All right Daniel, that was a lot of work you did in there! Fingers crossed!
"Neutral used to be just a bit elusive, but now it is downright difficult to find."Thanks guys. Making the morning commute the first real road test ups the ante just a bit, but Stella performed well. Some observations:
In the last couple hundred miles she slipped out of 2nd while coming off the line about four or five times. Upon inspection it was clear that the shift arm needed adjustment. Done. Twelve miles is of course way to short a sample to know if that was cured.
Shifting now feels much tighter, more pressure is needed to shift. Particularly downshifting, especially when stopped.
Neutral used to be just a bit elusive, but now it is downright difficult to find.
Upon 2M's pointing out the burnt condition of the friction plates I replaced them with new OEM plates. Nothing special, soaked in oil before install, but that's it. No white lithium grease this time around.
What I had thought was a bit of fork vibration upon takeoff I now recognize as the old plates slipping and not grabbing smoothly. Pulling off the line is now faster and super smooth. Like butter.
This go around I kept the stock springs, they all measured between 35.2 & 35.4mm. Nor did I smooth the sharp edge of the steel plates. Nor did I explore the deeper parts as suggested by 2M such as the index wheel or stop plate. My interest was just to see what new plates and proper shift arm adjustment would do. I'll get into the more intricate details next time.
This clutch work was done in the midst of a periodic oil change and timing/valve adjustment. So, a few other items to note.
I found the source of an intermittent ticking, one side of the Boyer timing rotor touching a pickup post. Glad to have fixed that with just a more careful centering of the stator plate.
After a cam chain tensioning (the cold, turn it by hand until it stops method), I checked valve lash. .003/.006 all around. I did not loosen any tappet lock nuts. Here's the funny thing, though. I used to have quite a bit of valve chatter until the oil got up top and clearances closed. Now, all is quiet even after sitting for three weeks and starting up on a brisk 60 degree morning. Hmm...
Oh, the starter works great. There's still just a touch of gear noise, but you can tell it's engaging and disengaging as it should.
All in all, rather successful I think. Best of all, I didn't leave any puddles in the parking lot. I got the right hand cover sealed up well.
Once again, thanks to the guidance of this exceptional online community.
I don't think that has occurred to anybody before. Lessening the spring tension to address that problem.My conclusion was, the spring on the detent arm I had fitted was too strong. I ordered a correct spring from YamBits and fitted it. Now neutral is easy to find with engine running, or not.
Yes, it is easier when rolling, but it's tougher in all conditions compared to what it was. With proper cable and worm adjustment it wasn't a problem at all previously.Is neutral easier to find when you are just rolling to a stop? Just thinking about it, that’s what I usually do and it always seems to work OK - certainly easier than searching around while stationary.
Quite possible, and I'm going to redo this adjustment today. But I'm intrigued by 2M's research that shows (please correct me if wrong) a strong correlation between the force required to shift and the elusiveness of neutral. I look forward to getting back in there in a leisurely fashion to address the finer details such as suggested by 2M and 'Dude. Smooth, easy, 'flickable' shifting. Maybe on this clutch, maybe on the donor motor to be rebuilt, I'll be going down this path again soon.Could your difficulty finding neutral be just some fine tuning your clutch adjustment?
That's the method I typically use, but I was giving this one a shot based on another member's experience. I'm going to redo this adjustment today as well, I liked the reassurance of hearing the clearances close and oil start to circulate.IMHO as I think you are wondering a bit of noise for a few seconds til the chain picks up some oil seems like the sweet spot on cam chain adjustment. I really prefer the adjust at idle til rod just stops moving then back off a "bit". 2 flats (1/3 turn) is a recommendation from WER or RG can never remember which.....
...a strong correlation between the force required to shift and the elusiveness of neutral...
I don't think that has occurred to anybody before. Lessening the spring tension to address that problem.
My 'sperimentin' shows that 26mm is my sweet spot. I had stretched it to 27mm, but it added so much extra drag as to interfere with shifting.
I'm sure I can handle this one.Daniel, think you could do the "weighted wheel preload" test?
It could give us an idea of where the problem lies.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/yamaha-xs650-experimental-clutch.47498/page-2#post-477449