roversrov Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Hi, I bought a well cared for 1991 XJ900F a couple of months ago and I was very pleased with it but found the clutch very heavy and tiring to use, the cable looked original and felt stiff so I decided to replace it as a matter of course; the start of my problems! Finding neutral became tricky and acting on advice from the seller decided to clean the clutch plates, they looked OK flat with no warping and within manufacturers tolerances for thickness. On re-assembly engaging 1st gear stalled the engine with excessive drag. I replaced the clutch friction and plain plates with new just in case there was a problem I had not spotted but the same thing again excessive clutch drag stalling the engine. So I am getting worse and worse despite replacing clutch components with new items. The problem seems to be oil on the plates, are they meant to be oily?? there is an oil deflector plate in the bottom of the casing which seems to have been a design afterthought as is sits loose in the bottom held in only by a lug. The clutch basket looks OK with very little wear and no loose or wobbly bits. So I now have a bike where I pull the clutch in to engage a gear and the engine stalls with drag which seems to be because the plates are oily, but the clutch is in a casing where oil is present anyway so what have I done to make it worse than when I got it? Any thoughts on the problem would be appreciated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhat250 Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Welcome Rover"s , You shouda posted this in the workshop section, as this is newbee intro section, and will be over looked by the masses" ,,, As for the clutch ,, its a wet multi plate clutch ,, so oil sumerged it will be, wen you looked at basket, were theer grooves [ lines ] on the fingers, these grooves catch plates, and cause drag, file them smooth, or check adjustment, is it hydraulic ,or cable,? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator mervin Posted August 13, 2011 Moderator Share Posted August 13, 2011 Have you checked the adjustment is right, 10/15 mm play at the lever.does it have a adjuster at the bottom end?? check cable route has it got any sharp bends and make sure you have the correct cable , i got a speedo cable for my Z650 recently in spite of being marked Z650 on the bag there was no way it will fit Merv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roversrov Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 Welcome Rover"s , You shouda posted this in the workshop section, as this is newbee intro section, and will be over looked by the masses" ,,, As for the clutch ,, its a wet multi plate clutch ,, so oil sumerged it will be, wen you looked at basket, were theer grooves [ lines ] on the fingers, these grooves catch plates, and cause drag, file them smooth, or check adjustment, is it hydraulic ,or cable,? Hi, thanks for the advice, I may redo this question in the correct section. I did mention it was a cable, when I replaced that is when things started to go wrong. I checked for grooves in the basket fingers and there are very slight rub marks, not enough to cause drag I would have thought but I had better smooth them off. When I put brand new plates in and before filling with oil I checked the operation through the filler plug and noticed that the plates separated cleanly and individually when operated but when filled with oil they stick together in one clump so not surprising they drag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roversrov Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 Have you checked the adjustment is right, 10/15 mm play at the lever.does it have a adjuster at the bottom end?? check cable route has it got any sharp bends and make sure you have the correct cable , i got a speedo cable for my Z650 recently in spite of being marked Z650 on the bag there was no way it will fit Merv The cable came from an eBay seller and looks exactly like the original, freeplay at the lever checks out, the adjuster is at rhe bottom end and the routing I tried I tried to keep it as smooth as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJ12SP Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Did you soak the new clutch plates in oil before fitting ? As its a wet clutch it relys on the clutch plates being oiled (Wet), when re-assembling a wet clutch its always best to soak the plates for at least a few hours preferable over night. Also oil types have a critical bearing on the operation of wet clutches. Are you running the appropriate oil for your M/C. Dry plates will cause clutch drag as they are not realeasing proprtly, If my bike is left to stand for any length of time I will get initial clutch drag. Start the engine aqnd warm up Pull the clutch in several times with out engaging a gear this might help. Adam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roversrov Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 Did you soak the new clutch plates in oil before fitting ? As its a wet clutch it relys on the clutch plates being oiled (Wet), when re-assembling a wet clutch its always best to soak the plates for at least a few hours preferable over night. Also oil types have a critical bearing on the operation of wet clutches. Are you running the appropriate oil for your M/C. Dry plates will cause clutch drag as they are not realeasing proprtly, If my bike is left to stand for any length of time I will get initial clutch drag. Start the engine aqnd warm up Pull the clutch in several times with out engaging a gear this might help. Adam. It mentioned on the box about soaking the plates in oil but then I thought that the installed plates had been soaking for 20 years and were giving trouble anyway so I just liberally coated the new plates and left them to stand for a few hours. Now I know for sure the clutch is designed to be wet plate I will have to do that and soak them properly. As I said in an earlier reply I checked the operation dry viewing through the filler hole and the plates separated individually and equally which is the way you would think a clutch should operate, but when I put oil in they separate at one plate only leaving the others to fight their way through sticky oil. With the engine stationary and a gear engaged you can appreciate how difficult this is by trying to turn the back wheel by hand, it is almost impossible. I am using a good quality (but by no means the most expensive) 10-40 semi-synthetic oil. The bike was fine when I got it with just the clutch operation on the heavy side which prompted me to put a new cable in.... downhill thereafer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhat250 Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Been thinkn rover" when you replaced preasure plate,, did you check if there was an alinement mark, [ dot or slash on plate, and dot on cluch basket,] some models have these.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roversrov Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 I have the Haynes manual so I took note of the alignment marks mentioned in the book: the pressure plate looks symetrical so I am not sure why I have to do that. I am beginning to think that I have to use the very best grade of oil possible to help cure this drag problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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