Clutch adjustment

[liquidsmile]

I am a little confused on the clutch cable adjustment. I recently installed Thunderbike Bars on my bike and getting the cluthc cable right is nagging in the back of my mind.

I know you need 2mm of free play at the handle. Which is seriously a pain to measure, I mean 2MM, that is a really small amount. However, I am curious about this part, do they mean 2mm before it starts pulling the actuator arm, or 2mm before it actually engages the clutch.



I might just have to take a ride over to a local Triumph Dealer and see what they are set at from the factory. Or if one of you here could take a look at how your freeplay works it would be great. When you pull the clutch in, does the handle move 2mm before the arm moves?

Thanks

LS

 

[warp9.9]

LS the free play is 2 -3 mm .07874" - .1181" this freplay is sopposed to before it contacts the lifter piece not when the lifter shaft moves to give you an idea you can reach down on the lifter shaft with your hand grab the arm attached to it and accuate the clutch with your hand ( standard clutch not the lock up as the springs are much more tense) and feel the shaft contact the lifter piece so between no contact and contact is where 2-3 mm free play is being used its like adjusting a car clutch so the throw out bearing is not spinning all the time. (dead mans clutch)
In the R3T area under tranny problems Flipp offered this info.
Qote from Flip
"Here's the skinny. Set the freeplay at the lever end to 1-2mm (a tad and then some). With the engine running and the bike in neutral, pull in the clutch (you'll hear a slightly different sound with the clutch pulled all the way) (provided you have stock motorboat pipes like I do). Let it all the way out and note the 'sound'. It will be slightly different. Pull the clutch back until the sound changes. If it don't change anywhere in the lever travel, it don't have any freeplay and it's gonna eat the lifter shaft. That sound change is the lifter shaft releasing all tension on the lifter piece. The 'start' on the bellcrank (on the front of the clutch housing) has to be right before you can set the freeplay at the handgrip."


Only difference is the manual says 2-3 mm I to have typed 1-2mm before.




the real key is you do not want the two pieces (the lifter shaft and, the lifter piece) contacting and rubbing all the time this induces heat and wear and you will get good at fixing it. It also keeps you from over rotating the lifter shaft and making contact under pressure on the out edge of the lifter shaft forks. with minimal contact premature wear can also occur. there is a lot of clutch head travel more then is needed and useing to much clutch travel can lead to wear also. If you are contantly having to adjust your clutch free play IMO you are over rotated the lifter shaft.
Also keep in mind when you accuate the arm on the lifter shaft by hand you can take it to far without knowing do to lever advantage. there is a dot on the lifter shaft watch it as you should not need to rotate it more then 25 to 30 degrees once it contacts the lifter piece. I keep mine so when I pull the clutch lever the bike just misses trying to move. After all we are not trying to put massive clearance between the clutch plates just enough to relax torque loads on the gears so we can shift and just enough that it does not try to move the bike when we pull it in.
Oh I have found not all dealers have the clutch adjusted right either it depends on how good the tech is that puts the bike together out of the shipping crate.
hope this helps
Warp!

 

[Sidecar Flip]

...as the Captain from North of Detroit found out. The dealer set the freeplay too tight and he cooked the lifter shaft. The dealer replaced it but it didn't have to happen at all.

It's not the best designed clutch actuation out there but as long as the fitted components have freeplay (as in relaxed position) all is well. It's when there isn't any freeplay, it gets ugly.

Again, because of the design and because it's a relatively heavy clutch (spring wise) to transmit the torque, it's really not advisable to have the clutch disengaged (with the bike in gear) and rev the engine. If you want to do that, for whatever reason, the bike should be in neutral and the clutch lever released, in other words...hand off the clutch lever.

If you hold the clutch disengaged in gear and race the engine, it puts a tremendous strain on the lifter shaft and lifter piece not to mention the clutch basket...for no reason.

I know I said before that I put my bike in neutral at a traffic light and put it back in gear when the light changes and someone said that MSF frowns on that. Well, I grew up on 60's Brit bikes and that was SOP or the clutch ball welded itself to the release rod and you didn't go anywhere and the actuation mechanism on the R3 is similar. Not the same, but similar in action plus the clutch is 10 times heavier. My thought is 'better safe than poor'.

I was fiddling with mine again on Saturday. You can feel the difference between freeplay and all is tight but not disengaged in the seat of your pants, so long as you are attentive to what it feels like. There is a definite difference being loose and being tight and it's transmitted to your butt.

 

[liquidsmile]

Thanks guys, great explanations here.