where is my clutch???

[KIWI KDX]

hey all, i just put new cables on my KDX, and now i have lost my clutch!!!!!
the pull feels fine but as soon as i put it in gear she slams in and stalls, i have tried to adjust the new cable but even when fully adjusted it still drags........
i had the basket apart a while back and all the fibers are still good!

any ideas?????

 

[Tom68]

Have you changed anything else at the same time? Such as type of gear oil, were you using it long before the change, such as parking it in the hot months and using it for the first time in the middle of winter. In saying all that I usually find any problems I get directly relate to something I've touched.

 

[KIWI KDX]

no thats the wierd thing, it gets pulled out of the shed in the weekends and used, everything always work fine, all i have done is put new cables on it....
im woundering if maby the shop gave me the wrong cable???

 

[Tom68]

Guess you could lay it up against the old one, or just disconnect the ends and measure the stickout. I put a new actuator arm and seal in mine, whilst cleaning the top needle bearing some of the needles fell in I was lucky to get em back up with a magnet.

 

[Tom68]

Nice shots of your bike was that a crack repair on the top tube?

 

[KIWI KDX]

not sure what u mean by top tube?

 

[Tom68]

the rh side frame tube that has the rubber around it where the tank sits, it looked like it may have been welded between the tube from the shock mount and the tube from the front down tube, if that makes sense.

 

[KIWI KDX]

oh yeah there was a blob of weld there, but not by me, i did check the frame over between and sand blasting and powder coating, had to weld up the foot pegs, raditor mounts, and the pice that holds the suspension link to the engine and frame(they were bad).

ANYWAY THE CLUTCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

man do i feel like a dick!
after holding my clutch fibers for the second time, and still finding nothing wrong, it hit me!

when i tried my new clutch cable for the first time, i kicked her into life and threw her straight into gear...........

the relevance of this u ask?

being an old 2 stroke i run a synthetic 4 stroke engine oil in the g/box.
now when ever i go for a ride i warm my bike up for a
good 5-10 mins before i move it..

after 5-10 mins of running ,that thick 4 stroke oil is now a bit thinner and the clutch can seperate easilly....


so if i had warmed my bike up like normal, i would have found no problem at all!

problem solved.

and yes, i do expect to cop some abuse for this!

 

[Tom68]

Stuff like that happens to all us human's, glad you're rolling.

 

[SVandal]

Another thing is Kawi sells these nice spacers that you put underneath the clutch center push rod (the thing the clutch lever moves to disengage the clutch). I had to add one just to get my clutch to unstick enough when warm that I could start burning it a little. Now I can start my bike rolling a little before putting it in gear and it behaves wonderfully after a little time on the trail.

But it sounds like you got it figured.

 

[KIWI KDX]

thats interesting, i did think of throwing a small ball bearing in the end hat for the pushrod to get a little more distance in there.

 

[SVandal]

When I first replaced the plates I couldn't slip the clutch even with the motor running and in gear. Just didn't have enough travel to do it.