Clutch Adjustments help

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dmf1
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Clutch Adjustments help

#1

Post by dmf1 »

My 58 pan had a sticky clutch that wasn't fully disengaging so I decided to give it a cleaning. Plates were a bit dirty and I took care of those. More importantly, there was a lot of grime caked in and around the slots that the plates slide onto inside the drum and I cleaned all that out as well. I put everything back together and the clutch is definitely not sticking anymore. Though I am having some trouble figuring out exactly how tight to set the screws. I know that 15/16 is what the manual says, and I started there, but then I went a little tighter and a little looser, but Im not really sure what I am looking and listening for in getting it set up right. Do I want it as loose as possible without any slipping? Also, It seems like there is a lot more noise than there was before I cleaned everything. Is that just because there is more room for everything to clank around? Probably. Any guidance that would compliment the manual would be helpful. thanks.
john HD
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Re: Clutch Adjustments help

#2

Post by john HD »

i just adjusted mine yesterday due to some slippage.

according to the book 15/16 is the maximum and 7/8 is the minimum. it says you can tighten the nuts one half turn each until desired operation results. if you get it down to 7/8 it probably will not fully release.

my experience is that you want the spring plate to run a true as possible. however currently mine is wobbling a bit but working fine. and much better after tightening them up one half turn each.

put 100 miles on it in the rain today with no slippage.

john
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Re: Clutch Adjustments help

#3

Post by 51Hog »

I set mine just tight enough that the clutch does not slip when I kick the bike hard.
Then if it slips when I ride it, I tighten in 1/2 turn increments until it doesn't slip.
Dale
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Re: Clutch Adjustments help

#4

Post by Guest »

Thanks for the input. I can't really feel any slipping, even when I had the screws at 15/16 (might even have been 1"). I live on a large hill and I assume I would feel and hear the clutch slipping on the way up if it was -- or is it more subtle than that?

While in neutral, when I pull the clutch handle in and disengage the clutch, the plate shouldn't stop turning entirely correct? It just slows down enough to pop it into first. Is that right?

Also, should I hear the plates spinning against each other when I am at a stop, in gear with the clutch disengaged? The bike does not want to move, but it does sound like thats what I am hearing.
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Re: Clutch Adjustments help

#5

Post by FlatHeadSix »

dmf1,

First; please don't forget to log in before you post. The forum has been receiving a lot of spam lately and the new policy is that anything posted by a "guest" must be approved before everyone else can see it.

Second; All the new noises you are hearing in the clutch is because everything is clean and loose. There is no dirt, old grease, and accumulated build-up to muffle the sounds or take up the slack. If the engine kicked over without slipping, and the bike took off smoothly with no noticeable clutch slippage when you had the nuts run down to the minimum depth then you should be OK, don't tighten it up any more than that. Running the nuts down is to compensate for plate wear, etc., until you reach the maximum depth, then its time for a new set of plates.

mike
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Re: Clutch Adjustments help

#6

Post by john HD »

While in neutral, when I pull the clutch handle in and disengage the clutch, the plate shouldn't stop turning entirely correct? It just slows down enough to pop it into first. Is that right?
it depends, if you have light weight oil in the tranny or a fully warmed up one the hub may not stop spinning entirely. the drag from the grease on the hub ball/roller bearings may keep it spinning.

however, if you have a tranny full of cold heavy oil it will stop spinning as i found yesterday running mine with the cover off. kinda reminded me of the good old days when i ran a open primary!

it sounds like you have yours dialed in pretty good.

you are going to notice the clutch slipping in high gear 40+ mph when you try to get on the throttle.

john
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Re: Clutch Adjustments help

#7

Post by fourthgear »

The noise you are hearing is clutch rattle . If you have the anti rattle steel plates in there , you should not hear it , if the anti rattle devices are in working order . Most including me , have the steel plates that do not have the anti rattle spring and ball in them and mine resonate while disengaged while stoped. People do look at ya kinda funny , like , whats wrong with your motor , but its fine and normal with out the stock type set up . If I have to replace them , I will go back to the stock type plates, that may be a while because my Pan has been sitting since I got the Ultra (my work bike )& working six days a week .
dmf1
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Re: Clutch Adjustments help

#8

Post by dmf1 »

Thanks! This is all very helpful. As I do some of this for the first time I don't mind making mistakes, but I want to make sure that I dont hurt the bike. That metal on metal noise usually sets off my alram bells. The clutch plates are in good shape and they weren't slipping at all, which tells me I can run it on the loose side. I had tightened it up to see if it felt any different and it didn't -- it just got harder to disengage the clutch since the springs were tighter. I'm going to set it back to 15/16ths as that was where I started and it was perfect.
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Re: Clutch Adjustments help

#9

Post by 108 »

I removed the anti-rattle balls from my steel plates years ago (but left the little retainers in place) and it's about the best thing I ever did to it. It made bigger shifting improvement than the Jet retainer did! The steel plates float freely now and seperate better when the clutch is disengaged whereas the spring and ball grip the drum and tend to hold the plates against the discs.. No jerking in first at stop lights, it spins down to a stop in one to two seconds which means no clunk going into first, all the shifts are smoother and quieter. I dampened what little rattle there was by gluing 1/4" closed cell foam sheet inside the outter primary cover and derby. Mine's a belt primary with a foot clutch but it should improve a hand clutch too.
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