Katana clutch problem

[fossie]

It is obviously a fault not allowing the pushrod action to engage fully....so the only 2 things are lever end ...Pedda has a relevant suggestion ..you never know what previous keepers have done .
Failing that the as small Kat suggests the accutaor on the clutch cover needs to be at the correct angle to fully push .
It is possible to get this 180degrees out so to speak. With the clutch action will be smooth and return but won't actually depress the clutch fully .

[Kryten]

Hi.

Some thing else worth looking at would be the clutch actuator. The little rack and pinion that pulls the clutch centre against the springs. When you re-assemble the clutch cover, do you take up all the slack and then set the actuator arm so the cable is operating at a right angle to the arm?
Only suggesting that as you haven’t mentioned it in what you have tried.

Or as Pedda suggested the clutch lever assembly. Hopefully you don’t have one of those blingtastic shorty adjustable folding lever things with an eye searing coloured anodising

[Kryten]

The clutch actuator is a Pull rather than a Push operation.
The clutch centre is pulled against spring pressure by the actuator rod. This has the rack part of the rack and pinion.
The pinion is located in the clutch cover.

Hope this helps

[Mac13]

Hi Blix, Everyone,
Really appreciate you all taking the time to suggest a solution(s). If I was to say I understand it all, it would be a lie!
Last light I was thinking how the feel of the clutch was smooth and how seems that I was not pulling the clutch right in If only the handlebar lever was longer. It may be rubbish, but do I have the correct clutch lever coming out of the engine casing? Longer lever, greater distance move? (Don't laugh I was doing this 3 am) Tried to check the internet. The overall length of the lever on my bike is 65 mm. I will try to work through your suggestion, I may come back to you with stupid questions. Cheers, all.

[Mac13]

Hi Blix,
Thanks for the use of the disc.
I think my bright idea has just crashed, in that someone had fitted a shorter clutch arm. Made sense to me. Can you check, the overall length of my lever is 65mm. There is a little wear, but how much is too much. I have just read through all the replies and to honest if Pedda had written his in German and everyone else do the same it would have been no different to my lack of understanding. Sorry everyone I never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the box!
Cheers all

[Mac13]

Cheers Blix for all your help. Going to give it a rest today and start again tomorrow. My theory about the lever did sound good even if it was a load of bollocks!
Cheers buddy for the disc.

[GSF34058]

I could be way off target here, but here is my suggestion:

Years ago I could not stop the clutch on my bike from slipping. After trying new third party friction plates and springs I eventually traced the problem to knackered wave washers. I see that you have replaced these, but did you get the very thin piece of wire, which is called the stopper ring (part number 21481-45100, item 16 on the parts diagram) located correctly? I had quite a bit of fun getting it properly located down in its groove whilst trying to compress the wave washers at the same time. It occurs to me that if the stopper ring, which looks like a thin piece of piano wire, has come out of its grove it might be giving you the symptoms of clutch drag that you are having.

David

[Pedda]

Hmh, you didn't understand my post...
Well, no wonder me being no native english speaker.

1st: give us a pic of your left handle bar. The idea is: yours might be a replacement giving a transmisssion not accurate.

2nd: take a measurement of thicknesses and lengths of all the relevant parts behind the clutch cover for a reference so we can check on stock parts. The idea: pre owner might have had issues with a slipping clutch and cured that by shaving the actuator pushrod, for example.

New idea: once you installed the clutch and put the cover bach on, did you make sure to turn the actuator shaft in the cover up to zero free play before installing the actuating lever in the position Blix showed in his pic? Also: adjust free play on the handle bar lever to zero.
In case everything fails, you could always preload the clutch one notch at the shaft in the engine cover. Should do in your case.

[Kryten]

So I managed to get an hour in the “Kat Kabin” this afternoon.
‘Tis chaos in there and I must get it organised!

However I did have a look at the Thou motor on the bench. And took some photos.

The Thou motor looking like it needs some TLC

Centre to centre on the clutch arm 50mm. A shorter arm would give more lift on the clutch but would need more effort. A longer arm would give less lift but be lighter.

Inside the clutch cover. The Pinion bit of the Rack and Pinion. This is free to spin, and the first bit of setting up the clutch action is to remove the arm, turn the splined bit that the arm fits onto Anti-Clockwise (Counter Clockwise for Bikeazoid ), looking down from above, to take up any free play before re-fitting the arm as near to 90 degrees to the clutch cable as you can get. Ideally the main effort of the clutch will be with the cable at 90 degrees to the arm.

Hmmm. Is the inside of that clutch cover covered in bits of gasket and crud?

A GSX clutch today!

Rack bit of the Rack and Pinion sticking out of the clutch centre. This is where the free play is that you need to take up when setting the clutch actuator arm.

Behind the clutch centre the Rack bit pulls against a radial needle bearing lifting the clutch centre plate and compressing the springs. And so unloading the clutch pack.

Hmmm. The clutch pack has “Kat 1000” in “Breaker’s Crayon” scrawled on it.

Given that learning never stops. Today I have learned that my poor old 998cc Kat motor has been visited in the past by a “Silverback” armed with percussion tools and a tub of sticky gasket. It may well be that the Donkey goes back to aluminium silver rather than remaining black. Also that (FFS) there are a couple of threads for the clutch cover that need repaired and a missing dowel.

[Smallkat]

Does the pinion shaft run in bushes or bearings? Could slack in these be causing a lack of movement in the release rack?