and the clutch does nothing. Meaning I can pull the back wheel by hand while its in first. I periodically backed out the clutch adjuster nut one full turn at a time. I pulled the back wheel down while holding the clutch in and then take notice on how much more force I had to apply after releasing the clutch lever.
1. Nothing was changed on the first turn.
2. The second turn: the back wheel was stiffer nothing noticeable with the clutch.
3. Third turn: the clutch is slightly noticeable
4. The fourth: I can’t turn the wheel without the clutch in, however, there is still a substantial drag.

Currently I can continually spin the back wheel, if I keep spinning it. I’m going to turn the clutch adjuster nut out two more times, but the clutch arm is already at the mark.
Then I’ll pull everything to see if it’s all up to standard and then try soaking the assembly.



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[camshaft1991]

So I figured out the differences between setting a clutch really tight and loose but I did not figure out my why clutch is dragging... yet. I set it at almost every possible setting with the adjuster nut. If the clutch arm indicator is below the indicator then its gonna drag and not make a difference if I pull the lever. If it’s above, it’s gonna fight me before I can roll but the clutch works to a noticeable degree around that setting. I’m gonna try to adjust everything again once I soak it all.


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[Robbo]

You’re making progress .

Now you need to find the sweet spot.  Here is mine but yours might be different.  Key is to be patient and make small adjustments (full turns may be too much at once).




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[camshaft1991]

Will keep that in mind about turns. I left to get dinner and when I came back my clutch was frozen regardless of how I set it. Then after I took my cover off I snapped that wretched circlip that holds the whole assembly in. I’m gonna buy a dozen so I won’t ever have to dread their fragile one time usage. The clutch plates and friction plates still had oil on them and i couldn’t notice anything broken. But I think I’ve broke enough things tonight, even if it is just the circlip.


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