Clutch Lever Lubrication Point

[Crossrodes]

A man who claimed he used to be a BMW motorcycle mechanic told me that my '79 R65 has a lube point near the clutch arm that is moved by the clutch cable.  He described it as a small cup with felt inside that has to be oiled periodically.  He said this lubricated the clutch shaft.  I can't find any such cup.

Can anyone tell me if there is such a cup?

Also where can one buy the conical tip for a grease gun that is required to grease some fittings?

[nhmaf]

Periodically (there is much debate over what is the proper period, though) one should do a spline lube on the
transmission input splines, as well as check the clutch/carrier mechanism.  This generally involves removing the swingarm pivots and pulling it back, and removing the transmission.   As part of pulling the transmission, it is much easier to remove the clutch arm assembly at the back of the transmission, and then, it is easy to remove the rubber "bellows", or cup back there to expose the end of the pushrod, the piston and throwout bearing, etc.  Depending on the model year, there is a felt washer in there, too, along with a spring, and either caged needle bearing or caged ball bearings.   This assembly should be taken out basically at the same interval as doing the spline lube and cleaned, examined for wear, and if everything is OK,, re-oil it (transmission/gear oil is OK, as that is what will eventually migrate back there to keep it lubed anyhow) and re-assemble.

I "borrowed" this fiche-scan to show you the parts of this assembly as it is assembled on a 81-84.  

[Crossrodes]

Thanks for the info.  I have a '79 but I'm betting the clutch mechanism will look the same.  (The clutch lever appears to be the same externally).  

So there is a debate on the service interval.  What is the range of the mileage that people typically perform the spline and clutch service?  I have no history on this bike so I'll be doing this as soon as my time permits.

[Justin B.]

Your clutch throwout bits will be slightly different, but the principle is the same.  You can see in the fiche that the from date is 9/80 which is the 1981 model year...

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

The only felt I know of is #2 in the diagram, part way up the shaft.

The only "cup" I know of, is the small rubber boot, #7.  Put some grease in it.

And then the zerk fitting #8, of course.  I always lube my shifter lever at the same time.




The grease tip should be available at any good auto parts store.  Do you have NAPA where you live?


Mail-order:


Klik on da pik

[Crossrodes]

Thanks Rob.  I didn't know about that grease zerk.  I'll try Napa here.  They often don't have what is available in the States but maybe this time...

[Ed Miller]

I don't think mine has that grease zirq.  That tip Rob posted is the kind I use for my swing arm bearings, every 500 miles.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

crossrodes,

The grease that goes into the zerk fitting only lubricates the pivot pin area.

The grease in the boot gives some cushion between the adjuster screw and the pushrod and displace any water, I assume.  
One puts the grease in the small boot manually, before assembly.

The grease gun should come with the head for a zerk fitting.

You unscrew that one from the gun, and screw on the tapered tip if you want to grease you swingarm bearings.


Ed, I don't think the later models had the zerk fitting on the pivot.  Those pivot on needle bearings, and (I guess) require a different form of lubrication.

[nhmaf]

No Zerk fitting (from Oscar Zerk, Patented in 1929) on my clutch arm either (1982) model - I gotta take the thing off
and clean/lube it periodically, which is somewhere around 1X per year or so ... living on dirt roads like we do tends to collect alot more grit/gunk in the underside nooks& crannies of the bike compared to when I lived "in the city"..

[scuba]

Molybdenum sulfide powder can be usefull if mixed with grease or some oil 'cause it won't go away easy. Even if grease or oil has been washed, traces of MS will remain and performe some lubrication until next (very soon) lubrication. My 83 r65 has that zirq but I always put just a bit of MS into grease and had no problem with lubrication for long period. My bike lives in the city in warm, dry and clean garage with lots of natural light but it's owner (me) likes to ride it in rural places and washing is a must. Lubricating, also is a must but with this recepie its long lasting.