Hitchcocks Forum

Hi having rebuilt the clutch with the existing good friction plates and new steel plates,the drum is in really good condition with no wear grooves at all,when trying it out ,it suffers with clutch drag,I run it on 10/40 mineral oil,it is adjusted as the manual,it changes gear really well ,but finding neutral is nigh on impossible if bike stationary.Any advice ,help most welcome for what is a really great bike apart from this.Would going to synthetic oil help,but would that also mean I have to strip out the parts to remove the old oil.

Regards. Colin

I'd advise against using fully synthetic oil as you'd possibly find that you'd get clutch slip on that machine. But if you did want to try you'd not need to do any other than drain the present oil and refill. No need to strip out the parts.

Hi thanks for this ,I have been looking at motorcycle specific oils which claim to be suitable for wet clutches,my bike also has our hosts 6 spring clutch conversion,so hopefully that will minimise any slip issues

Obviously a different bike, but hey, it can’t hurt.
In the world of Honda Transalps, it is well known that the Use of fully synths can cause clutch slip and semi synth or mineral is the choice; as already mentioned by trophyvase.


John

Hi, Try taking all the slack out of the cable at the lever and see if that makes a difference. See if the pressure plate is lifting even. With regard to the oil bear in mind that the chaincase is in circulation with the engine oil. Vince

Hi thanks for this I will try the cable adjustment,when I rebuilt the clutch prior to assembly I soaked everything in 10/40 mineral oil ,so my thoughts are,with clutch lever pulled in and tied off,with the aid of an oil can filled with motorcycle grade synthetic oil pump the oil into each clutch drum slot and allow it to gravitate through the clutch ,then try it to see if any different.It is hard to understand when the engine is running how any oil gets into the clutch at all with centrifugal force ,and the primary case does not get a lot of oil in it during running.I have to find a solution to this problem as it is really spoiling the riding of the bike and have to alter your riding style to avoid stopping in a gear and unable to engage neutral because of the drag

Finding neutral when stopped will always be a problem
Try to find neutral before coming to a stop

Dai

Not familiar with the bike but if it has one, check the pushrod is straight and corrosion free. Easy thing to check. Just roll it on a sheet of glass and any bends will be immediately apparent.

A good, heavy duty clutch cable can also work wonders for a borderline clutch operation.

Hi, check if the nut on the opposite end of the mainshaft is tight. If loose the mainshaft will float taking up clutch movement. Left hand thread. Vince

You'll be trying to reinvent the wheel if you begin to suspect that the clutch is deprived of oil.
The 250 engine is a very sound piece of work and oiling of the clutch has never been a problem when using 20/50 mineral or semi-synthetic oils.

I'd advise you look elsewhere.

Start at the beginning and go through systematically - lever action, cable, lever action on clutch, clutch rods, clutch adjustment and so on. Pay special attention to clutch plates that they are 'true' and assembled correctly.

Is the selection of neutral in fact a clutch problem or gearbox problem (or heaven forbid a rider 'issue'?! )