Again we're not talking about rod wear we're talking about CLUTCH WEAR

Two very very seperate issues

I think we can all agree that the clutch arm moves upwards as the clutch pack wears  (Note from the future -- you might jest be wrong here    hee hee    that's cable & rod wear ) .  Just look at your adjustments that you have been making for a while as your clutch wears, excess lever slop develops, thumb screw moves out & gets relocked, lock nut adjustment at the bottom moves the shaft up (nuts move down towards the end of the shaft) both of which adjustments have the lever arm moving upwards over time and clutch pack wear.

Admittedly, cable stretch and pushrod wear are items that muddy up this water, but they can't obscure everything now can they?

Everyone will eventually answer these questions themselves as they do it over time.   And as the different length push rods go in then that question will get answered as well.

The fog will lift eventually as the sun comes out and warms the air.  
It is the way of things.

Justin, it doesn't.   Clutches that slip need to be taken apart and cleaned (or replaced if you are a big bucks person).   Shimming the springs or replacing them can also be part of a slipping clutch repair.

People are also thinking the clutch needs to be replaced when they run out of adjustment travel -- this is not so.   A new push rod can fix that.

My clutch doesn't slip, it has simply worn over time.  I am on my third rod now.

Rich's clutch is slipping when his oil is cold, maybe perhaps due to the weight of oil he uses, maybe because his springs are shot.   He is gonna replace his springs and post us a techie on doing that that makes everything clear (which I don't think we have a detailed clutch spring replacement post in Tech Section).    Heck, I can remember when you shimmed your clutch springs way back when, right?

Right now he isn't sure which way the lever arm moves as the clutch wear takes place, but that will all straighten out over time.

Ok. Here we go. I took pictures just to clear up how clutch wear effects the linkage and what to do in order to fix it. It's always been obvious to me but sometimes some need pictures to understand everything completely.

Here's a link to the diagram. I tried to copy it and post an actual picture but it wouldn't let me.  Maybe someone can post a picture of the actual diagram if they can. Thanks.  

http://www.cheapcycleparts.com/model_years/4006-suzuki-1987-LS650F/assemblies...


First of all I'll explain how this clutch works. You have the clutch lever and cable which pulls the release lever up pushing the clutch rod, the clutch push piece (#20 on the diagram), Plate release and bearing(#14,21), pressure disk (#13) all inward while compressing the springs which disengages the clutch. As you let off the clutch.. the springs take over and the pressure disk and all of the parts mentioned above move out to engage the clutch.

Now here is where the controversy comes in. Some have said on here that as your clutch pack wears the lever moves up. Well this is totally wrong. As your clutch pack wears the pack gets shorter moving the pressure disk and all the components mentioned above outward. In turn moving the release lever downward.

As your clutch pack wears the pressure disk slowly gets closer to the case. Thus making a shorter distance between the release lever assembly and the pressure disk.  And the release lever moves down.

Now lets not get clutch wear and rod wear mixed up. The clutch rod is not designed to wear much. But it's possible that it can. If you see that the release arm is getting higher from where it was normally. There's a good chance that maybe you have something going on in there that is just wearing the rod itself. A shorter rod will, and this has never been disputed, move the release arm up. So if you find that the release arm is above the marks and it used to be within the marks it's more than likely you will only need a new clutch rod and possibly a new bearing and clutch push piece. Something is wrong making it wear the clutch rod itself.

There are three lengths of rods available for the clutch. Not sure which length comes stock with the bike. (Maybe oldfeller will add that)Lets just say for the sake of saying that you put in a performance clutch pack that may be a little thicker than a stock clutch pack. This increases the distance that the pressure disk is from the release lever assembly thus needing a longer clutch rod to make up the difference in thickness. Now as your new performance clutch pack or stock pack wears the distance gets shorter and shorter as the pack wears moving the pressure disk and all of the components mentioned above outward in turn moving the release lever downward. Pretty soon you might find that the release lever has moved down out of the range of the marks and you don't have the proper freeplay at your clutch lever anymore. This is when you need to get a shorter clutch rod and get that darn release lever back up within the marks so that you have the proper freeplay at the lever again.

Here's a picture I took of the release lever WITHOUT 1 FRICTION DISK in the stack to simulate the clutch pack being shorter or worn. Showing the release lever lower.


Here's a picture of the release lever with ALL THE CLUTCH PLATES IN PLACE.  A thicker stack showing the release lever higher.


All in all... as your clutch pack wears your release lever will move down requiring a shorter clutch rod eventually.

Here's the link mentioned above. But it's a REALLY large pic.

So, we have conclusive evidence of the actuator lever position for "new" vs. "worn" disks... lever moves down with wear.

Anyone done the same for the 3 rod lengths?

I wonder how many clutch pushrods it takes to wear all the way through the clutch push piece, and cam release?  Obviously more than two. What number are you on Oldfeller? Three Right? Maybe thats the magic number.  

What would life be like with no humor?