New Guy With 96 Rm 125 Clutch Problems

[GreyMatter]

Hi Guys,
I am New to the site.I just picked up a 96 RM 125 in a trade yesterday and fired it this morning warmed it up and when I pulled in the clutch and put it into gear it jumped and died,I figured out the clutch wasnt disengaging.I adjusted the cable at the adjuster and at the and lever and no dice,Is there anything else that I can try ? Any Help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chili]

If you can adjust adequate free play into the clutch and it still does it you are likely looking at a couple of common scenarios. If the bike has been sitting for an extended period of time the plates may be sticking and just need to get the oil flowing to start loosening up and moving. The more likely scenario is like most other Suzuki 125's the clutch is the weak point and the previous owner has neglected to maintain it and the basket and inner hub is notched up to the point of needing replacement.

 

[Wolf]

What Chili said...the man knows his yellow :)

 

[GreyMatter]

Wow Ok, So are you saying to try to ride it or just let it sit and Idle ? The Guy I got it from just rebuilt the top end and it has all new gaskets with proof,the oil in the crankcase has 0 hours used,could he have put wrong oil in it as well and what would you recommend for oil in the crankcase ? By the way thank you for taking the time to help me : )

 

[Chili]

I would run it a bit and then try to ride it in a safe open area as you don't know how the clutch will react. If it doesn't improve I'd dump the oil and pull the clutch apart.

We always ran ATF type F in our Zook 125's they always seemed to be a bit less notchy with it. The reality is the type of oil is less important than keeping it fresh with frequent changes. If it was me I'd be running ATF type F or Shell Rotella 15-40 Diesel Oil but any cheap 10-30 or 10-40 will do if it's kept fresh.

 

[GreyMatter]

Thank You For Your Help Chili. I went to my local Suzuki Dealer and Picked up the best thing they had and or recommended which was Maxima 80 wt MTL fluid,wet clutch approved,clutch saver formula.And The Parts manager also printed out the clutch assembly exploded view for me to see what I was looking at.I hope this stuff does the trick because clutch baskets weren't cheap LOL Its Been awhile since Ive Owned a Bike(almost 10 years due to a broken back and nerve damage from riding) and I slowly want to start riding again.I hope this little Zook was the right choice.

 

[Chili]

Did you already buy a basket? If not you can likely find a deal on E-Bay if your not in a time crunch, pretty sure that basket is the same from 1992-2008 so there should be plenty out there.

 

[GreyMatter]

Oh No i didnt buy a basket yet.I wanted to see if there was a simple,inexpensive solution to the bikes issue before I went and bought unneeded Parts.I haven't had a chance to pull the cover off yet.More than likely I will do it tomorrow,I am eager to know what the problem is.Should I pull the plates out of the basket and Inspect them or will a visual be sufficient ?

 

[Chili]

You'll need to pull the plates to be able to assess the basket and hub and it's a good idea to check them against spec anyway.

What you're looking for is whether your basket and hub are notched like this.

 

[GreyMatter]

Ok Thank You Chili,I would have thought that was purposely put there LOL.I am going to play with it later this morning,I am really hoping it isn't grooved and just stuck together due to wrong oil or sitting for too long.

 

[GreyMatter]

Ok Here is what I found and am curious as to if this is what is causing my clutch to NOT dis engage:

 

[Chili]

It will definitely be a large portion of the problem if it isn't all of it.

 

[GreyMatter]

Well Thats Poopy.... So It Looks Like I have to Buy A New Inner Hub ? Or possibly get that other bolt out and reuse the Hub Thats There? Thanks again Chili For Basically walking me through this Ive never had to work on a clutch before

 

[Chili]

That OEM Hub should be less that $60 or so, whenever we did clutches in our 125's we stuck with OEM for the hub and aftermarket for the basket.