Tips for clutch/worm drive setup

Hi all,

I've had a bit of a search on this, but I'm sure there was a thread that had a really good description of how to set the worm drive up.

I recently took it apart to clean and relube (sprayed with silicone lube).

When re-assembling, I had the lever down as low as it'd go and the worm drive screw a few turns out,

The gear change is still quite clunky though and it's not fully disengaging (only slightly though- just feel a slight pull when revving in 1st). Oil level is good, chain tension is pretty good.*

So- I guess I need to know how the turns of the screw affect the clutch mechanism so I can work it out- ie what difference does it make when the screw's further out?

* On a side note, I have discovered how much easier (as well as cheaper) it is to clean the chain with paraffin- seems to work far better than specific chain cleaners. Though once it's on, it does tend to repel water- I found this when rinsing. I guess it's not too much of a problem- gave it a good lube after. The chain looks new now!

Looks at it as there being two pieces of metal with a gap between them, pulling in the clutch lever pushes one piece of metal into the other. The larger the gap the more you have to pull the lever before the the one pieces of metal touches the other, closing the starting gap between the two pieces operates the clutch sooner. You set this gap by screwing in and unscrewing the worm drive.

You can even close the gap completely and go further and even engage the clutch just by turning the worrm drive all the way in so your the clutch lever does nothing at all.

Adjust it so it just touches, or say a quarter of a turn off, then you can rule out it being the problem, (assuming you clutch lever/cabble is adjusted correctly) mine problem was crap/too much oil.

Fantastic- Cheers Beabert.

Where is Mr Worm-drive himself ??

Alpinestars !!

[embee]

The worm drive needs some decent general purpose grease, something like Castrol LM or equivalent. Fully pack the ball bearing helix with grease.

There's a "gospel according to Sid Squid" for setting the clutch mechanism somewhere, search and ye shall find, but in short -

fully slacken off the cable,
ensure the worm drive lever is fully down (clockwise),
loosen the locknut and turn the centre screw in until it just touches the pushrod,
back off something like 1/8 to 1/4 turn and
gently nip up the locknut.

Adjust the handlebar end of the cable fully in (i.e. slack)
take up most of the cable slack at the lower adjuster down near the sprocket
fine adjust the cable slack at the hadlebar lever

It's a good idea to lube the cable well too, I use a small plastic bag with the corner cut off, slip over the loose cable end and secure with rubber bands or tape, fix it upright and add some clean engine oil or similar into the "funnel" and allow to seep down the cable for a few hours or until it starts emerging from the lower end.

That should get you more or less right.

Blinding. Cheers.

I think the bit I'm missing is not paying attention to how close the screw is to the pushrod.

How loose should the lever be? Even though I get it slightly tighter, it always ends up with about 10-15mm of free play..

Originally Posted by LK-SV

Where is Mr Worm-drive himself ??

Alpinestars !!

Bonjour!!!

I figured it had all been covered already so no need for my input

not that its really my own input, I'm just a parrot for what others have told me

Incidentally, how do you tell it's touching the pushrod? Is it a feel thing? Doesn't look, from memory, like it'd be easy to see, you see.

You can feel it stop easily winding in...like when you do up a bolt and you feel it tighten. Just as it first starts to meet resistance, stop, and back off 1/8th to 1/4 a turn adjust cable slack aferwards

Brill- I'll take the relevant tools with me to the folks this weekend and have a fiddle (oo-er)- too dark after work to do that...

It's not actually that bad, but I'd like to get the hang of doing it right first time- rather than set it up, take it to the end of the road, adjust it, ride again and then find out halfway through the week that it needs more adjustment...!! That sort of behaviour is dull and IT HAS TO STOP. NOW.