Clutch woes! Advice needed....

[Kinvig]

Right, I took my bike to the shoppe today with a slow puncture...I pick my bike up and ride off. First gear:

release the clutch a smidgen...no power to rear wheel,
realease the clutch a smidgen more & still no power to rear wheel
as I release the clutch to nearly all the way out power goes to the rear wheel taking me by surprise....Thinking I'm just being a numpty I ride off.

Then after a minute head right back to ye aulde bike shoppe. I speak to the mechanic that touched my bike up about the lack of power to the rear wheel when I let the clutch out & he said he did it because: there was too much play in the clutch & the clutch either was dragging or could drag...Means nothing to me.

He advised me to give it a go & if I didn't like it bring it back tomorrow....but that it should be like he's altered it. Instead of demanding that he altered it there & then I sheepishly thanked him & off I went.

It feels like a different bike. The lack of instant power being delivered to the rear wheel when I start to release the clutch is a bit weird. I don't like it - but then it may be that I don't like it as I'm used to the bike being set up as it was before the garage touched it.

Now the question is: Should I alter it back or leave it & get used to the clutch as it is now. It's quite stiff.

[kwak zzr]

give it a few days, its always best to have it correctly adjusted.

[Stig]

Sounds to me like you had the clutch adjustment was set wrong in the first place. If you have your clutch bite right at the beginning of the lever (most of the way out) then there is a possibility that the clutch was not fully engaging causing the drag that the guy from the garage was on about.

This would probably not show it's self except from hard acceleration. Over time your going to wear out the clutch quicker than it normally would.

[Kinvig]

cheers for the advice guys....I'll give it another couple of days, to try to get used to it.

The major lack of power when I release the clutch concerns me as I feel like I'm totally freewheeling it for longer when I change gears.

[JediGoat]

Ahhh.....I know exactly how you feel...since Mr Squid fixed my clutch on Friday.

Cue me trying to pull away from Soho Square only to think....'Bugger....I've lost first gear!'. It took a quiet word from Raf to convince me that this is how clutches are meant to be :lol:

After riding like a noob for a couple of miles, I've kind of gotten the hang of it, and it's much better than it used to be - although I still rev the engine like a fool when doing slow turns :mad:

I'm sure just as I get the hang of it properly, Ian will adjust the other end of the clutch and send me back to noobdom again ;)

Jo

[Kinvig]

Ahhh.....I know exactly how you feel...since Mr Squid fixed my clutch on Friday.

Cue me trying to pull away from Soho Square only to think....'Bugger....I've lost first gear!'. It took a quiet word from Raf to convince me that this is how clutches are meant to be :lol:

After riding like a noob for a couple of miles, I've kind of gotten the hang of it, and it's much better than it used to be - although I still rev the engine like a fool when doing slow turns :mad:

I'm sure just as I get the hang of it properly, Ian will adjust the other end of the clutch and send me back to noobdom again ;)

Jo

Phew - a relief it's not just me then! When I first attempted to pull away & nothing happened. I peered over the side of my bike to ensure that the mechanic had put the chain back on the wheel!

[kcowgergmm]

my clutch bites right about the very first of the leaver what is the proper way of adjusting the clutch this goes to the sv gurus out there

[Kinvig]

my clutch bites right about the very first of the leaver what is the proper way of adjusting the clutch this goes to the sv gurus out there

According to the mechanic you should tighten it all the way. If you undo the rubber cover thing that's on clutch lever you'll see a metal turny thing. Turn that will tighten/loosen the clutch somewhat.

[lukemillar]

Sounds to me like you had the clutch adjustment was set wrong in the first place. If you have your clutch bite right at the beginning of the lever (most of the way out) then there is a possibility that the clutch was not fully engaging causing the drag that the guy from the garage was on about.

This would probably not show it's self except from hard acceleration. Over time your going to wear out the clutch quicker than it normally would.

I read it differently - that now he has the bite point at the beginning of the lever (most of the way out), whereas before it was further back.

I found that there are some good posts on clutch adjustment on here - search: Sid Squid + clutch adjustment. It's quite a useful thing to learn how to do and takes 5 mins

[vzzzbuxt]

Originally Posted by Sid Squid Previously
Slacken off cable adjusters at top and bottom, loosen lifter locknut, back out screw a bit, ensure that lifter arm is as far down as it will go, gently turn screw in until it contacts pushrod, then back it out a bit, (~1/8th of a turn), then nip up the locknut, roughly adjust cable with lower adjuster - not too tight - then with top adjuster, ensure that there remains a little slack all the way from lock to lock.

[Jimmie]

All this wonderful information is in the little book that comes with the bike.
It's called "The Owners Manual", you do get them in England right? :rolleyes:

[Stu]

All this wonderful information is in the little book that comes with the bike.
It's called "The Owners Manual", you do get them in England right? :rolleyes:
Not always with secondhand bikes no.

[Kinvig]

All this wonderful information is in the little book that comes with the bike.
It's called "The Owners Manual", you do get them in England right? :rolleyes:


Erm, nope twas second hand.

And if I knew all the correct terms for all the bobbins that would help but as I don't I describe the problem as best I can to people that know more than me. More trustworthy than the word of a mechanic any day!

[Jimmie]

I see, the books get lost over here too. I forgot about the used bikes sometimes not having them. So here you go.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/707jimmie/clutch.jpg

[Biker Biggles]

Sid Squids explanation somehow puts it better I feel.:p

[Kinvig]

Cheers Jimmie...slightly blonde qeuestion:

So, I don't need to hold my clutch all the way into the bar so change gears? Seems kinda wrong to me....

[John Burt]

Yep, that right just pull it in far enough so that the clutch disengages the drive.

[Ceri JC]

Cheers Jimmie...slightly blonde qeuestion:

So, I don't need to hold my clutch all the way into the bar so change gears? Seems kinda wrong to me....

Yes, he's right. It feels odd to begin with, but when you get used to it, you'll wonder why you ever used to pull it in all the way. :)

[RhythmJunkie]

This is all well & good for folk with long digits but if you have short square podgy hands and fingers like me then reaching all the way out before the clutch bites is a pain in the ...erm...wrists? Very bad in stop-go traffic with lots of clutch work. When I first picked the bike up the clutch started biting when the lever was around half way out and was was fully engaged by about 2/3rds. This was comfortable for me but after the first service some numpty must have altered it to the text book setting and I kept revving the crap out of the bike pulling away from the lights for the first few days, till I got used to it.
Problem is see, I don't have text book hands!! :rolleyes:

[jambo]

you can add extra slack in the cable if needed, but the clutch mechanism by the front sprocket should be adjusted properly