This further post is just to address the content in your previous ones:

1) the battery/ decomp controller: Just want to point out that the entire decomp system and relay have been removed from this bike.

2) I am using the stock release cam.

3) regarding your most recent video -- thank you this is very helpful in illustrating and I do, at this early point in diagnostic, belive we are already coming to the crux of the issue. I think travel due to wear between the shaft and cam is preventing the clutch from fully engaging at rest, or preventing the clutch from fully disengaging when the lever is pulled in, due to wear between the ID of the  cam and the shaft.

I know that harder springs with the stock cam can cause the cam to fall apart due to it's sintered construction. I'm wondering if, in my case, the cam has not failed so catastrophically, but instead is wearing away against the actuating shaft due to the same added stress of the stronger barnett springs... thoughts?

Finally regarding parts:

I have a new pack, springs, thrust washers, pressure plate coming in sometime this upcoming week. Additionally I was able to get a new stock cam/arm assembly (the entire thing) for very cheap from a shop around the corner that actually happened to be sitting on them for quite a while. completely unused.

EDIT: hopefully the hub and basket are not on need of replacing as well. Last time I was in there they were okay, we'll see.

Nice job on the photos Philly.  I'm glad the vids are helping a bit.  

Freeplay at the perch looks just right.

Your release arm on the clutch cover looks perfect......but.......as you have aptly noted it doesn't seem right.  That mark will prove beneficial, protect it.

"and, shockingly, here i the lever with the wrench removed at the bottom of it's free travel. mind you, it will not drop down to this position loosely -- a gentle push puts in in this position where it stays -- I believe this to be wear between the cam and the actuating shaft."

Your comment about having to gently push the release arm down tells me that the return spring is not acting on the assembly.  That could be due to a missing, broken, or detached spring, but I personally think it's because the release cam is on the hard stop.  Once the cam is on the hard stop, any further rotation in the release shaft is a result of a loose fit between the cam and the shaft.  You have concluded the same thing.

I'm not sure that you understand the significance of this condition.  If the cam is on the hard stop, and the pushrod is hard against the cam, it prevents any further movement toward the right.  The release plate, release bearing, and pressure disk can't move to the right.  The springs are pushing on the assembly, but the cam will not allow any further movement toward the right because the cam is on the hard stop in the clutch cover.  If the pressure disk can't move toward the right, it can't pinch the clutch plates.

Can you recall if your spring looked like this?  Was it engaged with the release cam?

DBM,

the last time it was open, I didn't bothe to check the condition of the spring or the cam other than cursory glance. It hadn't occurred to me the potential for wear between the cam and the shaft as even a possibility.  Of course this will be the first thing I take a look at after parts come in and the cover comes back off

Although you no longer have a decompression controller, I still advise that you disconnect your battery when working on your hotrod.  It's simply the best practice.  Fingers are hard to replace; fires are hard to extinguish.

I think you are right about the stiffer springs accelerating wear on the shaft.  My personal observation is that the cams don't wear, only the shaft seems to wear.  The stiffer springs will aggravate the condition.  

In addition, I think that as the flats on the shaft shaft wear, the force applied to the cam increases.  Have you ever rounded out a socket head screw (allen screw).  At first, the wrench seems a bit loose, and as you continue to rotate the wrench it wipes out the flats in the socket.  That's because the mechanical advantage goes up as the socket spreads open or the corners of the wrench wear off.  I think the cam behaves in a similar manner.  As the shaft wears, it applies more spreading force across the flats in the cam, since the cam is not ductile, it fractures rather than rounding out.

DBM,

Let me first say that your videos are very well made despite your apparent limited experience with this (wouldn't have noticed, they are well-edited and the audio is great.) I would sincerely encourage you to generate more content (if you don't already) via YouTube because your knowledge not just with this bike but generally, in terms of resourcefulness, fabrication, etc. is tremendously useful to us young aspiring gearheads.

Back to the issue at hand:

Great suggestion with fabricating shims from feeler gauges -- this is very clever and I do have some junk gauges to cannibalize for this purpose, however -- Am I correct in assuming that the brand-new, out-of-the-box cam lobe and actuating shaft should have exactly zero loss of motion? would this be an anticipated modification should loss of motion start to present itself again in the future?

additionally, let me further summarise this group diagnostic for the sake of clarity, please correct any of the following if written in error:

1. Based on the pictures provided today, you have apprehensively concluded that, because the arm is able to be manipulated by hand, that the cam is on the hard stop build into the cover.

2. The Cam is on the hard stop because the entire clutch assembly is pushing to the right much more than is desireable in a mechanically sound savage, due to the pressure plate wear.

3. Because the Cam is resting on the hard stop along with the pressure plate wear, the disks cannot fully engage because there is no move movement by which to move further to the right. a shorter pushrod could temporarily allievate this, however there is only so far to the right the entire assembly can move before you start running into externalities -- such as the bolt heads hitting the shaft, which is what I experienced earlier.

All of this being said -- here is what I do not yet understand and where I feel this journey is continuing towards.

Months ago, when I posted that first pressure plate which was totally worn away, what I did immediately afterward was to replace that pressure plate, AND put a brand new barnett kit (disks, steels, and springs) in the bike. It was a relatively very short period of time until the pressure plate was totally worn away again and the disks were totally wapred/ glazed. (here is a picture I should have posted weeks ago of all of the plates/disks).

We know there is loss of motion between the shaft and the cam, as evidenced by the pictures today showing the position of the arm.  

Does this loss of motion directly correlate to me wearing down these clutch packs/pressure plates so quickly and if so, how?

My working theory is that loss of motion between the cam and the shaft causes the rotation of that shaft in relation to the force acted upon the cam to be totally out of wack, and because of this the cam is not rotating to the degree it should due to the loss of motion -- with the cam not fully rotation the plates cannot fully disengage, and because of this start to wear -- simultaneously as the entire pack moves to the right due to this aggressive wear, the cam is forced onto the hard stop with no free play, causing the pack to not be fully clinched together when the lever is not pulled.

So basically, the clutch is in a condition of weird contact at all times, making it burn out.

Sorry I'm losing steam here ... lost my train of thought.

They've been sitting outside for a couple weeks is all

Thanks DBM sounds like we are speaking the same language.

As far as the pushrods go, I have all three genuine Suzuki rods and the middle length rod is in there. The only other rod I've ever used was the shorter one, before the previous pressure plate was replaced.

I did put the longer rod in exactly one time but the clutch was so far from engaging i couldn't even move.

I'll mess with the new cam when I picknit up tomorrow and get an idea of the clearance on the new part.

The rest of the parts should come in this week. Is there anything that would be useful for you to see inside the case? I'm planning on just taking pictures throughout the job.

At this point, I think your plan to take pictures as you disassemble will be sufficient.  I would take shots from several angles each time you remove a part.  Before you remove the release plate, take photos that show how it is situated in relation to the flange on the hub (recessed, flush, protruding, etc.).  Pay attention to how your thrust washers are arranged.  Get shots of the plate stack before you disassemble the pack.  Get pictures of your wave washer assembly before you remove it from the hub.  Get shots of your release cam and release arm and return spring while they are still assembled.  Try to get good detail on the return spring and its orientation.  Get pictures of the bronze bushing in the primary driven gear (basket) and the spacer that it rides on.  Get pictures of the pressure disk that show how much it is worn away.  Get photos of the hub flange so we can see if it is worn.

Get a measurement of the spring post height like I showed in my video.

Measure all the plates (steel & fiber), and measure the plates stacked up without the wave washer.  

Thanks for the YouTube.  That factory fit is pretty sloppy.  I've never had the luxury of a brand-new release shaft.  As previously mentioned, I will try to put together a vid on the shimming.  I think it will be beneficial.