Hi. After a long (1+ year) layup due to I'll health I've got my 99 back on the road again. The trouble is that the clutch plates don't want to separate when I'm getting ready to start the bike. This is a new problem for me. Even when I get the bike started there's a lot of clutch drag which can even stall the engine unless the tickover is set at about 1200/1400 rpm, but, of course, then it becomes almost impossible to select first gear at standstill. Holding the clutch lever in and kicking over the engine 20 or 30 times doesn't separate the plates, nor does tying the clutch lever against the handlebar (I left it like that for 3 days and still the plates wouldn't separate). I'm using ATF (red stuff) in the primary - does it degrade or affect the clutch plates in some way? Is my only option to strip the clutch and scrub the plates? If so, should I use ATF again?
Thanks
Regards
Tony
old sticky plates
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Thanks Duncan. All of the…
Thanks Duncan. All of the plates were new 2 years ago and the bike has only done 450 miles so I hope I don't have to buy new plates every two years!
Regards
Tony
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Can we assume that you…
Can we assume that you ensured that the clutch basket and centre hub were free of mechanical damage at the time the new plates were fitted and were free of all burrs and snags at points of contact?
You should consider this as you will be opening up the primary cases to find out exactly what the cause is in due course.
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Hi Paul. Thanks for your…
Hi Paul. Thanks for your reply. Yep all was checked and smoothed so I'm pretty sure that's not giving me any trouble.
Regards
Tony
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I found ATF stuck my clutch…
I found ATF stuck my clutch plates together. Even though some recommend it. It must depend on materials used. You could try washing them clean in solvent and just use conventional oil.
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free off a clutch
I put the bike on its center stand ,engage 4 th gear ,hold clutch fully in with cable tie and rock the rear wheel back and forth, alternatively just rock bike back and forth against engine . Works with 3 ton trucks too. If brave start engine roll downhill ,knock into gear and ride off with clutch held in . A few cycles of load/unload will do it. Be prepared to stop and stall if necessary !!.
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Sticky clutch
Only my 1951 ES2 has the same problem since I fitted new clutch friction plates. After starting , I would have to rev the engine while trying to click into first gear.
(The new plates were probably Indian manufacture if I remember correctly).
I don't have a problem with the other machines.
As I didn't want to disturb a non-leaking primary chaincase, I simply break the bond with a cable tie just separating the clutch plates when the bike is not in use. While riding, the cable tie just clips over the horn/dipper switch assembly out of the way.
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Thanks David, Robert and Ian…
Thanks David, Robert and Ian. It's a tricky one - I like ATF (although now it's Castrol QTF in my primary as I couldn't find ATF locally) because I've never had any clutch slip when using it, whereas I did when using 20-50 oil. However, if the ATF (QTF) is going to affect the plates, then maybe I need to reconsider. I've never been confident to have the clutch lever tied against the handlebar for long periods as it puts the cable's inner wire under continuous tension - not sure if that reduces the life of the cable or not. I haven't tried putting the bike into gear and rocking it backwards and forwards - I'll give that a try. Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and open up the primary so I can clean the plates - not a job I'm looking forward to, especially as my primary is virtually leak free (at the moment).
Thanks again for your suggestions.
Regards
Tony
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Constant tension doesn't…
Constant tension doesn't harm steel cables, so shouldn't harm brake wires. Fatigue (changes in tension and bending) causes the damage.
The clutch lift is small compared to the clutch spring permanent compression so I don't see that making any difference either.
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Thanks Jan and David. I'll…
Thanks Jan and David. I'll check the primary case oil level - I hadn't considered the possibility of 'oil pollution' from the gearbox.
Sounds like I was being a bit over-cautious regarding holding back the handlebar clutch lever with a cable tie. I'll give that a go.
Thanks again
Regards
Tony
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Old plates do get so sticky with time, (And warped) and even if you do a good job of cleaning them off, you may well find yourself doing the job again next spring. If you are going to go to all the trouble of stripping the clutch down, then you might as well splash out on a set of new plates (better material) etc. and do the job right. Some folk swear by ATF. I swear by any cheap engine oil for the primary. Or stick a belt drive on instead as I have on some of my bikes.