Clutch Problem Phase Two. Very Short Video.

[yuckfoo]

I'm not sure what this part is called. I believe it's the clutch spring assembly rod .... thing... not sure it's proper name so I made a video. It's less than a minute long. Thanks for the help.

Basically, what's it called, why is it off center and how can I rectify the situation?

 

[yuckfoo]

That would be the mandrel or clutch rod.

Being of center is not specifically indicative of a real issue, but if there are preexisting clutch problems (doesn't adjust properly/doesn't hold and ajustment) You may need a new clutch shaft or to pull apart one from a junked engine.

There's a pin that goes through the mandrel that compresses the clutch shaft spring when you pull the lever... I've had at least 2 where the pin wasn't factory installed correctly and bent/broke causing issues.

Not saying that's your problem but it could be worth a looking at

The clutch seemed to work fine. My right side shift kit chain popped off (keeping that side correctly tensioned is another nightmare) ... I can't say that caused the problem, but a few minutes later my small clutch gear was stripped out in a big way. Should I take the mandrel out and check that pin? I suppose that's done from the other side?

One more thing. I just saw a video from LA Hover and he was pointing out how that part is supposed to wiggle. You can see that here in this link. I've timestamped it to the part where he is wiggling that end. He calls it a pin. Mine does not wiggle. Does that indicate a problem?

 

[yuckfoo]

You can either pull the drive gear off, or the clutch gear off and drive the hole assembly out of the case since the bearings are outboard unlike the crank bearings.

It's worth a look, even if nothing is amiss its worth the learning experience to doublecheck.

As for the mandrel wiggle, it only wiggles a little when the clutch cover is not on with the cable hooked up to the lever and adjusted, or the preload on the shaft spring is not yet adjusted in my experience. Take what you see on Yt with a grain of salt because there are a lot of videos by armchair professionals that maybe only built one or two bikes, know next to nothing, and can come off convincingly as otherwise.

In the video I posted above the motor is brand new and the clutch cable isn't even out of the box, yet his wiggles very, very easily. So, in his case at least, the clutch being hooked up doesn't have anything to do with it. Mine will not budge, even a little bit and the clutch is hooked up. I'm just trying to understand what's going on.

 

[Street Ryderz]

The clutch seemed to work fine. My right side shift kit chain popped off (keeping that side correctly tensioned is another nightmare) ... I can't say that caused the problem, but a few minutes later my small clutch gear was stripped out in a big way. Should I take the mandrel out and check that pin? I suppose that's done from the other side?

One more thing. I just saw a video from LA Hover and he was pointing out how that part is supposed to wiggle. You can see that here in this link. I've timestamped it to the part where he is wiggling that end. He calls it a pin. Mine does not wiggle. Does that indicate a problem?

If your clutch arm is tight that means there is all ways pressure on the bucking bar and bearing, this will wear the bucking bar end at the bearing making a divot/dimple prematurely and it also wears the cam flat if to much pressure is present.

 

[yuckfoo]

Well if you have no cable hooked up it should wiggle easily... the bucking bar pushes the bearing which pushes the shaft which is why it doesn't move as much or as easily with the cover on and cable attached.

If it doesn't move at all even with a significant amount of force ESPECIALLY with the cover and such off you should definitely pull the clutch shaft out of the case

I loosened the cable and it will not move by hand. But if I put a small screwdriver in the space it moves with a little force. I didn't want to damage the threads on there so you can imagine that I didn't put a lot of torque on it with the screwdriver.

 

[yuckfoo]

I bought a new large and small gear. The old large one is super hard to turn by hand, the new one spins easily. Burnt bearings? (Very short video.)



How well am I hiding my aggravation?

 

[yuckfoo]

Well if you have no cable hooked up it should wiggle easily... the bucking bar pushes the bearing which pushes the shaft which is why it doesn't move as much or as easily with the cover on and cable attached.

If it doesn't move at all even with a significant amount of force ESPECIALLY with the cover and such off you should definitely pull the clutch shaft out of the case

How do I do that? Best I can tell I take the drive gear off the other side, place a block of wood on one end or the other and hammer it out. There's lots of videos out there all about clutches but no one shows you how to take the shaft out.

 

[yuckfoo]

Definitely debris and bad bearings, knocking out the pads and giving a deep clean would be pointless but prove how bad the damage really is

Yeah, I have the new one. I did clean the old on with WD-40 to look for damage then I washed the WD-40 off with soapy water. Do those parts rust super fast? It's really hard to turn but, just wondering if that could be from rust. It was only sitting around about an hour after I cleaned it.

 

[yuckfoo]

You guessed correctly pull the drive gear, or clutch gear, which ever on you choose will be the direction you drive from.

I recommend the drive gear off only because the mandrel hand out of the shaft a bit and you don't want shock loads on it specifically (padded by wood or not)

Well the clutch gears are already off. But I can take off the other side as well. Is it a pain in butt getting it back in? I really don't want to do anything I don't have to do.

 

[DieselTech]

How does your drive gear/chain gear turn with the chain off of it?