Bike's been sitting, clutch is stuck

[Brett0424]

Hey there.

I'm building an xs650 chopper that I bought off a guy who hardtailed it then let it sit for like 10 years. I got the motor started and am now hooking up all the controls and hoping to drive her soon. Motor feels good.

I went to hook up the clutch cable today and realized the rod was in backwards, the ball is missing from the worm screw and overall the whole clutch is stuck pretty bad. I can push as hard as possible on the clutch rod and it doesn't move inwards.

Do I need to take the right side cover off and clean off all the plates? Is it possible to heat the engine up and get this clutch freed up or is it inevitable that I need to take it apart? I just changed the oil so I'd rather not.

Would any of you be comfortable with just starting it, warming it up, pushing it into gear and going from there. Or will that cause damage?

 

[vsop-dk]

Perhaps this could help, its a search...

It could be a stuck clutch. See if these threads help:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7413
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16696
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34208
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35147

Allso, I wouldnt try starting it before yoyu get this sorted.. you need a working Worm drive and allso the ball inside of it. Dismantle right hand cover and inspect the clutch would allways be a good idea.

 

[gggGary]

You can lay the bike on the left side, have a 5 gallon pail with a lid for the handlebar end to lay on, and remove the RH cover, minimal oil mess, done it several times.

 

[Brett0424]

Thanks for the advice.

I like the idea of laying the bike on its side. I'll grab a new 5/16 ball this morning, put the side cover on, then lay her down and open her up.

 

[5twins]

Even if the clutch isn't stuck, you can't push the rod in by hand. Get the worm gear squared away and try it, it may be fine.

 

[NastyBeads]

Just had this issue with mine. Replace the 5/16 ball bearing, take apart, clean and re-lube the worm gear. I don't know if it was a bad idea, but I gave some love taps to the rod with a small hammer. When I was able to get "some" play with the lever, I let the bike warm up while the rear was in the air and someone holding the rear brake, and I put it in first gear. The bike stalled, but it seemed like it was enough to free up the clutch/plates and has worked since. Not sure it was the right way or will fix your situation, but hope it helps. VSOP added some great threads as well.

 

[Brett0424]

Thanks for the replies guys. I cleaned and lubed the worm gear, picked up a 5/16 ball and put it in. So everything appeared to be properly set up.

When I put the side cover on it felt super tight though and the adjustment screw on the worm gear had to be basically threaded all the way out just for the cover to go on. The clutch cable also felt very tight. I pushed on the kickstarter (killswitch off) to see how it felt and it no longer felt like the motor had any compression. It wasn't sucking or pushing any air as I pushed the kicker.

Is this normal? Is this just a symptom of an old, stuck clutch? Or, is something put together incorrectly inside there? I didn't think the PO messed with the clutch at all but you never know.

Thanks for your help again.

 

[gggGary]

will the kick start work with the LH cover off?

 

[Brett0424]

Yes it does. I have had it running with the left side cover off and once I took it back off it had compression again.

Hoping I didn't do any damage here...

 

[gggGary]

No you are just pushing in the clutch when you tighten the cover. My first guess; the push rod has one end that is necked down a bit for about 1/2", that end must face out towards the worm gear. You probably put it in backwards. See if that's it.

 

[Brett0424]

That necked end is facing out. Really appreciate your help with this.

 

[gggGary]

Next up; one too many balls or the worm gear is not indexed correctly, the return spring in the cover should be nearly slack with the cable attached, like this;

View attachment 36742

 

[Brett0424]

The worm gear appears to be in the right position. If there are two many balls inside there how would I go about taking one out? Is it through the right side? Or, is it possible through the left side without damaging the seal (which looks pretty new). Here are pictures of how my worm gear is situated and how far out the push rod sits. Nothing seems off by looking at it to me!? Should the push rod be one ball's length closer to the motor?

Also. Everyone on the internet says there should be a ball inside the worm gear but none of the drawings I have seen show this? It feels like I'm off just that amount and I added the ball to the worm gear. Are you guys positive I should have added that ball to the worm gear?

 

[Brett0424]

There were two balls in there! The PO must have popped it in there so he wouldn't lose it... Thanks Gary. I got it out with a magnet and some finesse.

At one point I did engage the clutch fully while both balls were in there. Could this have caused any damage/stretched anything out too far?

Thanks for following through with me. Can't wait to post some pictures/useful stuff and not just questions.

 

[weekendrider]

You might want to put a little extra something on those stater wires to keep them from chaffing. A grommet maybe?

 

[gggGary]

I bought a 79 yesterday and it has the exact same issue, clutch is "pulled " all the time will try to see what the PO's "repair shop" did to it today.

I notice you have the "short" worm arm, just mentioning that you can change the arm for lighter clutch effort at the expense of less plate separation. There is an aftermarket arm with two positions drilled. 2many's excellent thread about worm gears

 

[Crackers61]

Hi Guys,

Recently had this happen to me to, with the bobber i'm building. Tried pushing the bike in gear with the clutch in to no avail. The answer was drop the oil and take out the clutch plates. Once done so found that they had all stuck together. Cleaned the metal plates with a light sand, re assembled complete with new oil on both the metal plates and clutch plates. Started the bike all worked fine.

Regards
Crackers

 

[Brett0424]

Thanks guys I'll get a grommet on those wires and check out that longer worm arm thread.

I know I'll have to dig into that right side to do some clutch work eventually (especially since I probably stretched the springs out a little further than I should have while getting this hooked up). I was just hoping to get away without it for now. It seems to be working ok. It's shifting through gears, a little tight but it's shifting. I should be able to ride this thing for the first time within the next week, assuming I get the rest of the controls hooked up, so will find out soon.

 

[gggGary]

I'm thinking you will be fine, the clutch cover bolts stop the clutch springs from compressing "too far"
Just "fixed" 79 I got yesterday, PO's "shop" had it so tight it would not move with the clutch out in gear, or kick start. Loosened cable all the way set free play at 1/8 turn set cable free play and drove away, it works perfect now.
PS my new goto is a rattle wrench on the adjuster screw nut, a quick burst loosens it lickety split. Tighten the nut with an offset wrench while holding the screw stationary with a Philips screw driver as always.

 

[weekendrider]

Just "fixed" 79 I got yesterday

I knew that seat would hook you.