Clutch Doesn't Catch Until Lever Is All The Way Out

1979 650 Special.

The clutch works perfectly except it doesn't grab until the lever is all the way out. There is no slipping. It's easy to shift. Except finding neutral.

What should I be looking for with this problem?

And what does the shaft / locknut on the cover do?

Stuck Amals, if you are having to release the lever so far it's not adjusted correctly and this is a classic trigger for the 'can't get the neutral' thing. Occasionally my clutch cable adjuster at the lever vibrates loose until I get your symptoms - I just adjust the cable.

I have an extra adjuster in the cable as it runs under the tank to take out the slack, too ( made the cable a little longer).

If you have got plenty of adjustment but the problem persists, flip the disc cover in the left-hand side engine case. That's the adjuster mechanism into the worm gear. With screwdriver and socket, relase the nut and adjust with the screwdriver. The received wisdom is when is bites against the pushrod turn the screw back a quarter turn. Done. If you still don't have any room to adjust at the cable, it's time for a new cable perhaps.

The 'neutral' problem is generally sorted with correct adjustment. Failing that, you will have to go in the ride hand side case and adjust the shifter-shaft mechanism, and even replace two springs you will see when you get there.

ANLAF

Thanks ANLAF

It does seem like an adjustment so I tinkered with the adjuster at the lever and at side cover.

I was hesitant to screw with the side cover adjustment to much. But now I'll give it a go and see what happens.

I figure fixing this would fix the neutral thing too.

I have found when you do the adjustment at the side cover once you get the nut loose spin the screw out a few turns. Now turn the screw in/out a bit to get a good feel for how it turns.It's important when you turn the screw in, you can tell just when the resistance to turning is felt. This is the point when you have removed the play between the adjuster screw and the pressure plate.
Now you need some play, this is where the 1/4 turn back out comes in. With no play on the screw then as things heat up the clutch can slip. The 1/4 turn back gives things room enough to expand.
Once you get that set, adjust the lever adjuster for about 1/4 of play.
Leo

Thanks Leo

After following these procedures, it's still the same.

Then it must the cable, Right?

Is the cable length that critical? The clutch adjusters can't compensate for a small amount of cable stretch? My cable measures 58 inches end to end and 51 inches for the sleeve.

Did you turn the handle bar adjuster all the way before you did the side cover adjuster?
You may be missing a ball bearing in the clutch shaft and or have the last rod in backward, the small end of the rod faces out.



There are three, the diagram doesn't show the "formerly" captive one inside the worm gear that often falls out when a cable is replaced. A garden variety 5/16" ball bearing fits perfectly. It's nice to restake the housing a bit so it stays put for a while.

Gary, I checked and the ball is there.

It seems like I'm not getting enough "pull" from the clutch cable.

I have to cover off with the cable attached from the clutch lever through the side cover and to the actuating arm. This way I can see what's happening.

Using a degree wheel it looks like the actuator arm rotates about 10 degrees. If I had more pull from the clutch lever it looks like it would work.

I should add. I bought this bike about a year ago. It had a few other problems so I haven't ridden it except around the neighborhood. Now that it's been inspected and licensed I'm starting to ride it. The bike has less that 10,000 miles and looks bone stock. I'm assuming the cable and clutch lever are the proper ones. The clutch lever matched the brake lever.

Have you taken the ramp apart and looked carefully for cracks? A cracked ramp will "spread" instead of pushing the rod in.

This covers a lot of common issues.

I checked the ramp and it looks ok. I took it apart, cleaned it up and re-greased it and reassembled.

The clutch seems to work somewhat better. Now it catches before the lever slips off the end of my fingers.

I need to find another XS650 to compare it to.

Thanks for the help / suggestions.

Now I have to look into that slight miss that occurs when accelerate rapidly.

When I got my 75 The cable was stretched a bit. The lever adjuster was turned out so that hardly any threads were holding.
I had an extra lever adjuster laying around. I took off the large lock wheel and put on a regular nut.
The hole in the side cover the cable runs through is just the right size to thread to match the extra adjuster.
Once threaded, I put this adjuster in the cover with the old cable. This let me leave the lever adjuster all the way in, adjusted the adjuster in the cover to take up most of the play, then used the lever to fine tune. This let me run the stretched cable for awhile.
With a new stock type cable I didn't need the extra adjuster. With 650centrals cable and the lever I'm using off an 82 Seca 650 I needed the extra adjuster.
I'll post a pic.
Either way the extra adjuster didn't effect the clutch operation. It just helped the cable adjustment.
With every thing right the clutch lever only moves the pressure plate about 4.5 mm. Not much, but enough to work. So the sweet spot on the lever where the clutch starts to engage and becomes fully engaged isn't very big. You can try adding in a bit more play at the lever, like 3/8 inch instead of 1/4, but this may lead to not opening the clutch enough.
Experimenting with the adjustment may get it more to your liking.
Leo

Thanks for the info Leo.

I purchased a new cable from Mike's XS but haven't installed it yet. At this point the clutch is working okay but it feels somewhat vague. It almost feels like weak springs.

I will investigate further over the winter.

If I put a dial indicator on the adjuster in the side cover I should see about 4.5 mm of in and out movement, right?

On here somewhere is a thread, can't recall the title but it is a list of Mike's parts that are less than stellar. The list tells how poor the quality of some of Mike's parts. That cable is on the list.
I think Mike's bought a ship load of those cables and is selling them to recoup the money spent. The next shipment might be better.
A Motion Pro is a good cable. The inner core is much thicker.
The Easy Pull from 650 central is a good cable.
Yes, the springs are probably a bit weak. Mike's clutch springs are on that list I mentioned. 650central has better ones. I found a set of Kibble White NOS 70 lb. springs on Ebay.
On the movement measuring that way should be ok. You may get that much travel, but don't be too surprised if you get closer to 4 mm.
This small movement is why the clutch has so much drag and why it's so necessary to get everything working at it's best to keep the drag to a minimum.
Leo

These may help:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34265
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37385