Clutch won't completely disengage the gears...

[Taliesin]

I did a search on these forums, but it's possible I don't really know how to ask the question.

My problem is that I've been noticing some "gear noise" when slowing down while the clutch is pulled. It has been a little concerning. Today, I had a couple moments, and wanted to see what might happen if I put the bike on the center stand, put it in first, and run the bike with the clutch pulled in. What happened is that the rear tire spun.

The speed of the spinning wasn't altered between letting out the clutch and pulling it back in.

When I put it in neutral, the spinning stopped.

The bike was cold, and it's about 45F in my garage right now. (Or so,)

I don't know when the plates and/or springs were last replaced on my bike. When I am stopped, the bike doesn't idle roughly, and doesn't die. When I kick the bike into first from neutral, the bike does start forward a tad, even though the clutch is pulled. So what do you guys think about this? Should I be concerned?

[Steve]

Two things you can do to check how bad things are, you decide which order (it doesn't really matter):

1. With the bike on the centerstand, pull the clutch, put it in gear, keep the lever pulled in. Step on the rear brake. Does the wheel stop?

2. Check the adjustment. Is there very much freeplay before you start disengaging the clutch? If so, adjust that out to the minimum so you will ensure maximum disengagement.

Remember that the clutch is a "wet" clutch, meaning it's immersed in oil. Oil, especially cold oil, will tend to drag the clutch disks around, even when the lever is pulled in, if there is no load on the rear wheel. That load can be the brake applied or just the weight of the bike when sitting at a light.

.

[doctorgonzo]

Probably the cable or the lever on the case out of adjustment.
On my maiden voyage on my rebuilt engine the clutch went totally out about 5 miles down the road. I had forgotten to tighten the lever at the case well and it had slipped a tooth in toward the engine.

[jimfj]

I am dealing with the same problem with my 1100G. Throw in neutral is almost impossible to find with the bike running.

Heres where I started:

Adjusted the clutch at the bars and on the engine side of the cable.

I opened the clutch cover and pulled the steel and fiber plates and made sure they were lined up properly and within the spec on the manual. they were.

I changed the oil making sure there is motorcycle oil in the crankcase. I got the bike not too long ago and have been doing everything else to it.

What did I find.

My clutch plates are not stock, the stock Suzuki plates look nothing like what I have. Someone suggested that they are Barnett plates.

Doing everything I did basically leads me to believe that I will need to go back to stock clutch plates to get where I need to be. I am not suggesting this is your problem, only mine and giving you the explanation.

I would definately start with the cable adjustment. Remember you need some free play in the clutch handle. I bet you get to where you need to be. The rear wheel might spin a little with the bike on the center stand but not anywhere near as much as with the clutch let out.

If you don't get bike to behave the way you want to here It might be time to pull the cover and have a look.

give us an update and we'll walk you through it.

Jim

[BassCliff]

Hi,

For what it's worth, I found this on some guy's website:

GS550 Clutch Adjustment Originally posted by Mr. Nessism

It is not possible to adjust the progressiveness of the clutch's engagement - only the place where engagement occurs.

550 clutch adjusts a little differently than the large bikes.

The 550 clutch has three different adjustment points: at the hand lever, at the bottom of the cable where it enters the sprocket cover, and at the actuation helix built into the sprocket cover (under that small cover held on with two screws).

I suggest you fully loosen both the hand lever adjuster and the adjuster at the bottom of the sprocket cover. Use the helix to perform the main adjustment.

Loosen the lock nut on the helix adjuster and turn the flat head screw until you get the feel at the lever you are looking for - cable tightness determines where the clutch engages. Snug down the lock nut afterwards. You might want to leave the cable just a smig loose, and take up the slack with the hand lever adjuster. Very simple adjustment.

Perhaps it will help your adjustments. Keep us informed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Taliesin]

Cliff, thank you for the reminder of your most excellent site. I don't know why, but when I encounter a new issue, for some reason I forget about your site.

Yesterday, when looking for the cover for the helix adjuster, I noticed the chain was WAY loose. I just looked at this stinking thing not that many miles ago, which concerns me. Because this is one of those deals where I don't know what all the PO did, I think I'm going to go ahead and replace the sprockets and chain rather than try to adjust it to where it needs to be. (To give you an idea of how loose it's gotten in a short amount of time, I'll tell you it's currently sagging so low it's actually sitting on the frame of the bike.

I am buying replacement mirrors (Yeah, I seriously have NO idea how the right side mirror busted off....honestly.........) and a new front & rear sprocket (thanks to BikeCliff's excellent spec guide on his site) from Z1 Enterprises.

The situation confronting me now is which chain to get. There are 27 different chains in the 530-110 section of Bike Bandit. I'm thinking heavy duty because I'm a LARGE dude. The question I now have is what do people recommend?

[cyclefvr2]

you can adjust it all you want, but it isnt going to help if the basket has grooves wore in it
it happens to a lot of high horsepower bikes and even reguler bikes after time
where the plates slide in the plates will ware a groove into the basket ,on the (tabs) part both sides
you can file them smooth and use it for a while but you will need a new basket ,and plates ,it will eat up the plates, tabs as well
check out the hub (inner wheel while your at it)

[cyclefvr2]

ok here is a link to what im talking about i tried to post a pic but my resizer isnt working right!
www.batemanracing.com/billetbasket.html
i wore out a cr500 and a rm250 and a couple others of my own but didnt have a pic

[Taliesin]

Thanx for the tip, cycle. I'll definitely have a look at that before I finish my chain/sprocket replacement. I got an X-ring chain from Z1. Seemed like the best value for the money. Now I just have to wait for chain, sprockets, rivet tool, and mirrors to arrive.