Clutch not engaging?

I oiled everything up, put the bolts and the springs in, rear tire rotated better than ever. Still had some resistance, but you can rotate it without the engine turning over. Then I torqued down the bolts, and it’s back to not rotating freely without turning over the engine. I gave it a couple - just a few - whacks with the rubber mallet, didn’t change. I’m wondering if since it’s still not fully submerged - and a good bit of oil did drip off before I got the bolts torqued - it still wants to stick together when the bolts are torqued? Also, at this point there’s a chance it’s not the clutch itself, it could be the oil, or maybe it could be the adjustment? I was really taking shots in the dark with the worm gear, rather than fine-tuning, and the clutch cable was adjusted all the way out when I got it, so maybe the worm gear is still the problem at this point?
 
Well, I suppose it could be an adjustment issue. I'll run you through the proper adjustment procedure. There's two adjustment points, up at the lever and down on the worm, and they work together to give you the correct setting. Start by loosening up the adjuster at the handlebar lever all the way. Now move down to the worm and adjust it. You do most of your adjusting down here and finish up by fine tuning the setting up at the lever. The book tells you to screw the adjuster screw in until it lightly seats, then back it off a quarter turn. Since this bike suffers from clutch drag issues, most of us run the adjustment a little tighter. We only back the screw out maybe 1/8 turn. Also, I like to turn the screw in until it seats pretty good, not just lightly. I work it in and out to get a feel for when it's really seated. Also, I employ a technique I call "fanning" the clutch lever as I'm tightening the screw. This means pumping the lever in and out through it's freeplay range. I don't pull it all the way in and actually disengage the clutch, just pull it through it's freeplay range. What this does is stack the series of balls and pushrods between the worm and the clutch tightly together. If you keep turning the adjuster screw in as you're "fanning" the lever, you'll often get near another quarter turn in. Only after doing this do I back the screw off that 1/8 turn and tighten the lock nut. Then you go up to the handlebar and adjust out any excess freeplay that's left. On a cold engine, I set this pretty tight with little to no freeplay. Once you start the motor and it begins to warm up, freeplay will develop at the lever.
 
Well I think I’ve finally got it! There’s still a good bit of drag, but the engine isn’t turning over and I think I’ve got it! Now to contemplate putting the oil in and buttoning this thing back up! It’s on the battery charger right now, so let’s see what I’ve got? I futzed around with the worm gear and the adjuster on the clutch lever... It might just be a combination of the clutch being out of adjustment and the clutch plates being dry-yet-sticky.
 
:heart:Thanks for all the help guys, I finally got it running yesterday! Apparently the clutch was WAY out of adjustment. I managed to ride from my house to my race shop - less than 10 miles - and shortly after leaving home I realized the clutch was still slipping. Fortunately, I managed to limp it to the shop, adjust it, and it felt great on the way home! You guys are the best! :heart:
 
Yes, even though we run our adjustment pretty tight, too tight is no good and will cause clutch slip. This is also why you should set that snug adjustment only when the bike is cold and the parts aren't expanded from heat. Set it when hot and after the parts cool down and contract, it may be too tight.
 
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