Clutch cable needs adjustment

Hey Anon,
First, make sure the clutch is adjusted correctly..This video is a basic tutorial.. use it for a guide BUT DO the steps as I TELL YOU..
1. Loose the cable adjuster at the handle bar.. run the adjuster in - (give it as much slack as you can)
2. The clutch actuator lever on the engine case should be able to move about 8mm (.325") before it starts to disengage (gets hard to move)..
3. Adjust the cable at the bottom adjustment to take up any slack at this point.. ..you MIGHT/should be able to feel some (NOT FULL TENSION) clutch disengagement in the handle bar (clutch) lever at this point.. IF YOU CAN'T - tighten the cable at the bottom adjustment ONE round at a time until you can feel (a small amount) tension and have at least/about 12mm (.48") max. of play in the lever (BETWEEN THE LEVER AND THE MOUNT when YOU START TO FEEL TENSION... - NOW - in the clutch lever (handle bar).. when you can feel tension in the lever... >> you should start adjusting the lever to have (at least) approximately 1/8" - (3mm) of play (gap) between the lever and mount.. when you have this set correctly, the clutch adjustment question is eliminated. If the adjustment has not helped and you had to do A LOT of adjusting. you need to replace the clutch cable.. and do this adjustment process again. NOW adjustment is NOT part of your problem. If this fixes your problem GREAT!!
.. If not.. now.. we have to move internally..The next issue will be grooves worn into the arms of the clutch basket be the fiber clutch plate ears..(see picture) (the ones that keep the plates stationary when you shift to help disengage the clutch). Also check the actuator arm (see picture below) for wear..


. How to Adjust Clutch



Ok.. if you have gotten this far and everything seems good, reinstall AFTER YOU HAVE METICULOUSLY CLEANED THE BASKET!! The clutch should be working now.
Congrats!! If you need professional port work contact me..
Suzuki RM80 250 89 95

Year make model?? I'm suspecting a manual transmission. Most hard shifts/hard to get in gear are due to a clutch problem. Suspect a worn clutch/defective slave cylinder/defective master cylinder/ improperly adjusted clutch cable just to name a few

Will the bike shift down to first gear with the engine OFF? If not, check to see if the shifter linkage is binding somewhere. This is very rare indeed. Even if the clutch is dragging, they will usually shift into gear with the bike stopped but if it will shift with the engine off but not with the engine running, you may need to adjust the clutch. To do this, find the cable adjuster in the middle of the clutch cable. Slide the rubber boot up or down exposing the adjuster. Loosen the lock nut and turn the adjuster inwards and get good deal of slack in the cable. Then, stand the bike as straight up and you can safely. Remove the derby cover. You'll see the clutch adjuster screw and lock nut right in the middle of the clutch assembly. Loosen the lock nut. Turn the center screw inwards until you feel a resistance. You may have back it off and turn it back in several times to get the feel of what you're doing. DO NOT FORCE THE SCREW. Once you have turned it inwards until you feel the resistance, back the screw back out 1/2 turn. Hold the screw in position and tighten the lock nut. Replace the derby cover. Go back to the cable adjuster and turn the adjuster barrel back out until you have about an 1/8 inch of freeplay in the cable.

Good luck
Steve

You could still have a bind in the shifting linkage or the clutch could be dragging. Take the ballcrank loose at the transmission end of the shift linkage. Check to see that the shift lever moves freely. If not, find out why and repair it.

To adjust the clutch, find the rubber bellows cover that protects the clutch cable adjuster. Slide the cover up or down to access the adjuster. Loosen the lock nut and turn the cable adjuster inwards to get as much slack as you can in the cable.

Then, stand the bike straight up and remove the derby cover. Check the oil level in the primary. It should be no higher than the lower edge of the outer clutch basket. Loosen the lock nut in the center of the clutch assembly. Turn the clutch adjuster screw inwards until you feel a resistance. DO NOT FORCE THE SCREW OR YOU'LL DAMAGE THE INNER CLUTCH HUB. Turn the screw out and back in until you feel the resistance several times or until you are sure of what you're doing. Once you feel the resistance, turn the screw back out 1/2 turn. Tighten the lock nut and put the derby cover back on.

Go back to the cable adjuster and turn the adjuster barrel outwards until you have about an 1/8" freeplay. Work the clutch lever a few times and recheck the freeplay. Lock the lock nut and replace the rubber boot.

I hope this helps.

Good Luck
Steve

I'd adjust the clutch. With the engine off, put the transmission in first gear. Pull the clutch in and hold it. Try to start the engine. If the bike pulls forward, you need to adjust the clutch.

Find the rubber boot that covers the cable adjuster on the clutch cable and move it up or down. Loosen the lock nut and turn the adjuster inwards getting as much slack in the cable as possible.

Then, take the derby cover off the primary. You'll see an adjuster screw in the middle of the clutch assembly. Loosen the lock nut and turn the adjuster inwards until you feel a resistance. DO NOT FORCE THE SCREW OR YOU'LL DAMAGE YOUR INNER CLUTCH HUB. Turn the screw in until you feel a resistance. Then, back it back out 1/2 turn and tighten the lock nut. Replace the derby cover.

Go back to the cable adjuster and turn the adjuster barrel out until you have about 1/8 inch of freeplay in the cable. Tighten the lock nut and replace the rubber boot.

Good Luck
Steve

Look on the right side of your bike. Find the clutch cable and follow it until it goes into the transmission. This is the clutch release cover. It should have a plug in it that takes a 3/8" Allen wrench or Hex key to remove. Check the level with the bike standing straight up. Keep the oil level between the two lines. Your bike came with H-D Syn3 20W50 oil. It takes 20-24 ounces of oil.

You may need to adjust your clutch to solve the hard shifting problem. Follow the clutch cable until you find the cable adjuster. Loosen the locknut and turn the adjuster inwards to get as much slack as you can.

Remove the derby cover. In the middle of the clutch assembly, there is an adjuster. Loosen the locknut and turn the adjuster inwards until you feel a resistance. Back the screw back out and turn it in again until you get the feel of it. You don't want to force the screw or you'll be disengaging the clutch. Go in just until you feel the resistance and then back off 1/2 turn. Lock the locknut down.

Adjust the cable adjuster back out until you have about 1/8" freeplay at the clutch hand lever. Lock the locknut, replace the adjuster cover, and the derby cover.

Good Luck
Steve

You may need to adjust your clutch as it sounds like it's not releasing all the way. The way to test this is to put the transmission in low gear, pull the clutch lever in, and start the engine. If the bike tries to move forward, the clutch is not releasing all the way.

Follow the clutch cable down until you find the bellows type cover that protects the cable adjuster. Loosen the lock nut and turn the adjuster all the way in.

Now, take the derby cover off and you'll see a screw with a locknut on it. Loosen the locknut. Turn the screw inwards until you feel a resistance. Do not force the screw, simply turn it inwards until you feel the resistance. Then, back it off 1/2 turn and lock the lock nut down. Reinstall the derby cover.

Go back to the cable and adjust the cable adjuster outwards until you have about 1/8" freeplay at the lever. See if that helps,

Ride Safe.
Steve

Unfortunately the plastic stock adjuster doesn’t allow for precisely adjusting the clutch cable.
You can purchase an aftermarket adjuster that mounts on the fire wall that enables you to adjust the clutch cable to any position you choose. It also eliminates the rubber grommet on the clutch cable that gives the cable a firmer feel, which improves shifting dramatically.
Steeda, UPR, BBK & Ford Racing all offer one.
Another improvement is to change the plastic adjustable quadrant to an aluminum quadrant eliminating any deflection during hard shifting.

Hope this helps.

A slight grinding noise is common when sitting idling with the clutch out and then trying to put the transmission is first gear, especially when the transmission is cold. You can try holding the clutch in for a short while and then try putting it into gear to see if that stops it. I'm not sure adjusting the clutch is going to help much. It's a matter of stuff spinning and other stuff not spinning in the transmission.

If you want to adjust the clutch, find the "bellows" type cover that covers the adjuster in the middle of the cable. Work this cover up or down and uncover the cable adjuster. Break the lock nut loose and adjust the adjuster inward making the cable shorter. Adjust it all the way in.

Remove the derby cover. You may want to stand the bike up fairly straight up to do this to make sure you don't have any oil running out of the primary. With the derby cover off, you'll see the clutch pressure plate. In the middle of the plate, you'll see a screw with a lock nut on it. Make sure the bike is in neutral. Break the locknut loose. The engine may try to turn a bit when you try to break the nut loose. Turn the screw inward until you feel a resistance. I usually do this then back the screw back out a bit and then back in several times to make sure I'm at the point of resistance, no further. You don't want to start releasing the clutch with the screw. Once you've turned the screw inward until you feel the resistance, back it back out 1/2 to 1 turn. Lock the lock nut back down and reinstall the derby cover.

Then, adjust the cable adjuster out until you have about an 1/8 inch of free travel at your clutch lever pivot. I usually use a nickel between the clutch lever and the lever stancion.

With bike not running, rock the bike backwards and forwards and shift through all the gears. If it shifts all the way to fifth gear and back down, then the problem is not in the transmission. If you can't shift the transmission into any gear with the bike not running, just rocking it backwards and forwards, then you've got a problem with the transmission or the shift lever mechanism.

If it does shift but you still can't get it into gear something is strange. I've seen a clutch that the plates were locked together from sitting up, but it still would shift into gear. Of course, when it did shift into first gear, the bike would lurch forward and kill the engine. In this case, we had to disassemble the clutch pack and free the plates up. If you've had a new clutch put in the bike, it could simply need an adjustment. But, usually a new clutch will have a tendency to wear in and start to slip rather than drag. When a clutch causes the bike to lurch when put into gear or become difficult to find neutral with the engine running, it's dragging. I'd check the entire clutch adjustment to start with.

Slide the rubber boot on the clutch cable up, break the lock nut loose and turn the adjuster to make the cable as short as possible. Take the derby cover off the primary to gain access to the clutch release adjuster bolt. Break the large locknut loose, adjust the center bolt inward until you feel resistance. Back the screw back out and back in until you feel resistance again several times. You want to just take the slack out of the adjustment, not start to open the clutch up. Once you've turned the bolt in and feel the resistance, back the bolt back out 1/2 to 1 complete turn. Hold the bolt in this position and lock the lock nut again. Now, adjust the clutch cable back out until you get a freeplay of about an 1/8 inch at the lever. The clutch should be adjusted well enough to release at this point. If it doesn't, the clutch plates are probably stuck.

If the clutch plates are stuck, rock the bike back and forth and shift the bike into fourth or fifth gear. Now, while holding the clutch lever in, push the bike backwards and forwards far enough to "bump" the clutch. This may break the bond between the plates and free it up. If not, you'll have to disassemble the clutch in order to free it up. Good Luck.