Hitchcocks Forum

Hi everyone just been out on my 350 bullet and having problems selecting first gear , also when disengaging the clutch there is a clunking sound as I come to a halt , all this has happened since I replaced a sheared kick start pawl , I have tried adjusting the clutch but when the clutch is fully adjusted to allow the gears to select better the adjustment is so near the end of the thread that the kick start starts to slip and does not turn the engine over. any ideas.

Taper, this problem is so complex there is a good chance it will destroy you. A good 4 speed clutch is great but a bad one is so difficult to fix. At the moment you have several problems going on with it being over adjusted (slipping with the kicker) but not adjusted enough because it is clunking. First I would look in the primary to see if the clutch hub nut has come loose then get back to us

When you had the box to bits did you remove the clutch pushrod to lubricate it? If so, did you loose the ball bearing?

Hi taper, I've had a think (painful) about your problem and lack of clutch lift coupled with "clunks" could be due to the clutch hub centre riding back too far on the main shaft spline.

This could be due to wear OR the over zealous tightening of the hub centre nut by a PO..

The hub, being only alloy will ride up over the end of the steel main shaft flutes, the clutch will lose a precious mil or two lift and will drag..

The clunks will be the rear of the clutch basket catching the fixing bolts of the rear primary case seal... very little clearance here at best..

Suggest remove entire clutch with primary chain and check for score marks and distortion of hub...

New hub centre is not too expensive, which is the beauty of running enfields. Off course i could be completely wrong but its good to have ideas to work with i find..

Also a tip, don't over tighten the Gosa or indent plunger too much as selecting gears can be stiff.. just enough that it dosen't fly out of gear is enough.... cheers gwilly.

thanks gwilly /norm /peter from what you have suggested I will take the primary drive casing off and see what is happening with the clutch , some of the problem may stem from the difficulty I had when stripping the kick start pawl the bearing on the main shaft was very tight and when I was trying to separate the inner casing from the gearbox there was some movement (about 1/4 of an inch ) of the main shaft before coming to a solid clunk , this eventually resulting in having the grind the bearing casing to release the ball bearings so that the casing could be removed therefore perhaps when I was trying to initially remove the casing I may have disturbed the clutch or main shaft. I will be attempting a strip down in the next few days but also I will be away for a couple of days but I will eventually get back to you with the results.

Just remembered to ask is the correct torque for the main shaft nut 45lbs/ft

Hi Taper I would never consider 45 F/T lbs on either end of the mainshaft that is big pressure. The nut in the gearbox end needs to be firm tight, being L/H thread I have never had one come loose and even withot the locking washer no problems. As for the clutch end firm tight is good enough because the nylock nut or spring washer will stop it coming loose. I find an external star washer holds this nut well.

just tried to engage gears on a run and there was a distinctive reluctance to engage gears seems like the clutch may be the problem so I will investigate further and get back to you .

ps my kick start lever has stopped returning think I may have done something wrong when I re assembled the outer housing