clutch advice/help please?

[Crazy_Russian]

Howdy guys,
I'm trying to get my 78 GS750E back on the road and just keep having one problem after another. this time its the clutch, replaced all the seals, polished the left side engine/chain cover, cleaned up 35 year old dried up grease in the clutch push mechanism (what ever that thing is called with 3 balls inside of it) and put some fresh grease in there. and trying to get it all adjusted, and not having any luck. it feels like its dragging, cant get it fully pressed in, ive played with the screw and the adjustments on the cable with the same results, just changes the point of where the clutch handle is when its engaged/disengaged. Any suggestion guys? Weak springs? worn out discs? everything combined? or maybe im doing something wrong?

[daturat100r]

Make sure you slacken cable completely before starting adjustment of pushrod mechanism

[althomas101]

I've found the best way to adjust a clutch is to put it up on the centerstand, fire up the engine and then you can put it in gear and see where the clutch engagement point is. then you can fiddle with the cable to get it where you want it. It doesn't take much travel of the clutch arm to actually disengage the clutch so you might be over thinking it.

[Crazy_Russian]

daturat100r,
yeah, ive head bothe sides of the cable completely backed in.

althomas101,
thats what i was doing, center stand, engine on, still draging, tried tightening the adjustment screw, same thing, tried lossening it, same results:-( tried with engine off, turning by hand, still takes allot of effort to turn the wheel with the clutch pressed in :-(

[OLDENUFF]

The clutch is swimming in engine oil. It will drag a bit when cold. Get your engine up to normal operating temperature and then adjust it.

[chedd]

'that thing with the three ball's in it' take it out ,wash it clean and examine it.if the round seating has become worn or elongated it will have a serious effect on clutch adjustment,if it looks worn best to replace it.replace the balls as well if they don't look good.

[althomas101]

So if I'm understanding you correctly you cannot tighten the cable enough to move the release lever? Could you have a stretched or wrong cable? Can you adjust the lever so that there is no play? If you can then the lever will most certainly move enough to release the clutch.
From my experience a worn clutch or springs will disengage almost as soon as the release lever moves so it doesn't sound to me like you have a problem with worn out clutch plates or springs.
It could be possible that the clutch plates are sticking due to the bike sitting for a long time, that is a fairly common occurrence. You might just want to take the clutch apart and inspect everything, when I did, I discovered that the clutch basket nut was loose. Apparently that is a common issue on these bikes.

[Crazy_Russian]

'that thing with the three ball's in it' take it out ,wash it clean and examine it.if the round seating has become worn or elongated it will have a serious effect on clutch adjustment,if it looks worn best to replace it.replace the balls as well if they don't look good.

you might be on to something, ive cleaned it all ready and regreased. there is some small marks on the balls but they didn't appear to be pitted. unfortunately other then a new 3 ball thing i don't know where i can get them new. I didn't notice any major wear on the cutouts, but when assembled, it takes about 2mm of travel before it starts pushing itself apart
i found one of those clutch release assembly for $15 and a complete assembled clutch basket with discs for under $10 plus shipping thinking of ordering just to have spare parts if anything

althomas101, yes, you are correct, i cant get enough travel to push the clutch disks apart. the cable is 2 years old, and the bike sat for a 1 1/2 years, i can tighten the cable to absolutely no play and still the clutch drags. ill take a look at this weekend :-( i really didnt want to take it apart, as ive resealed and polished that side when i first got the bike :-(

[barnbiketom]

The clutch is swimming in engine oil. It will drag a bit when cold. Get your engine up to normal operating temperature and then adjust it.

+1 on this!!!!

if you are checking your clutch adjustment without the engine running , i'd do it with it RUNNING as it will drag anyways

[Crazy_Russian]

.
It could be possible that the clutch plates are sticking due to the bike sitting for a long time, that is a fairly common occurrence. You might just want to take the clutch apart and inspect everything, when I did, I discovered that the clutch basket nut was loose. Apparently that is a common issue on these bikes.

you were correct, the nut was loose, im also peacing together out of two clutch baskets, my crown has less wear then the one i just got, and my canter peace is more gauged, so taking a fine file and cleaning all that up, after im done with that, clutch plates are next
whats a good way to stop the nut from coming lose again? lock-tight? or is that a bad idea?

[althomas101]

I don't think locktite would be a good idea since it is a spline you don't want fragments of that stuff going in your oil. The torque range is from 36-51 ft/lbs which even on the high end seem kind of low compared to other bikes I've done clutch jobs on. I just torqued mine down to 51 ft/lbs and made sure that the staking washer was bent so that the nut will not move. I saw a post here on another thread where someone said to just crank the nut down to like 65 ft/lbs. So I'll leave it up to you. Mind that I'm a GS noob so hopefully someone with more bike specific knowledge might pipe up.

[Crazy_Russian]

i just cranked it down to 60 ft/lbs and made shore the nut was not coming lose again but in my findings ive also discovered what this lose nut caused, 2 destroys soft discs and one completely overheated and worn down metal disk. I'm glad ive bought that clutch basket from ebay. i got everything put together, adjusted the clutch and eureka! i can have my bike on the center stand with the engine running and in gear, and the rear wheel wont rotate unless i release the clutch and it stops rotating after a few moments when i press the clutch in
Thank You guys for all the help!
now i just need to adjust the dang carbs

[althomas101]

I'm glad to hear that fixed your clutch. Adjusting the carbs should be a simple task, at least for the idle mixture. Getting the main jet size nailed down and the clip position takes pulling the carbs a half a dozen times. Bikecliff's website has all you need to know to get them straight. I use an infrared thermometer to fine tune the pipes the same temperature. I also tend to run a little on the rich side so that it cold starts easier and allows me to close the choke sooner.

[Crazy_Russian]

ive bean looking at BikeCliffs site, wonderful resource, i just hate carbs, particularly when there is 4 of them on the same engine. In the last year, ive rebuilt them, all new o-rings, new intake boots (my where dry rotted and 3 out of 4 leaked), dropped the main jet to 97.5 (im at 5500ft elevation), removed and a replaced a stuck and broken off tip from one of the needles. went thru all the wiring cleaned it and put all new sleeveing on it it and the list just keeps going on and on, i just want to ride the dang thing
anyways, thank you for listening to me vent im starting to c a small tiny twinkle of a light at the end of a tunnel