75 XS650 Clutch Adjustment

[smiles79]

I know there are plenty of threads on this but I couldn't find what I was looking for. If this has already been answered, please just point me in the right direction.

I've got a '75 mild cafe, with clubmans. I have what I would consider to be too much (or almost too much) play on the clutch lever with the adjuster almost all the way out. I just adjusted the clutch on the motor (with the cable adjusters run all the way in), then got as close to 1/8" inch gap at the lever with the adjuster. What might be going on here?

 

[willis]

Are you re-using the stock cable, or did you get a shorter one?

 

[5twins]

It sounds like the inner cable on your clutch cable is too long. There could be several reasons for that. The cable may be old and stretched or it may not be the right one (not an XS650 cable). It's also possible the clutch lever and perch have been changed and they have less distance between the cable entrance and the lever anchor point. I encountered this issue when I changed to a Kawasaki KZ lever and perch .....

I fixed it by adding a spacer down at the elbow .....

I made the spacer by cutting the end off an old cable elbow and slotting the side .....

 

[smiles79]

Thanks for the input guys! It's a newish cable and I would be surprised if I bought an incorrect one, though it could happen. I have some new levers and perches on the way so I'll see how everything fits with them and then maybe try the spacer idea.

 

[5twins]

Are you sure you haven't lost the ball out of the worm gear?

 

[smiles79]

Does the worm gear assembly need to be removed for this to happen, or just the side cover removed from the motor?

 

[5twins]

Just the side cover removed.

 

[smiles79]

I guess it's worth a look! I never messed with that assembly too much, what is it supposed to look like?

 

[5twins]

Here's a stock worm mounted inside the cover. You can see the ball inside the hole where the pushrod inserts ..... maybe. I say that because the end of the adjusting screw is rounded over and pretty much looks the same. To verify that the ball is still in there, remove the adjusting screw. If the ball is gone, you'll be able to look right through the worm .....

Originally when new, the ball is crimped into the worm (yellow arrows) and can't fall out .....

However, over time, the pushrod wears the crimps away and then the ball can fall out.

 

[smiles79]

Just pulled the cover off, and the ball is there. It probably sits about 1/8" below the top edge of the boss it sits in. Is that normal?

 

[5twins]

That sounds about right. The exact depth of the ball will be dependent on how much the adjuster screw is screwed in.

 

[smiles79]

Darn, I was hoping I'd find a smoking gun. I made a spacer out of a nut similar bro what you did, 5twins, and it helped but there still seems to be plenty of free play.

 

[joebgd]

Idk, I think that might be how it is. Create the spacer as suggested, I put a new cable and was surprised how much the adjuster at the lever was needed even afraid after worm adjustment. I don't need a spacer but just more than I would've thought.