Clutch adjustment?

[SIII]

Went out for the first proper ride yesterday. Was having trouble all day with finding neutral and when at the lights 'clunking' into 1st.
Decided clutch needed adjustment. as the clutch lever didn't seem to do much in the 1st 1/2 of its travel. Took off front sprocket cover thingy to clean out and to have a better look.
The end of the clutch cable attatches to a arm. Grabbing the arm I was able to 'wiggle' it back and forth! and the little screw with the lock nut also had a fair amount of play in it. (like you find to adjust valve's on a OHV engine).
Cracked the locknut open turned wee screw and took out the play. Clutch lever now feels better, and able to put into 1st without 'clunk'! Started to get dark and rain so never got a chance to go for a spin.

Did i do the right thing? Just checking there doesn't need to be a certain amount of play?

[Biker Biggles]

It doesnt want to be fully tight.That locking nut arrangement should be backed off about 1/4 turn so there is no tension on the clutch causing it to slip.

[Sid Squid]

Do this:

Originally Posted by Me, many times.

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, 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.

[SIII]

Will back it off 1/4 - 1/8 turn tomorrow, thanks guys.

Adjust it at the lever, it's only once you run out of adjustment there you need to reset the lever and adjust at the worm drive

[Sid Squid]

The adjusters on the cable only adjust the cable - set the lifter first, only then do the cable adjusters get it anything like right.

[Jayneflakes]

While fiddling with your worm drive, it is well worth cleaning and greasing that thing, it gets a lot of muck chucked at it which can make it feel rough and gritty.

Yeah, sorry, Sid is right I should have clarified it better in my post.

My SV was brand new and the clutch would have been adjusted correctly when I got it.

From time to time it would get slightly out of adjustment with exactly the symptoms you describe (difficult to find neutral, etc) and you can correct it by adjusting at the lever (you are not going to stop in the middle of the road and whip the sprocket cover off!). If you run out of cable adjustment then it needs adjusted at the clutch again. (shouldn't happen between services and it's on the service schedule as inspect and adjust as necessary, but on a couple of services my main dealer didn't bother!).

If you are starting with a clutch that is already out of adjustment however, you will need to adjust at the clutch and get that right first, then use the lever for any further adjustments needed until the next 4000 mile service.

Thought a clunk into first gear was fine, I take it that it is not??

Means I out to do mine too then.

Originally Posted by manicjazz

Thought a clunk into first gear was fine, I take it that it is not??

My Triumph Daytona gives a real thunk going into first, and needs a positive left foot generally, but there's nothing wrong with it. My SV gearbox was sweet as a nut and only thunked when the clutch needed adjustment. My XT needs a positive shift from 1st to 2nd but slips through the rest of the gearbox easily, including into first.

Read into that what you will.