[purpleonion98]

I need help regarding a clutch issue. When I bought my 05 TW used from someone last year everything worked fine and the bike was well taken care of. I purchased off ebay a "slick wheelie" to transport my bike home so I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of registering a trailer. For anyone not familiar, its a device that holds up the front wheel of the bike from the rear tow bar of your vehicle and the rear wheel of the bike just rolls on the ground with the car (gear in neutral of course). It wasn't till about a few hours from driving that it occured to me I should have taken the chain off before driving...I had a feeling something was gonna go bad and perhaps it would fry my clutch. When I came home I noticed the clutch felt a little different but it was ok. I drove around all summer.

It's been sitting almost a year and I've decided to fire it up. Now it's like I have no clutch at all. I changed the oil, cleaned the oil filter, replaced the spark plug, hoping it was gonna fix itself but to no avail. Here are my issues: Clutch lever is very loose, almost not engaging at all. When I put the bike in first with the clutch lever pulled, the bike wants to take off like there is no clutch. If I'm sitting and I put it in first with the clutch lever pulled and my foot on the brake, the bike slowly stalls. So I tested it a little and shifted without even using the clutch a couple times and it felt the same as if I WAS pulling the clutch lever. Also, with the bike off and in first, I pull the clutch lever and the bike won't move. So, obviously, I have no clutch engagement AT ALL.

Yes, the little tension spring on the cable/motor mount is installed correctly.

I've mostly only read on here about clutch slipping but none that focuses on having NO CLUTCH AT ALL.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I've never replaced a clutch or even adjusted one but I guess we all have to learn somewhere.

 

[Mkfchef]

Have you tried adjusting the cable down near the motor?

 

[rbm]

My guess is you smoked the clutch while towing. I would take the case cover off and inspect before you do anything else.

 

[purpleonion98]

It's weird how it was ok last summer and now it's not. Just from sitting in my garage? Hmmm. I think I'll try adjusting at the motor as MKFchef suggested first and if that doesn't work......Does anyone know where I can find detailed instructions on the plates/pads? Won't I lose all my fresh, new oil?

 

[purpleonion98]

So I tightened the cable at the motor like mkfchef suggested and it works fine now! I'm so relieved and I got soo much done today. The farthest nut is about 3 rungs from the end though. I don't know why I had to do that..... Does this mean the clutch is going bad or something is wearing out?

 

[rbm]

Your cable could be worn or stretched. Have you lubricated it?

 

[purpleonion98]

How do you do that? With what?

 

[Vagabond]

I'd be getting a long hard look at that clutch cable. They don't really do much stretching; it's a steel cable. The first guess would be that the internal cable has frayed- so you could be down to a very few strands. Good news is it's super easy to replace with a new clutch cable.

The method of towing with the rear wheel on the ground would not affect the clutch unless the bike were in gear. Those 'racks' tow with the front wheel high, so all your engine oil would flow to the rear of the case, lubricating transmission parts well. However, since the engine isn't running, there's no oil pump forcing oil to any of the bearings. Best method is (as you mentioned) to remove the chain.

R.

 

[admiral]

I'd be getting a long hard look at that clutch cable. They don't really do much stretching; it's a steel cable. The first guess would be that the internal cable has frayed- so you could be down to a very few strands. Good news is it's super easy to replace with a new clutch cable.


R.

For what it's worth, earlier this year I thought I had a slipping clutch type event going on. Started to research the threads on how to replace the clutch. Couple days later I noticed my clutch cable at the handle was frayed with just a few strands left and wasn't allowing the cable to retract all the way. I replaced the clutch cable and that solved the problem.

 

[purpleonion98]

Thank you very much for the all the info! Sounds pretty easy...