ChinaRiders Forums - View Single Post - Help- Bad Clutch ?

Thumper · 04-14-2023, 08:29 AM

The gear position indicator only lights up the presently engaged gear if it has rotated to that position. It is shifting.

Get the rear wheel off the ground. Engine cold, not running. But switched on so you can see the gear position indicator. Then gently shift it (no clutch) by hand while rotating the rear wheel. You should feel the gear shift moving the transmission into each gear, successively. And there should be some resistance to turning the wheel by hand (in fact, it should stop turning completely if in gear and engine not running). You should need to rotate the rear wheel while shifting for the dogs to line up in the transmission while the gears slide sideways on the shafts to engage. You can feel the transmission changing gears. Maybe watch a YouTube video to see what I mean.

If the cable was lengthening due to strand breakage, the clutch would not fully release the pressure plates or not at all -the clutch would drag, not slip more. So shifting into gear with engine running would be loud (crack) and the motorcycle would lurch forward, as if you were not pulling the clutch enough. It would not cause what you are experiencing (slippage).

If your hand shifting clearly puts it in first, and you are still able to turn the rear wheel by hand, the friction plates are not connecting the engine to the final drive. Remove the clutch cable at the clutch arm. If this changes nothing, either your clutch is not squeezing the pressure plates together (bad springs), or they are getting compressed together weakly and you have worn out plates, or they are working but you have a catastrophic fail in gearing. If you have SOME pull, it is probably not catastrophic gearing/tranny breakage. But at that point you have to crack open the case and inspect the clutch basket.

04-14-2023, 08:29 AM	#8
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,276	The gear position indicator only lights up the presently engaged gear if it has rotated to that position. It is shifting. Get the rear wheel off the ground. Engine cold, not running. But switched on so you can see the gear position indicator. Then gently shift it (no clutch) by hand while rotating the rear wheel. You should feel the gear shift moving the transmission into each gear, successively. And there should be some resistance to turning the wheel by hand (in fact, it should stop turning completely if in gear and engine not running). You should need to rotate the rear wheel while shifting for the dogs to line up in the transmission while the gears slide sideways on the shafts to engage. You can feel the transmission changing gears. Maybe watch a YouTube video to see what I mean. If the cable was lengthening due to strand breakage, the clutch would not fully release the pressure plates or not at all -the clutch would drag, not slip more. So shifting into gear with engine running would be loud (crack) and the motorcycle would lurch forward, as if you were not pulling the clutch enough. It would not cause what you are experiencing (slippage). If your hand shifting clearly puts it in first, and you are still able to turn the rear wheel by hand, the friction plates are not connecting the engine to the final drive. Remove the clutch cable at the clutch arm. If this changes nothing, either your clutch is not squeezing the pressure plates together (bad springs), or they are getting compressed together weakly and you have worn out plates, or they are working but you have a catastrophic fail in gearing. If you have SOME pull, it is probably not catastrophic gearing/tranny breakage. But at that point you have to crack open the case and inspect the clutch basket. __________________ -2022 5 speed Templar X Orange, OEM 51T rear sprocket, 14T front sprocket -NOS 2020 KTM 250SX (2-stroke motocross), less than 10 hours on it Last edited by Thumper; 04-14-2023 at 09:41 AM.
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