Topic: Stumped KZ1000 clutch will not dis-engage--- FIXED! thnx alll!!

[Soos]

Hey all,


I am working on getting my buddy's KZ1000 running right.
I have everything working well except for 2 things, although from what I have read 1 of them is a moot point.

1st is that I cannot dis-engage the clutch.
I have tried adjusting the play in the cable, and also the adjuster nut...
no success yet there.
I have read that the disks may be "stuck" together, and have tried starting it in 1st with the front brake on, and the clutch lever pulled in, and it just wants to go through my garage door.



The other (?) problem is I can shift into 1st, but not 2nd.
From what I have read you cannot go into 2nd unless you are rtolling along, something about a positive neutral stop...
So not so worried about that point (YET).

 



thnx for any help.



I may have too much oil in there, can this be a problem with the clutch??





l8r

[754]

Sometimes they can be hard to unstick.

 How are you getting it in gear, or does it start in gear?

 For sure you need an open space for trying this.. & a kill switch.

 If its running try riding in first with the clutch pulled in.

[mlinder]

Pull the clutch. Unstick of stuck. Pulling clutch and reinstalling is less than a 2 hour job if you are halfway familiar with them. Better than spending 2 days trying to unstick the bastards with them still attached.

[kirkn]

Works every time:

Start bike with motor in neutral.  Pull in clutch.  Get bike rolling down the drive and stomp 'er into first.  Keep holding the clutch lever in.  Ride the bike around the yard, or up and down the block holding the clutch lever pulled in.  Maybe get on the throttle a bit aggressively and then chop the throttle.  ("forward" loading then "reverse" loading the clutch)  Do this a number of times.  All while holding the clutch lever in.  After a few tries, the plates will separate themselves and the clutch will then work normally.  It will be obvious, because the bike will coast because you're holding the clutch lever in.  It'll take all of 5 minutes.

I've done this dozens of times while resurrecting old hulks over the years.  You do not do any damage to the clutch, because all you're doing at first is riding around with the clutch engaged (ie normal driving) and eventually, the clutch plates unstick, and then you're just coasting.

Obviously, you don't want to do this on I-95, or on State Road 436 during rush hour       but in the yard, or around the neighborhood streets?  No worries.

Kirk

[Soos]

Cool, thnx for the tips!


I did have about a quart too much oil, but fixed that.
And I can't start it in gear without the clutch pulled in. It starts and takes off really well, but I have yet to let it go more than 15 foot or so.


I have even given his rear tire a burnout. that beast of a starter even started the thing in 1st with the tire against my garage, gassed it, and it wants to GO!


I might have to take it for a little trip around the neighborhood today to break that clutch loose.

And I would be willing to take the clutch out and separate it, but the guy who owns it bought $8 a quart oil thats sitting in it at the moment.
I'm not really making money(ok, like a buck a hour??) so I'm not into replacing that oil.



Anyone know if anything internally could have fallen out of place if the clutch pushrod that goes through the motor had been removed?
I thought I would look in the bore to see if anything was mis-aligned, but all I saw was oil coming out.
I quickly put it back in, and haven't started it since.
Should I worry??







l8r

[754]

Yeah, you should worry....

You should charge at least 4x the labour, and let your  "friend"  eat the oil cost, when you are working on his ride for dickall..

 Thats what you should worry about..

[Soos]

 

I know....




l8r

[HavocTurbo]

What year?

They used to stick a small ball bearing in the armature to take up the slack on worn clutches....

They being shoddy backyard dealer mechanic scum....

I've had to fix it a few times.

[Soos]

'81

l8r

[toycollector10]

Take off the left side foot peg and then the gear shift lever then the left side-cover. Inside the cover is a worm gear made of plastic. Remove it and grease it properly and check its function. Pull the rod, that the worm gear pushes on, that goes through to the clutch on the right hand side of the engine and grease it. Reassemble. Use Locktite on the two screws that hold the worm gear onto the body of the engine case. It's worth having a look there.

[Soos]

good to know, thnx
I will do that next time I start wrenching on it.



l8r

[HavocTurbo]

Take off the left side foot peg and then the gear shift lever then the left side-cover. Inside the cover is a worm gear made of plastic. Remove it and grease it properly and check its function. Pull the rod, that the worm gear pushes on, that goes through to the clutch on the right hand side of the engine and grease it. Reassemble. Use Locktite on the two screws that hold the worm gear onto the body of the engine case. It's worth having a look there.

Well that covers where I was going..... 

[Soos]

Well thnx all!!




I did end up taking the bike to a open parking lot after greasing that little gear under the left cover.
I really didn't want to open up the clutch unless necessary.


I ended up riding with the clutch lever pulled for about 1/2 hour(my hand now hurts though!).
It shifts fine now, and the clutch works like it should!!





Now if I could get that freiking turn signal system to work consistently.
I think I have a ground thats flaky somewhere or something.
Mabey it's in the switch.

Every time I open up the left controls I can get the turn signals to work no problem.
Put it back together... and nothing but the front running lights light up.
Mabey I pinched something....
I'll find out soon.





It's amazing just how much power that bike has!
My 650 is tame compared to that beastie.
Quite scary actually.
Too much power for a 2 wheeled vehicle IMO.



From what my buddy says the PO of the bike would regularly take this thing out to the salt flats, and from the external mods to the motor I see I wouldn't doubt it's got a big bore kit too.




l8r

[kirkn]

I ended up riding with the clutch lever pulled for about 1/2 hour (my hand now hurts though!).

1/2 HOUR??!!?  Holy cow!  I've done that trick maybe half a dozen times over the years and never had it take more than 4 or 5 minutes!  Well, glad it worked out.

Kirk

[Soos]

Well I got in touch with the son of the PO of this bike.

He said his dad had installed a big bore(said it was 1300+cc's), a clutch kit (HD springs?), hot cams, and all the goodies I can visually see as well.
I asked him if he had any time slips from his dads trips to the flats, he said they were still on the wall in his garage.

I'm going to have to go over there to check them out.
Be interesting to see what times this thing ran at.



l8r

[HavocTurbo]

Pictures my man pictures...

I may have a manual cam chain tensioner lying around for that bike. That is if it doesn't have one already.