Topic: Disengaging clutch kills engine

[daddydane750]

Tried Spanner's suggestion. Kick start worked with lever in; was tight/no go when released.

I now have the clutch cover and case off. I stopped there. All four bolts were tightly in place. I'm comparing what I have to what I see on page 106 of the Clymer manual. Diagram 4 shows an exploded view of what I have off the bike. I don't know if my setup is supposed to be different that what the book shows or if all the models have the same setup. My clutch does not have what the book calls the "clutch lifter cam components". This is #9 in the diagram. I can see a small hole on the backside of the case where the pin of that part would fit in. I noticed before I took the adjusting bolt out, that it moved in and out of the case and would rotate freely and then would catch on something - as if were not making a connection inside the clutch.

If that part is missing, it's been missing since I bought the bike a year ago. I've ridden a few thousand miles with it like that. Could this possibly be the problem? I'm going to try and find out if I can get that part.

[Sam Green Racing]

Dane, why not shout, "Hey, I'm in Oakland Tn, can anyone help" someone may live close and be able to help.

Or organise a garage party with free food and drinks but you have to fix my bike first.

Sam.

[daddydane750]

The only thing around me is cotton fields. If someone did answer, the only thing they would be able to help with is my tractor.
As far as a garage party, I'd be happy just to have a garage to work on the bike in. It's just me and the critters out here.

[Sam Green Racing]

Sounds a nice place to live Where's the nearest drag strip ? Memphis perhaps ?

Sam.

[daddydane750]

I love where I live. Plenty of sky and very few buildings. Great area to ride - lots of twisty country roads with no maniacal city drivers.

The tracks are in Millington - which is a just a few miles from Memphis. The town used to be a big Naval base. The park is called Memphis Motorsports Park. It's got an oval track and a dragstrip. They host a wide variety of events including NASCAR.

[Sam Green Racing]

Taylor Forge Rd, 3rd round of the AMA dragbike championship was rained off a few weeks back.

Sam.

[Hush]

You probably have the bike on the main stand right now, why not try some tests.
Turn the back wheel by hand in neutral, what happens?
Turn the back wheel by hand in gear, what happens?

This is quite an enigma but is probably a simple fix if we can track down the fault.

1) the bike starts and runs fine with the clutch lever pulled in

2) once the clutch lever is released the bike stops dead.

3) If the starter button is depressed while the clutch lever is released the battery can almost not turn the bike over.

Are there any "spare parts" floating around in the clutch area DD? as you say you have been riding the bike for a while now and parts don't just disappear!

OK lets look at this from Mr Spocks' logical angle.....the engine runs when it is not connected to the gearbox.
Once connected to the gearbox the engine dies
The clutch must be working as it is having an effect on the connection of the two.
This leaves us with the conclusion that the gearbox is somehow not functioning correctly.

[Hush]

Also what makes you think the bike is in neutral? is the green light lit? Not always a good way to check.
If the bike is in neutral does the back wheel spin freely ie: is the gearbox allowing the front sprocket to turn.

It def sounds like something mechanical is forcing your bike to stall, the fact taht the battery is fine until you are in gear and then it loses power suggests that it is being asked to turn something it does not have the power to do.

[daddydane750]

I'm back. I spent the weekend working in my gardens. They were being more productive than the bike.

Back wheel spins freely and bike rolls when not on stand. I'm going to replace the clutch plates and cable since I have the cover off. These have probably never been replaced on the bike. I'm also going to order the missing part that I mentioned in my earlier post (clutch lifter cam). If I still get the same results, then I have a custom bike builder in the closest town that I have been told does great work. I'll see if he is up to some troubleshooting.

If this is gearbox, not sure if that's something I want to shadetree. I'll give an update later. Thanks.

[daddydane750]

Just as a closure for this one. I took the clutch completely apart. Measured springs and friction plates - all good. Got a new (relatively speaking of course) clutch cover via eBay. It was in much better shape (the moving components had a "tighter" fit than my old). Also got a complete set of gaskets/seals so I could replace each as I worked on its area. Put everything back together and still had the same problem.

I took the bike off the center stand and tried what a couple of folks had suggested. Held in the clutch, started the bike, put it in gear, revved the engine up (approx. 4-5rpm) and let go of the clutch. Second try did it. The tranny must have been stuck between gears.

Rode the bike on highway and backroads for an hour last night and road an hour to work today (highway and city stop-n-go). Ran just fine. Thanks for all the input. I now know more about my bike than I did before - which is a good thing. Thanks for all the help.

[Spanner 1]

How totally weird, never heard of such a thing, and no damage or chewed-up gear cogs or bearings !!!

[Hush]

Ah result!! excellent....next please