Been doing a lot of town cruising, stop/go stuff.
Taking advantage of the last of our hot days.
I found my neutral!
Setting stopped, engine idling, clutch pulled, 1st gear:
A shoving nudge up on the shift lever and it goes into neutral.
No need to flick/tap, no need to rev the engine.
Same going down from 2nd.
Same when cold (60°F) and hot (205°F).
Not quite as slick as some period Hondas, but I'll take it.
Summary of what was done:
Shifter/starwheel area:
- New shiftdrum stopper plate
- Reconditioned later model indexing wheel
- Later model indexing spring.
- Polished neutral detent plunger tip, set spring length to 26mm.
- Meticulously recentered shifter claw (including lateral centering in the slot)
Clutch:
- Replaced sticky organics with Barnett kevlars.
- Still using the experimental plate spreader mod.
- Replaced the 'ultimate' clutch worm gadget with the modified MikesXS worm, using the 1.2" clevis hole.
(I installed thicker palmswell handgrips awhile back, and these reduced the clutch lever pull, producing only 0.040" of pressure plate travel. Now have 0.050" pressure plate travel.)
Other:
- Fresh oil, Valvoline 20w50
- Replaced Neutral switch.
I did the 4lb 1/2 gallon waterjug test on the rear wheel, with trans in 1st. Pulling the shift lever to neutral required about the same medium effort as the 2lb test when all this first started.
I believe that the most significant contributors to this improvement are the shiftdrum stopper plate, Barnett plates, and different oil (?).
I also believe this could be improved further, in the trans.
So, future plans:
- Later model trans.
- Later model shiftdrum, with its "behind the starwheel" roller bearing.
- Couple tricks I have in mind for the shiftforks and guidebar.
Taking advantage of the last of our hot days.
I found my neutral!
Setting stopped, engine idling, clutch pulled, 1st gear:
A shoving nudge up on the shift lever and it goes into neutral.
No need to flick/tap, no need to rev the engine.
Same going down from 2nd.
Same when cold (60°F) and hot (205°F).
Not quite as slick as some period Hondas, but I'll take it.
Summary of what was done:
Shifter/starwheel area:
- New shiftdrum stopper plate
- Reconditioned later model indexing wheel
- Later model indexing spring.
- Polished neutral detent plunger tip, set spring length to 26mm.
- Meticulously recentered shifter claw (including lateral centering in the slot)
Clutch:
- Replaced sticky organics with Barnett kevlars.
- Still using the experimental plate spreader mod.
- Replaced the 'ultimate' clutch worm gadget with the modified MikesXS worm, using the 1.2" clevis hole.
(I installed thicker palmswell handgrips awhile back, and these reduced the clutch lever pull, producing only 0.040" of pressure plate travel. Now have 0.050" pressure plate travel.)
Other:
- Fresh oil, Valvoline 20w50
- Replaced Neutral switch.
I did the 4lb 1/2 gallon waterjug test on the rear wheel, with trans in 1st. Pulling the shift lever to neutral required about the same medium effort as the 2lb test when all this first started.
I believe that the most significant contributors to this improvement are the shiftdrum stopper plate, Barnett plates, and different oil (?).
I also believe this could be improved further, in the trans.
So, future plans:
- Later model trans.
- Later model shiftdrum, with its "behind the starwheel" roller bearing.
- Couple tricks I have in mind for the shiftforks and guidebar.
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