stupid newbie question, clutch spring replacement easy ?

[seanarthurmachado]

Hi everyone,

Trying to work on my Suzuki gs850g (1979).

As mentioned in another thread I recently replaced my clutch cable with a motion pro.

My thought was to test that I had the clutch cable adjusted correctly I would be able to roll the bike freely with pulled in. As tight as I make it no go.

I was told to fix the lever pressure and routing. I vaguely remember the previous owner mentioned he thought HIS previous owner had installed heavy duty clutch springs.

Since I am clueless, (in spite my my clymers manual) is replacing the clutch springs easy as : take off case, unscrew bolts, remove plate, remove springs, replace plate, replace cover ?

Anything I should watch out for ?


As far as springs go, I'll want the standard OEM springs, unless there is a generic Spring to be had cheaper somewhere that would match size, shape, ect

Sean

[blowerbike]

low side torque wrench needed or you'll snap the bolts.
tighten PP bolts to 80-90 inch pounds.
FYI
rolling bike in gear/clutch in means little to nothing.
the oil needs to be hot to work properly anyways..
all this clutch stuff is really simple if you don't over think it..

[Grimly]

Yep, pretty much about covers it. I played around with HD springs and ended up just using 3xHD and 3xstock, as the 6xHD springs were a pain in the hand and were really for high-power output engines or where the owner thought they'd be cool. Also, at the time, the OEM springs were twice or three times the price of Redline (or whoever) springs. In my current runner I have 6xstock springs, but it's a much younger engine and the springs are still good.
Does the Motion Pro cable have a centre adjuster? The centre adjuster in the stock OEM clutch cable has an important role to play in setting up the clutch free play and feel on the 850.
It's also vital to make sure the clutch actuating arm at the bottom end of things isn't binding (road much gets in and causes drag) and is perfectly free to move back and forwards.
So, start at the bottom, make sure of that (the arm must be essentially at its point of max leverage when just out of contact with the actuating mechanism inside), fully screw in the centre adjuster to shorten it and fit the lever end. Adjust out the centre section until you have sufficiently taken up some slack in the whole cable, then see how much play you have left at the lever end. You can come and go with this, but the idea is to have enough adjustment left at the top to allow for cable stretch as it beds in and you don't have to mess around with the centre one again. If you get this whole shebang right you hardly ever need to adjust the clutch until the next blue moon.
I didn't do it right the first time I fitted one and I ended up having to muck around so much until the penny dropped. There's a right way and I did it wrong. Pay attention to the routing of the cable around the headstock - get that wrong and you'll have drag and binding problems, too. The routing should be as wide radius as possible to avoid any possibility of kinking but more especially to allow for a bit of come and go of the whole cable as the bars turn.

[seanarthurmachado]

No the motion pro only had top and bottom adjusters.

Sean

[blowerbike]

motion pro cables stretch....hate em..

[seanarthurmachado]

I went to buy OEM and my local dealer told me they were discontinued and offered to sell me an aftermarket for 2x the cost of online.

[blowerbike]

who was your local dealer?
not honda of middletown i hope..

[seanarthurmachado]

Suzuki specialties in Fairfield, ohio

[Rob S.]

My thought was to test that I had the clutch cable adjusted correctly I would be able to roll the bike freely with pulled in. As tight as I make it no go.

FYI
rolling bike in gear/clutch in means little to nothing.
the oil needs to be hot to work properly anyways..

Listen to blowerbike.

I just went into the garage, and I couldn't roll Suzi in gear with the clutch pulled in. And my clutch cable (a recently installed Motion Pro) is adjusted perfectly, and works perfectly with engine on.

[blowerbike]

you mean Cycle Specialties of Fairfield.
all these places anymore couldn't buy a clue on pre-injected bikes.
if you can't tune it with a lap top then they get the deer in the head lights look.

[seanarthurmachado]

Listen to blowerbike.

I just went into the garage, and I couldn't roll Suzi in gear with the clutch pulled in. And my clutch cable (a recently installed Motion Pro) is adjusted perfectly, and works perfectly with engine on.

So what is the best way to tell if the clutch is adjusted correctly ?

(Read somewhere that a motorcyclist had installed new cable, not adjusted properly, revved engine and shifted and almost clipped a parked truck....don't want to be that guy and go through the back wall of my shed.)

Sean

[blowerbike]

listen....
take all the free play out and put the bike against the wall.
start it and let in run for a couple minutes with the clutch in...then pop it in 1st.
if things are ok start feeding the clutch out till the front end starts to compress.
if the lever to grip relationship is good for you then go for a ride.
if some idiot clipped a car over a clutch adjustment then he shouldn't have been on a motorcycle in the 1st place.
these clutches are SIMPLE.
DON'T over think it.

[Rob S.]

My Suzuki shop manual (1100e) says, "adjust the play of the cable until 2-3 mm (0.08-0.12 in) of free play at the lever."

I don't believe it matters if it's done with the the adjuster at either end of the cable.

[Guest]

It does matter where you adjust your cable, you start at the bottom and then use your lever adjustment to fine tune it and that should barely be any adjustment. Now if you had the OEM cable, you have 3 adjustments, bottom, middle and lever. I had a Motion crap cable, it was...well crap, never really got a good adjustment with it and 3 years that's all I got out of it. I now have a new OEM. My original OEM cable, I got 25 years out of it and it probably still has some life left in it. By the way there is no such thing as prefect, just dang close.

These clutches are easy to work on. While you have the case cover off, might as well check the clutch plates and see what they are like, pay close attention to the steel plates and the fibers. When reinstalling the springs, get them started and then torque them to specs in a crisscross pattern so there isn't any binding. Also check the engagement rack and the needle bearing. Slap on a new OEM gasket, set your clutch arm angle and tighten it all down. Hook up the cable and do your adjustments.

[seanarthurmachado]

These clutches are easy to work on. While you have the case cover off, might as well check the clutch plates and see what they are like, pay close attention to the steel plates and the fibers. When reinstalling the springs, get them started and then torque them to specs in a crisscross pattern so there isn't any binding. Also check the engagement rack and the needle bearing. Slap on a new OEM gasket, set your clutch arm angle and tighten it all down. Hook up the cable and do your adjustments.

So the release arm, what angle does that get set to ?

Engagement rack and needle bearing, I'm lost there... I'm assuming that's further in to replacing the clutch pack or something...


As far as adjustment goes it sounds like the only way to adjust will be to have bike running and on center stand and see where pulling lever dis engages the motor

Sean