Howdy,
So my husband bought me a bobbed out ‘02 Savage that sat for several years. Before he gave it to me he let someone ride it who immediately threw it into a curb. I love this bike, but it has been one repair after another. I’ll get it running 100%, then something else will act up. I’ve managed to solve all the problems, until now.
First it wouldn’t shift into neutral with the engine on. It would jump right to gear, but I’d throw out the kickstand to kill the engine, and I could then put it in neutral. Then after a few rides, it wouldn’t shift up at all. It also wouldn’t completely disengage, and would still move forward in neutral. I noticed my clutch cable was frayed down to one wire. I thought that was my problem so I went to repair it with an emergency repair cable for the weekend trip I was on. But then realized the end of the release arm was pushed all the way down below the two lines on the crank case. The arm wouldn’t move up at all. I took the crank case off and the arm assembly worked like it was supposed to. I took the release plate off and inspected it. I go to put the case back on for more testing, and it will barely go on because there’s no clearance between the pushrod and the release cam. I’ve tightened the spring bolts to 10 foot lbs, but the release plate seems to be extended out so much farther than what I see in photos and videos. I’m guessing my next move is to take the clutch basket apart and inspect everything. I’m thinking about testing it with a shorter pushrod, but what would cause the release plate to be extended out enough for me to need a shorter pushrod? That’s why I feel like I need to inspect the plates and maybe the pressure plate… etc. This all happened a couple months after I changed the oil so I don’t suspect that’s the issue.
This is my first bike and I wouldn’t be surprised if I was too hard on the clutch when I was learning. I also don’t downshift with my speed which I’m guessing may be a problem. There wasn’t any kind of metal shavings though. Or discoloration that I could see.

Also… the bike is shifting up and down fine now on the lift. I haven’t ridden it since the clutch stopped fully disengaging because I also have no front brake. But that’s a whole other issue. I’m just about ready for something that wants to be ridden as much as I want to ride.

Can you post a picture of your release plate?  Like this.

Can you check the number of plates in your clutch.  You should have 6 fiber plates and 5 steel plates.  Sometimes, folks try to fix a slipping lutch by adding extra plates.  That eats up all the release travel.  Make sure you don't have an extra steel plate in there, or an extra fiber plate.  Notice that the outermost fiber plate is different.  It is a bit thicker than other fiber plates.  Is your outer fiber plate a bit thicker?  Can you post a picture like this one?

You really can't pay for better help than you find on this forum!  You guys are awesome!

TheSneeze wrote on 10/26/21 at 13:43:56:


I agree with you so much, and say the same thing in my head every day.  Amazing wealth of knowledge here and willingness to share it.

Is the hub nut tight?  This seems like an unlikely source of your problem but hey, ya never know.

This is what happens when a release cam breaks.  All that stuff will go through the primary drive.

Hey Ohiomoto, what symptoms did you have when the nut was loose?

Ooooooops!  Forgot on thing.  Make sure that someone hasn't installed a steel plate out against the Hub.  The special outer fiber plate (pc 9) runs against the aluminum flange on the hub.  Inserting a steel plate between the hub and the outer fiber will eat up all the travel.  You don't want this.