1980 550 clutch awkward to disengage

[Guest]

Putting the final touches on my wife's 550L, and having trouble with the clutch.
I've adjusted the cable per instructions found here., and yet, when starting from a dead stop, while releasing the lever, the bike begins to move, then stops. The lever then needs to move further to release. Once it goes this second time, there is not much slip at all. It just goes NOW. It's rideable, but I don't want my wife to try to learn on it this way. She takes her basic rider course this weekend on a loaner bike, but she'll still have a lot to learn once she gets on her bike.

The bike sat since 1991. I have done most all maintenance, but have not tackled the clutched springs.
Would this be a likely cause?
Any other ideas?

Thanks!

[ShadowFocus603]

I'd do the clutch springs and check the clutch basket where the plates slide for notching. I'm not sure the technical descriptions but there are grooves in the clutch basket that the plates and fibers slide into that can become not smooth after awhile. Something to check at least. Tkent knows a lot about the smaller cc Suzuki's so he should be along soon.

[MatBirch]

Springs should be here in a day or two... Thanks for the tip on the basket!
Anybody else?

[Nessism]

Get a new cable for one thing. Secondly, did you grease and adjust the actuator helix? If not, you need to read the manual and do so. Failing all that, most likely your clutch plates are petrified and need replacing. Check the steels for flatness too.

Good luck

[MatBirch]

Thanks!
I have a cable on order w/ the new springs. Should be here maybe tomorrow. I cleaned and lubed the one I have, but it provided no help. Niether did replacing the lever with one that has a better pull angle. One of the reasons I went ahead and ordered a new one was to get a shorter "e" cable, since switching bars.
I have cleaned, lubed and adjusted the helix, using the great info that I've found here. FWIW- the clutch acted this way before I dismantled the bike, so I'm leaning towards something internal.
The bike sat for over twenty years, but only has 15k on it. If it's just a matter of gunk, and varnish-ish crud in there, can the plates be cleaned and reused, or do they have to be replaced?
All in all, the bike was really well cared for by the PO(s). I can only guess at why it was taken off the road in the first place. It was fairly clean, and even tho the valves were very tight, it needed only a thorough carb cleaning to get it running.
Getting this clutch working smoothly is my last step of mechanical neccesity to finish this build properly! Then just a rack for the saddlebags

[Nessism]

If the bike sat for a long time maybe some of the plates have stuck together. When you do the springs I'd separate each plate to make sure everything is free of binding. That should take care of the problems. I doubt the plates are bad after only 15k miles.

[MatBirch]

Thanks! I'm gonna hold off on ordering plates at this point. The bike is SOOOO close to rideable, and my wife is finishing her weekend at the motorcycle safety course as we speak. I want her to able to ride!!

[Nessism]

Not suggesting you order plates. Just take them out and make sure they are not stuck together, which they sometimes do with age. Pull them apart, soak in oil, and reinstall.

[MatBirch]

Not suggesting you order plates. Just take them out and make sure they are not stuck together, which they sometimes do with age. Pull them apart, soak in oil, and reinstall.

Thanks again!

[MatBirch]

Update

So I think I fixed it.
I ordered some new parts, and started with the clutch cable. I swapped the "L" bars for daytonas, so I ordered an "E" cable. While installing it, I wasn't seeing any improvement. I had cleaned and greased the helix during my resto, so I thought it was ok. While fiddling with it though, I noticed that it seemed to be grabbing. I pulled it back apart, and found that even though it was greased through the zirk until it squeezed out, it only put grease into one of the four "threads". The hesitation seems to have been caused by the plastic-on-plastic stiction. I greased the entire thing, and readjusted everything. It really seems to be greatly improved. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet due to other issues, but for now I'm keeping my fingers crossed