newbie clutch Q:

[Justin B.]

Maybe I missed this but how much free-play is in the lever?  It is possible an adjustment and possibly the "throwout bearing" (at least the BMW equiv) might have failed...

[Biocruiser]

Not sure exactly what you mean... when I operated the handle for the clutch it had full range of motion. I disconnected it from the arm at the back of the gear box and used my hand to pull the arm all the way forward and release it. It would move forward and then return to what I thought was it's normal resting place. Unless I have this totally backwards, the resting position is with the clutch disengaged... when you pull in the clutch it pushes the rod forward and engages the clutch, no? When my replacement friction plate shows up I'll compare it to the one I removed. If it's good then the issue has to be somewhere between the arm on the back of the gearbox and the clutch pressure plate... that leaves the rod and the bearing at the rear of the gearbox I think...

[Justin B.]

With the clutch lever released there should be about 1/8" of free-play in the lever or it is very possible (maybe even probable) that the clutch is not fully engaged.  This could cause the clutch to slip, no matter how good it is.  Also there is an adjustment on the arm on the transmission that can be messed with as well, but try the adjuster at the handlebar end first if you don't have the necessary free-play.

[Bob_Roller]

For your interpretation of the clutch operation, with the clutch lever 'at rest', the clutch is 'engaged', allowing power to be transmitted between the engine and the transmission, when you pull on the clutch lever, the clutch 'dis-engages', interruptng the 'flow' of power between the engine and transmission, allowing gear changes.

[Biocruiser]

new friction plate arrived today... I'm not sure I got the correct one... in the picture the new one is on the left and the old is on the right. The older one is labeled 2121 1237 571 and the new one 2121 7670 1451512. Are these interchangeable?

[Bob_Roller]

No these clutches are not interchangeable, you need the clutch that's 'bonded' not the riveted type.

The riveted type were used, starting in the 1981 model year.

You need the clutch dics that ends in the part number 571.

[Biocruiser]

well that's a bummer. anyone need a clutch plate?

[Justin B.]

If they sold you that disc for your stated application they screwed up and need to send you the correct part - and I would think return shipping on the incorrect one as well.

Have you measured your old disc yet?  I think that minimum is around 6.0 mm, mine measuerd 6.47 mm and was getting very abrupt and the engagement point was right at the last about 1/2" of lever travel.

[Biocruiser]

I bought the plate through ebay... here's a link to the ad:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=019&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=290190935905&rd=1
It does say the plate will fit "78-95" r65s. Being new to the bike I didn't realize from the picture that this wasn't the correct disc. Hopefully they'll take it back...

[Justin B.]

The clutch disc you were sent is for '81 and later Airheads as Bob pointed out.  If you got it for considerably less than the list price of $126 then you might stand a chance of making a buck or two on it.

[Biocruiser]

With shipping I paid $116. I'd be happy to pass it on to anyone who might need it for that price... I am hoping the seller will take it back, but you never know...

[Biocruiser]

Okay, wen to the dealer and got the correct plate... I'm putting everything back together... any idea how travel the clutch rod (through the gear-box) should have? It moves back and forth, but I'm having trouble finding a value for how much it should move in my manual. Also... I saw in another post that one of you got a new clutch centering tool... I'm guessing you can eyeball it if you don't have the tool. True? I've done it a number of times with my landcruisers with no trouble...

[Ed Miller]

I don't know what you mean by travel; my clutch rod comes all the way out if I want.

I didn't use a centering tool, I just eyeballed it like you said.

[Biocruiser]

Well, I made progress... sort of. With the new clutch installed I can pull in the clutch lever and hear a whining noise... but it still won't let me shift into gear. It just pops and stalls. I've adjusted the cable at the handle as far out as possible and tightened the nut at the back of the gear box as much as I can... and there's still not enough pressure to get in gear. Could this just be a bad cable?

[Bob_Roller]

Here's a method I've used to adjust the clutch cable, it's considered 'wrong' by most people that work on BMW bikes, but it works for me.

Adjust the handlebar adjustment to get all the 'slack' in the cable you can, I think that is in all the way, loosen the 'jamnut' on the adjustment bolt at the back of the transmission, and back the adjustment bolt out, to where the arm has a lot of freeplay.

You should be able to remove the cable from the arm on the transmission, with the cable removed adjust the bolt at the rear of the transmission to get about 1/4 inch freeplay movement in the arm, measured at the end of the arm, tighten the jamnut.

Reconnect the cable to the arm, then go to the handlebar adjustment, and move the adjuster to get about 1/8 th inch freeplay at the lever, that should get you pretty close on adjustment.