[mktsc]

Now that my electrical woes have been solved, I am able to ride the bike. When I bought it, the clutch engaged at the end of the lever's travel, and would have a harsh engagement from a stop when the bike was warmed up.

I went through the clutch adjustment procedure, and wen't for a ride. I warmed the bike up properly, and did about 5 minutes of slow 25mph roads. Once I got out on the open road, I let 'er rip. I went about 50mph for no longer than 1.5-2 minutes. I slowed down for a turn, and heard a screeching sound, then the bike died. I was able to get it started back up and get it back home. The willingness to idle seems to be corrolated to adjustment of the clutch, as I sat and tried to go through the procedure 3-4 more times.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but the procedure seems to only address teh 14mm lock nut, and 12mm adjuster. If you pull back the sheath, there's also a 10mm hex. I'm not sure if I need to do something with this...

Anyways, you guys were really helpful in diagnosing my electrical problems, so I figured I'd ask about the clutch. I read the newbie FAQ, and did a search, but didn't find anything.

Thanks in advance,

-MK

 

[tbpmusic]

I slowed down for a turn, and heard a screeching sound, then the bike died.
-MK

Just to make sure - you did check the oil first, right??

 

[mktsc]

Yes, after I put the alternator cover back on, I added oil and checked. Oil level is right on.

The first time I adjusted the clutch a week ago, it did this once (that was before I screwed the timing up).

-MK

 

[66Sprint]

Turn the adjusters on the cable (both ends) until you have a good bit of slack in the cable.. (turn both ends into their boss...it will "shorten" the amount of exposed threads...As in any "nut on a bolt situation", you have to spin the "nut" towards the "head" of the bolt to be able to spin the "bolt" part shorter)
Loosen locknut and back adjuster in cover until NO pressure is felt....adjust in until you JUST feel pressure, then loosen a 1/4 turn and lock it down..... Adjust lower end of cable (threaded part with 10mm hex head) back out (longer) to take up MOST of the slack (lever should pull so 1/8" of open shows between lever and perch before you feel pull on clutch cable)... Minor preferential variances can then be adjusted using the lever end cable adjuster and its lock ring on the perch......

 

[66Sprint]

Did you get the clutch adjusted?.... Remember, the assembly (cable/adjusters/lever/ case adjusters) must actually be slightly "slack" when the clutch is engaged....There should be just enough "tension" on the cable to keep the lever from flopping loose (you just feel the return spring on the "worm"....not enough tension to actually be "pushing" the case-side adjuster/worm in at all)... Otherwise, you can adjust it so "tight" that when you pull on the hand lever, you are actually causing the pressure plate to expand out too far and "rub" the inside of the right-side case and do damage inside the engine.... This generally gives the "Godzilla-Grip" when pulling the lever feeling......

 

[mktsc]

Maybe I have the adjuster on the side of the case to tight. I might've mis-interpreted "slight resistance".

I'll try to get it adjusted tomorrow. Thanks for the instructions though, they're much more descriptive than the manuals...

-MK

 

[mktsc]

Thanks, I seemed to have gotten it adjusted okay. I went for a short ride, and everything seems great! I go on a longer ride, and get stranded! It's good to have neighbors with pickups...

Thought I was just out of gas at first, but then I couldn't get the bike re-started. My compression is good (~150 on both cylinders). Maybe I'm just hypersensitive, but something didn't sound right with the engine, so I'm going to do a valve tappet adjustment and cam chain tension adjustment next. It seems to clatter more than usual. Oil level is dead nuts on.

I can't win with this thing!

 

[66Sprint]

Just because it's full of oil doesn't mean it's GETTING oiled...... Did you clean the pump pick-up and the centrifugal filter?
As far as the inability to re-start, is the battery good?..... Some defective ones will take a "surface charge" which will get you going, but won't last long..... Did you replace the battery after you fixed the electrical problems?... These bikes won't run without a good, charged-up battery..... They tend to run on "one lung" and the engine WILL sound peculiar and feel sluggish..... (Is the right side plug fouled/foul first?.... Steve

 

[mktsc]

Both plugs appear to be in good condition, with no abnormalities. The battery was replaced after I had all the electrical problems, and just came off the tender. It still had enough juice to turn the electric starter. It seems like when I let it cool down, it would restart and run with the throttle open for a short period of time. I only did this once, as I didn't know wether it was overheating, and I didn't want to cause any catastrophic damage.

I heard something about a gas cap vent causing symptoms like this.

I haven't cleaned the oil filter or pump pickup yet because I'm still trying to get an oil drainplug before I drain and replace the oil, although I'll be sure to do those things.

I'm going to start with the tappet and cam-chain adjustments, inspect and clean my petcock, and if that doesn't fix it, remove/clean/sync the carbs as well. These are the only things I can think of left that would cause a no-start.

-MK

 

[mktsc]

Took my tank off yesterday, drained and ispected the gas, disassembled the petcock, replaced the fuel lines with clear ones and installed in-line filters. While I had the tank off, I adjusted my valve tappet clearances (which were WAY off), and adjusted my cam-chain tensioner.

Got everything back together, start bike and it's only running on one cylinder...

Pull the tank back off, and notice a black wire with yellow stripe is disconnected. I re-connect it and try again. Still no spark on L cylinder. So my next step is to check the resistences of the coils to determine if they're bad or not, then start chasing wires. It did run pretty good on that one cylinder though, LOL!

Sheesh.

-MK

edit: could adjusting my cam-chain tension have thrown off the timing? What's the best way to rule out coils?

 

[66Sprint]

Yes, adjusting the cam chain CAN alter the EXACT timing, but NO....Not enough that a cylinder that was running would quit completely....If one side is failing to fire (all of a sudden) there is usually something else wrong.... Broken connection, bad ground, or similar...... On a 360 the Black/yellow-stripe wire is the power feed to the headlight hi-lo switch from the fuse box... Has nothing to do with the ignition circuit... Steve

 

[mktsc]

Looks like I'm going to be chasing wires around then. Thanks for the insight, and I'll let you know what happens.

What's the best way to test coils/condensers?

-MK