Well don't I feel like a shade tree guy.... I just jam a piece of wood between the gears. ;)

I just popped it into gear and held the rear brake down.

I know there were simpler methods, but this being my first time doing a clutch job, I didn't want to struggle with it.
I thought this would allow me handle it easier, and it did.
 
Indeed. Actually, I bought a Mikes clutch holding tool and it folded up like a card table chair. I returned it for a full refund - waste of money.

Fortunately for me, the “in-gear/hold the brake” method plus an electric rattle gun worked perfectly - but I do like the much more substantial look of the Tusk tool.
 
You GOT this!
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I usually just make my own tool by welding a handle on an old steel clutch plate. These have always worked well for me, probably because the loop handle engages 2 slots in the outer hub .....

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I think that may be the problem with the MikesXS tool. It has a single bar for a handle and only engages one slot in the outer hub. But, I'll admit I do have and use one. The only reason I have it is because it came with a parts assortment I bought off eBay. I would never buy one by itself because I was well aware of the bad reviews it's gotten. Since I am aware of it's short comings, I use it very carefully and so far, it's worked fine. I think the MikesXS tool fails mostly when trying to remove the nut by hand. Like Mailman, I use the same style of electric impact, but mine is an old original B-D I got from work. This is the tool HF copied .....

i4DLJhw.jpg


This is a great tool to have and use. Much easier than firing up the compressor and dragging out the air gun. And it's pretty powerful too. I think it puts out something like 230 ft/lbs of torque.
 
I think that may be the problem with the MikesXS tool. It has a single bar for a handle and only engages one slot in the outer hub.

Yes - I agree with that view. I bought a Mikes tool and it is simply much too lightly built to be of a lot of use.

Anyhow - it appears that most people have found a way to accomplish the task.
 
I'm thinking of building myself a "deluxe" tool. One of the parts motors I've acquired had a totally messed up clutch pack in it. Some of the friction plates were worn practically bare. I'm thinking of bolting one of those to a steel with a handle welded on it. This combo tool will engage all the "teeth" on the inner hub and all the slots on the outer. Should work good.
 
Ok, let's talk about how my little starter gear fix took a left turn into my retirement savings.
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And while we're at it, I will confess to a mistake I made that led to a lot of unecessary work and extra time and worry. So the whole point of this little exercise was to replace my starter gear that was jumping out of gear on me when I hit the button. This starter gear repair kit is $48.76, of course getting to that little gear necessitated acquiring a bunch of new tools, which I will get into later.

I could not make up my mind as to whether or not to replace the clutch friction plates while I was in there, I was indecisive and finally decided to wait and see what they looked like when I got in there. Well I started measuring them and they were close to replacement parameters, so I decided what the hell, get new ones.so I ordered a set of EBC friction plates off of eBay. They seem like good quality and a decent price.
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Well I got caught up in an upgrade fever and I had all these voices in my head. 5Twins says he always replaces the clutch springs, MaxPete really likes the new Allen head clutch pack screws from Mikes, Robin thought his upgrade to the superior needle bearing from Mikes was well worth it. Those all sound like great ideas! Cha Ching Cha Ching Cha Ching!
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Ok, here's where I'm gonna come clean about something, I don't have to admit this, but I would hope to save some poor sap some grief down the road. Ummm....I didn't just open up my oil pump to see what's doin. I wanted to apply paint stripper to the side cover gasket for removal, and I use this orange thick citrus gel. Well I didn't take precautions to stuff paper towels into the oil passageways and I glugged a bunch of that stuff down the passageway closest to the oil pump. I took it apart to clean it up. There! I said it. Don't be stupid! The whole story is outlined here on another thread.

http://www.xs650.com/threads/questions-about-my-oil-pump.50852/

But hey while I was in there I decided to fix a small oil leak, my tach drive mount/seal.
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That's the new factory replacement o ring from Boats.Net, and inside , after you remove that threaded insert is another seal that I ordered from them too. To drive that seal in I used a 9mm socket on an extension and put a little grease around the seal and gently drove it in.
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Then re installed it after my endless oil pump mess.
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Since I had the cover off, I might as well make it purdy, so it got buffed and the letters painted. Hey as Jim says, the Devils in the details!
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So now I'm getting read to get going on my clutch install. I've had my friction plates soaking in oil for a couple days now, so following a nice tip by 5Twins I decided to take the sharp edges off of my friction plates. I bought a brass wire wheel for my bench grinder and smoothed them right up!
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Alright , I've got my theatre of operation all laid out and ready to go. I might not be much of a mechanic but I've got really good organizational skills!
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I start layering in all my clutch steel plates and friction plates.
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Now I put the pressure plate on making sure to align my two marks.
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And then I insert all my new parts, springs, keepers, and Allen head bolts.
image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
Nothing left to do but put my new gasket on that I've soaked in oil, and put my side cover back on. Being sure to remember to replace the shim first on the kickstart shaft. All buttoned up and Bobs your Uncle!
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Now, as I said at the start of this story, let's talk about how a little starter gear fix wound up costing so much.
For sure I bought parts that weren't absolutely necessary. I wanted to upgrade components, and I had to buy ( ok maybe wanted to buy) some specialized tools. Here's the breakdown.

Starter gear repair kit. $48.76
EBC clutch plates. $66.31
EBC CSK2 springs. $9.49
Clutch spring screw set. $36.94
Cover gasket. $11.75
Fish scale. $3.95
Vernier calipers. $12.09 JUNK!
Needle bearing. $18.97
29mm socket. $10
Tach drive seals. $15
Universal clutch holding tool $20

For a grand total of. $253. 25 Yikes!
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So was it worth it? Mixed I'd say. Messing with that oil pump was a huge pain. The starter works every time like it should, but isn't much quieter. Clutch works perfectly. I've got 27 brand new pieces floating around under that side cover , so I was listening VERY carefully after starting. And it sounds.....busy. Lots of mechanical noise I'm hoping is just new parts settling in. It starts easily, idles well, no leaks. Took it for a test drive and its my same old sweet bike. But I don't know if it's just me being nervous or if it sounds mechanically louder. I will ride it easy for a while and find out eh?
Till next time,
Bob
 
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But I don't know if it's just me being nervous or if it sounds mechanically louder.
Being your own worst critic is a good thing Bob. I think it's natural to hear mechanical noises better after you've been in an engine. Let's hope it's nothing more than that.
I remember working on a Huey (helicopter) main rotor transmission once and then flying on it about 75 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico that same day. Coulda' swore that transmission was whining louder than usual...
 
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Well done Bob. Give it a hundred or two miles to bed-in and then change the oil and see how it feels.

Congrats!

Pete
 
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Great write-up as ever Bob! Well done...I'll refer to it when I do my own starter gear replacement down the road...
 
Bob, Can't help notice that you were able to remove the clutch side cover without disturbing the same side exhaust. I am assuming that the same can be done with the Specials as well? Is the exhaust header the same on the later standards and specials? Anyway, great posting!
 
Yes on my bike the exhaust didn’t need to be removed to pull the cover off. I can’t tell you about the specials, I’ve never owned one. Maybe someone that knows can answer that for you. Thanks
Bob
 
A little follow up, had the bike out this morning for a little 25 mike shakedown ride. It’s all good. That clutch works like butter, easier to find neutral when the bike is hot. Starter gear is working like it should. And the sounds I was hearing when I first started up have seemed to settle down. Either that or my nerves settled down! Haha!
Anyway no catastrophic failures, no scary noises, and everything works great.

Next job will be swapping out my worn carburetor body for the one I got from Gary.
I have it all cleaned up and wrapped in a bag just waiting! Stay tuned.
Bob
 
You made no mention of it but you did find a shim washer on the bottom of your tach drive rod I hope (#8 below). This shims the up-down play out of the rod and also prevents it from cutting/grinding into the case .....

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Glad to hear all is well.
Btw Bob, nice job in the lettering!
 
You made no mention of it but you did find a shim washer on the bottom of your tach drive rod I hope (#8 below). This shims the up-down play out of the rod and also prevents it from cutting/grinding into the case .....

wmr3Gdb.jpg
Yes you're right, I failed to mention it. But I found it and it is present and accounted for. That's a good reminder though!

Glad to hear all is well.
Btw Bob, nice job in the lettering!

Thanks Jim!
 
Well, it looks like you're about done fixing all the needful things. Time to just ride it I guess. But wait ...... did you Minton Mod the forks yet? Upgrade the type D cam chain tensioner to a type E? It's always something, lol. That stuff isn't critical (well maybe the tensioner is) but they are worthwhile additions. Believe me, you will miss doing things to the bike. You'll be looking for more stuff to "fix", lol.
 
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