So i was messing with the adjustment the other day and i think i might have streched the cable? It seems like no matter where i adjust, the clutch is still partially engaged while in gear with the clutch lever held in all the way i started messing with "the big end"by the side cover before any of this happened to see if the adjustment was the cause of another problem. Does any one know why i cant get it right?

Does anybody know why you can't get it right?


No, not really.   You've asked for help numerous times in the past and haven't been successful adjusting your clutch yet.   Just take a second and read through all the things you've done to your bike up to this point.

You read this list from the bottom to the top to get it in correct chronological order.

So i was messing with the adjustment the other day and i think i might have streched the cable? It seems like no matter where i adjust, the clutch is still partially engaged while in gear with the clutch lever held in all the way i started messing with "the big end"by the side cover before any of this happened to see if the adjustment was the cause of another problem. Does any one know why i cant get it right?
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2       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Petcock Paranoia    (petcock war again)
on: 11/07/12 at 02:15:41
It happened to me today! I was on the highway doing over 60 for a good while and at one point it started to sputter, i tried to keep it going but i had to pull to the side, it shut off completely while i held in the clutch coasting to a stop. I wasnt going up a hill and i had at least 3/4 tank so i knew it had to be the petcock based on what i read here.
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3       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 11/06/12 at 04:55:10
That makes me feel alot better.  Smiley
After some more time on the bike and what you said ive realized that its probably shifting fine but i did have to get it into gear real fast to avoid an angry mother coming after me with a broomstick and i almost got clobbered because it wouldnt go in, until i stepped on it like my well being depended on it lol and also the clutch still slips but not nearly as much as when i was using the valvoline motorcycle oil but i didnt expect the oil to cure it completely anyway.
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4       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 11/04/12 at 07:44:06
The parts came in today! The bike's up and running alright, my brother was able to get out the pushrod that was stuck in the wrong place with a flathead and speaker magnet?, so no chop sticks for me  Grin
Turns out i was using the correct size pushrod like i thought, its the middle sized one by the way.
I installed everything together and adjusted the clutch lever again this time i installed the spring with the rocker arm differently so that when you have the clutch cover in your hand and you move the arm there's some resistance.
So i basically didnt do anything different except for how i installed the spring therefore im not totally convinced the problem is solved
The clutch does not slip anymore i switched to Rotella from what i read here and i guess it was the same stuff the previous guy was using however even after i fiddled with the clutch lever adjustment, some times it is hard to go into first gear it goes in but not as smoothly as it should it makes a noise and sometimes you even feel "it" i think ideally it should shift like "butter" into all gears like it does just sometimes, i would place my foot down from neutral and it just goes in so nicely with no effort really but it only goes in like butter sometimes and i know its not supposed to be making a noise when you shift into gears. Im sure this has to do with the problem, the clutch arm is in the correct range by the way.
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5       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 11/03/12 at 02:46:14
So i have the parts on order already, im getting the two larger push rods and hopefully that will solve the problem, im also getting a clutch cover gasket this time for when i remove it again and 3 clutch rocker arms. Wish me luck guys hopefully ill be riding again for a while next week or so.  Cool
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6       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 10/23/12 at 01:11:22
You have the timeline correct, it does not vary as i am riding.
When it was easy to pull it was only run like that for less than a mile so im not sure if it would have went back hard on its own or if its an error on my part.
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7       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 10/22/12 at 04:38:47
Maybe I am overstressing the part by bottoming out the clutch rod. I can also imagine how it fitting loose over the shaft could cause it to break too, is it supposed to wiggle a bit if anyone can recall or is it not supposed to have any play?
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8       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 10/21/12 at 16:18:17
When it was hard to pull in, i dont think it would pop back quickly but it did feel like at times it was just a bit slow pulling in the lever again but that could have been my hand getting tired?
It might help if i mention that the clutch does slip under hard acceleration. and the bike has almost 20k miles on it.
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9       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 10/20/12 at 16:53:31
The lever was hard to pull when i first bought the bike, after i installed the new rocker arm for the first time it worked really easily, but i was forced to pull the side cover yet another time to fix the seal and then thats when it became hard again.
I was looking at the rod and it looked fine, your right it shouldnt change in 200 miles i think maybe it gets harder to pull once the rocker arm creates a crack? because it also get harder to get it into gear sometimes right before it breaks.
It might be from snapping the lever back like verslagen said but i only do that when im riding hard and trying to shift fast and i dont think the way i do it is abusing it in a way that it will break?
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10       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 10/20/12 at 16:47:03
Well i went to measure the push rod and ended up putting it back in the wrong place for not paying attention to what i was doing, any one have any idea how to remove it from the small hole in front of the primary gear (well the gear thats next to the clutch pack) the one where you have to use a nickel to break loose the 30mm nut and then it looks like the shaft for the valve timing chain? Well its stuck in that shaft, I tried using a magnet and what not but just ended up pushing it back til it went no more out of frustration im seriously considering just lodging it in there with a bamboo chop stick or something but i know thats not right. Jeez.. it measured something like 10mm
I know im not the first one but i really need help on how to get it out i tried searching but cant seem to come up with the correct wording.  Undecided
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11       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Re: Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 10/19/12 at 19:49:30
Its part number 23 in this link in figure 14 http://www.suzukisavage.lt/upl/file/manual/PDF07-ls650-parts-list.pdf
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12       General Category / Rubber Side Down! / Clutch cam release (rocker arm) keeps breaking
on: 10/19/12 at 19:48:57
Hey there everyone i am a proud owner of a 2001 suzuki savage, im having some trouble with it. You see, i just replaced the clutch cam release after it broke on me shortly after buying the bike, i didnt even ride the bike for more than 200 miles before it broke again.  Angry

I have checked the arm by the case and it sits between the marks correctly i havent adjusted the cable and it seems to be fine and have the right amount of freeplay (something like 3mm or so by the handle?)

Am i doing something wrong? The first time i replaced the side cover the feel i got from the clutch lever was very nice i could pull it in with just two fingers but i used the wrong gasket maker and leaked oil all over so was forced to pull it again and do it right, the last time i installed the side cover the clutch lever was hard again but i didnt bother to remove it again as i was worried the seal i was making with the gasket maker on the sidecover wouldnt be too great if i did, is there a certain way for the spring to sit in there or something?
The way i see it is something or somethings in the system are not up to mark and its placing a great stress on that part so it continues to break as it is made from some weaker type of metal (so that it breaks first).

Help guys this is a real bummer i just wanna ride!
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Really, at this point in time you need to tell us what town you live in so we can see if we have a skilled list member nearby that can possibly swing by to offer you a bit of hands on help.   Apparently your ability adjust your pushrods, lever and clutch cable to get good proper function isn't going to work for you over the internet.  

You've broken 2 cams and jammed up a pushrod at least once, so you haven't gotten the pushrod/chrome lever relationship right yet (or you wouldn't keep breaking the cams).

If you want to continue just asking questions, let's start out with you taking some pictures of your current chrome lever position compared to the marks on the gear case.    Pictures like these:


Start out with saying where your chrome clutch lever is pointing relative to those case marks .....    use a light rubber band to put a very mild up tension on the lever to take out all the slack in the eccentric system -- top picture is good, bottom picture is bad.  The bottom edge of the chrome lever is what counts when adjusting the pushrods.



http://suzukisavage.com/yabb2.2/Attachments/clutch_001.jpg

Oldfeller,

The chrome lever is in between the two marks on the case for sure.

Trini,   the clutch doesn't work in its normal modes unless the engine is running.

All this stuff you are doing with the engine off is sorta pointless.

Crank the engine up, and in first gear how far do you have to let the clutch out (from all the way in to the grip) before it begins to engage?

It should be about a quarter of the total throw.


Next, when accelerating gently in third gear, how far do you have to pull the clutch in (from all the way out) before slipping starts?

Once again, it should be around a quarter of the total throw.  

You split the difference between these two tests so the results are approximately equal.  Me, my bike, it is a third and a third but each bike varies slightly.

Get back to us when you have this information.

Oldfeller, The clutch does begin to engage about a quarter of the way out and disengages the same way also.

If what im reading here is correct which i dont doubt then the slight lag i feel while in gear with the engine is off is normal.

At 21,000 miles your steel and fiber plates are fine, you just need to clean the energy star crud off of them.

Remember, the Clymers manual lists the fiber plate thicknesses backwards (known error)

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1348364195   is a quick reference

The Table of Contents in Tech Section contains 3 other clutch references including how to clean your plates in some detail.









The Momma bird pushes the baby bird to the edge of the nest ....

"Fly son, your wings are strong enough for you to soar."

....If in doubt, flush it out.,

Get some cheap oil, detergents are good here, as long as there is no Friction Modifier or Energy Star junk in it, dump the oil, leave the filter, its got what you had in it last in it 99.9% most likely,.put some oil in it, ride it 50 miles, dump it, do it again, then, dump it, put a filter in it, put some Rotella 15/40 in it & go torture test it to see if it slips.
Dont Invite it to slip while youre flushing it, that just creates hot spots on clutch disks begging to stick stuff in them,.The temperatures created in tiny spots when you drag a hand across a smooth place & make a squeak are insanely high,. Inside a clutch pack? Under that kind of pressure? Even in an oil bath, its gonna be serious heat.,