I’ve done it twice…knocking it out to remove the clutch shaft.
The bearings are pressed in to the case halves. Those press fits are what holds the entire assembly in place.
I must have been unlucky in that the bearings were a super tight press fit.
The first time I followed a YT video by Smolik Performance and made a tool to fit in the clutch shaft. The tool was ground from a piece of rebar, which is fairly soft steel. It took a hit a little harder than a tap.
I had to hit it so hard I warped the end of the tube shaft.
The second time I used heat in precise areas and the shaft came out much easier. This was on 2 different engines.. not removal 2X’s from the same engine.
I had tried a hard rubber mallet. No go with it. I also tried a wood block between the shaft and hammer. If there’s a next time, I’ll give a nylon hammer a try.
Regardless how it’s knocked out, I’m not comfortable with the cross type hit the bearings gets in this process. The balls can get deformed from this type blow.
What makes this method of removal so attractive is a hammer smack is used instead of pulling the engine off the bike and completely disassembling it, splitting the cases.