Topic: Clutch stuck

[COMB2]

Been doing a bike rebuild. Nothing internal on the motor though. The motor ran and clutch worked before I started the project. I drained the oil from the motor due to removing it for the frame. It has been sitting dry for 5 months. Put oil in it today and tried disengaging the clutch but it will not at all. The bike moves like normal in neutral but I gear it will not disengage. I even disconnected the cable and pulled the clutch arm up by hand to make sure I was getting full range to disengage it and still stuck. I read some other post and seen some say that the plates can get stuck together.

Do you think with it setting dry for 5 months the plates need to soak up some oil to break free?

[dave500]

there just stuck,itll break free when you start it and clunk it in gear.

[TwoTired]

Before you just stuff it in gear, they sometimes will disengage by revving it a few times with the clutch pulled in.

Cheers,

[CB750faces.com (Lecram)]

there just stuck,itll break free when you start it and clunk it in gear.

I shouldn't do that. You need a lot of force to loose the plates, even when the plates are stuck together a little. It could damage the engine.

You should do better to open the clutch and separate the clutch plates.

[dave500]

mines stuck every time i ride it,i live on a steep hill so i coast off and select second,with no clutch,i get to top with no clutch then i pull it in and rev it to brake it free.if i try to engage first itll stall.every time when its cold.

[CB750faces.com (Lecram)]

mines stuck every time i ride it,i live on a steep hill so i coast off and select second,with no clutch,i get to top with no clutch then i pull it in and rev it to brake it free.if i try to engage first itll stall.every time when its cold.

That's different from standing dry for 5 months (or 23 years for my CB750).

I have tried to do it in your way, but the clutch stayed stuck. And I didn't had the courage to do that again.

[COMB2]

Thanks guys. Now I just need to figure out the timing so I can get it to run and break it loose. Any how to on the timing with a dyna s ? I tried static timing but guess I'm not doing it right

[333]

I had a 125 that did the same thing.  What I did was to put it in gear with the motor off and the clutch pulled in and rock the bike back and forth until the clutch let go.

[DavePhipps]

what bike do you have? 2 other memeber have had this lately with a CB500. I'm one of them. Ours turned out to be a broken lifter rod.

[dave500]

its a 500,its done this since ever,new clutch and friction discs,new adjuster,the rod is fine,most of my dirt bikes have done the same thing.get used to it.rocking it would work but i can do it smoothly down my hill.

[333]

At the risk of hijacking this into an oil thread, could the ultimate culprit be an oil not made for motorcycles?  It is the only substance that comes in contact with the friction plates.  Either that, or the carb float stuck, and gas flowed into a cylinder and past the rings, contaminating the oil, and gas is the damaging substance.

That having been said, let me tell you how I fixed the 125 I mentioned a couple posts back.  Someone gave me a 10 year old 1981 CB125S with 380 miles on it. The original buyer never went to DMV, so the "title" was a certificate of origin.  I did a carb overhaul, stuck a new battery in it, and upon starting, I found the stuck clutch.  I had been using Honda HP4 in all my bikes, but decided not to in this case until the motor got broke in(per Honda's recommendation).  I used the method I described earlier, but if the bike sat for a week, I'd have to do it again.  Once the bike had 600 miles on it, I switched to the HP4.  It maybe stuck one more time, and the issue disappeared.

[TwoTired]

I had been using Honda HP4 in all my bikes, but decided not to in this case until the motor got broke in(per Honda's recommendation).  I used the method I described earlier, but if the bike sat for a week, I'd have to do it again.  Once the bike had 600 miles on it, I switched to the HP4.  It maybe stuck one more time, and the issue disappeared.

Wait a minute.  I thought the consensus of the forum was that Honda got all the engineering wrong for their bikes, and everything needs to be home engineered/altered/customized/"upgraded" to put things right.  Why on earth then, would you use oil that Honda recommended?

You must be one of those "purists" that's now popular to sneer at.   


Cheers,

[COMB2]

Manual just said SAE10w-40 so I just got some regular old oil. That wrong ? It didn't say anything about bike oil. Did I mess up? What should I get?

I did get it broke loose today after some major rocking back and forth

[333]

No, you didn't mess up.  At least not for sure.  But if it reoccurs like it did with my 125, I'd try the Honda HP4, the version with Moly.  In recent years, they have made a version without the Moly, but originally was only available with it.

Let me take this opportunity to clarify when and on what bikes this oil should be used.  This oil should not be used on bikes with automatic transmissions or on any bike/scooter with a centrifugal wet(oil) clutch.  That is what the non Moly version is for.  And back in the day, Honda had a list of what bikes could use it, and the recommendation that the oil should only be used in engines that have been broken in, citing that the oil(with the Moly) lubricates so well, that new engines would not break in properly.

[dave500]

i use atf in two stroke wet clutch gear boxes.,like dirt bikes.

[333]

How well did it shift?

[TwoTired]

Manual just said SAE10w-40 so I just got some regular old oil. That wrong ? It didn't say anything about bike oil. Did I mess up? What should I get?

The issue is that the manual specified SAE 10w-40 with an SE rating.  Cars of the era also used that grade oil.  That particular grade w/rating is not widely available today, cars do NOT use it, and the Honda manuals aren't updated and distributed to all owners automatically.  Auto catalytic converters required a formulation change to auto oil.  For the most part, this makes many auto targeted oils unsuitable for motorcycle use.

The owner needs to be sure the oil purchased meets the actual requirements of the vehicle.  So, go by what the Honda dealer recommends/offers for use in their legacy machines, or become VERY educated about the formulation details of the oil selected for use.

Their are lots of oil threads with differing opinions, interspersed with brand loyalty, information, and misinformation about oil suitability for wet clutch operation.  Some of these threads can be found in this forum.  

Cheers,

[dave500]

triple three thats been in all my two strokes,they shift perfect.clutch no clutch,i always changed it every few long weekends,its cheap,came out cleanish during summer,winter we would cross creeks and it would show a bit cloudy,each to their own favourite oil or beer!

[pdxPope]

Some of these threads can be found in this forum.

Lloyd........you made a funny!!
Progress, my man. Definite progress. 



-JP

[paulmac]

Grab a zip tie and pull the clutch lever in but not all the way with the zip tie, put it into second gear and walk away for 5 minutes. When you return just rock the bike gently back and fourth, it will release the plates. It works for me every time. If that doesn't work then you will have to take the cover off and release them manually.