I went to leave work today and soon realized my clutch was acting weird (1980 GS850G) as in not functioning very well. When I pulled out of the parking lot onto the Highway I realized I Had NO Clutch at all! I thought, "Well, I have done this before, I'll juse Guage the RPM's and speed shift". After getting lucky at the first light I realized I would never be able to stop and start in traffic so I limped it into the Murphy Oil Gas station in front of the Local Wal Mart. I assumed that the cable had Broke since the Clutch Lever felt like it was Freewheeling.
When I stopped to assess the situation I looked down at the Clutch actuator and It was working when I squeezed the Lever? Then I looked closer and the Actuator was moving back and forth but the Clutch post was NOT moving. What The @#@@. The allen bolt that held the actuator on the post had Broken in half, allowing the actuator to Uncrimp itself from the Post. Well, being a resourceful fellow, I walked next door to the 99 cent store and got a pair of "made in India" pliers and pulled the cotter pin and removed the actuator. I finally reached My daughter on the 3 rd try and told her to come get me. One of the perks of living in a small town is the ability to leave your disabled Motorcycle in a gas station lot and be pretty sure no one would bother it. When Jessica got there I said "Take me to Lowe's" I knew I needed to find a replacement 6mm Allen head bolt, and a way to get the broken stud out of the Actuator. I found the bolt easy enough in the Fastener area and then went to the tools to look for a screw extractor. The Lowes associate asked what I needed and I explained the situation to him and showed him the actuator with the broken stud in it. He asked what it was off of and When I told him he said "I ride an 800, let me try something." He said using a screw extractor might mess it up and proceeded to clamp the protruding threads into a vice on display and worked it out of the actuator in about 2 minutes. I thanked him and picked up a set of metric Hex wrenches along with the bolts and we headed back to Murphy Oil.
Five minutes later I had a Clutch and was ready to head home. My net cost? 1 hour aggravation, $1 for cheap pliers,$.50 for a phone call, $6.36 for a Bolt and Hex Wrenches, and $0 to get the broken stud removed. I will be a more Faithful Lowes Customer from now on. I told my Daughter after I got home that The Exact same situation could have cost a Novice Rider $150 or more between towing and Bike Shop Charges. I LOVE my Cranky, Cold Collered, 25 year old GS!
:wink:
When I stopped to assess the situation I looked down at the Clutch actuator and It was working when I squeezed the Lever? Then I looked closer and the Actuator was moving back and forth but the Clutch post was NOT moving. What The @#@@. The allen bolt that held the actuator on the post had Broken in half, allowing the actuator to Uncrimp itself from the Post. Well, being a resourceful fellow, I walked next door to the 99 cent store and got a pair of "made in India" pliers and pulled the cotter pin and removed the actuator. I finally reached My daughter on the 3 rd try and told her to come get me. One of the perks of living in a small town is the ability to leave your disabled Motorcycle in a gas station lot and be pretty sure no one would bother it. When Jessica got there I said "Take me to Lowe's" I knew I needed to find a replacement 6mm Allen head bolt, and a way to get the broken stud out of the Actuator. I found the bolt easy enough in the Fastener area and then went to the tools to look for a screw extractor. The Lowes associate asked what I needed and I explained the situation to him and showed him the actuator with the broken stud in it. He asked what it was off of and When I told him he said "I ride an 800, let me try something." He said using a screw extractor might mess it up and proceeded to clamp the protruding threads into a vice on display and worked it out of the actuator in about 2 minutes. I thanked him and picked up a set of metric Hex wrenches along with the bolts and we headed back to Murphy Oil.
Five minutes later I had a Clutch and was ready to head home. My net cost? 1 hour aggravation, $1 for cheap pliers,$.50 for a phone call, $6.36 for a Bolt and Hex Wrenches, and $0 to get the broken stud removed. I will be a more Faithful Lowes Customer from now on. I told my Daughter after I got home that The Exact same situation could have cost a Novice Rider $150 or more between towing and Bike Shop Charges. I LOVE my Cranky, Cold Collered, 25 year old GS!
:wink: