ONE thing after ANOTHER; NOW it's the CLUTCH

[scootertramp]

 :-/ VISION TORTURE ? ? ? OH BOY I bought this two wheeler to GET back and forth to work.. I took a week getting it to run spent about three hundrerd and fifty smackes and two pounds of HAIR thgat I pulled out when the CLUTCH FAILED to work PROPERLY and NOW the CAT at yammie ha,ha.. says it will cost about A half million(not really) MORE to fix THAT if they do it?,I have just bought an 82 vision and it runs well enough right now(after a week of fixin) yet NOW my clutch is GONE BYE BYE... I have looked into buying parts to fix it yet the PRICES are ASTRONOMICAL and I am NOT sure what EXACTLY is WORN out.. I am NO wrench although I have a BOOK and SOME knowledge of what MIGHT be wrong..I can do simple stuff(i got it running) my QUESTION is this.. can a cat like me FIX this OR should I take it to YAMAHA? ?I see ALL the PARTS in my book... I DON'T really KNOW, but I feel it is something simple that has GONE SOUTH.. so if that rod is NOT BENT(is a BENT ROD COMMON?) and the SPRINGS are okay(is that LIKELY) does that leave JUST the friction plates or WHAT? ? what PARTS most COMMONLY WEAR the SOONEST and if the CLUTCH will work ONE day and NOT the NEXT(won't totally DISENGAGE with clutch LEVER pulled in) could this be ONLY the FRICTION plates and CAN I ADJUST the MECHINISIM to get a FEW more miles out of it or SHOULD I just TAKE the PLUNGE? thanks for your time ... scootertramp... arellspencer@yahoo.com

[RonG]

off the top of my head, I would tell you to relax a bit, get out the manual and make sure the clutch is adjusted correctly.
It's been my experience that the clutch on these bikes
are pretty tough and you would have to really abuse it
to wear it out.

Typically when a clutch is worn out the engine will slip.
What your describing is more like a misadjusted clutch.

check the cable out thoroughly, if it is stretched or frayed
at either end it may be getting ready to break.

-Ron

[scootertramp]

:'( OKAY thanks RON for the feedback.. I checked and RESET BOTH the lever & the MECHINISM BACK to FACTORY SPECs.. ( used screw and aligned it with mark on crankcase and tightened lock nut.. still ENGAGES with the CLUTCH LEVER pulled in.. I tried to CHEAT the mechinism both ways to see if that helped but nadda? so I am still in the same BOAT thanks though I will check the CLUTCH CABLE NOW and let you know ?.. CHECKED and RECHECKED cable is NEW and in GOOD WORKING order.. infact there aint a WHOLE lot more wrong with this scoot..(famous LAST words) I really APPRECIATE the HELP.. I am sooo glad I have you good people on my side and with your CONTINUED help and support I will SOON be in the wind ... scootertramp 8) P.S. cool bike still even if it is a MONEY PIT...

[scootertramp]

 I am TOO SCARED to tear into it.. while it is running like a top I am takin' it to the DEALERSHIP today.. I have about figgered out it is a BEARING that has worn out(MAYBE)..  I am gonna get 'em to DESLUDGE the crankcase while they are in it..  The friction plates are'nt slippin' so it must be a worn push rod or throw out bearing right? could the springs be weak? what COMMONLY goes first  in the clutch with normal  riding...

[Lucky]

ok, i DON'T reccomend doing it this way, but here is how i did mine... by accedint.

long time ago, when i knew nothing about this bike, i plugged up the oveflow hose because it was leaking after a ride.  the next day i came out and started it up. you should have seen the look of panic on my face as streams of fuel came flying out the exhaust!!!.  I shut it right down. due to my ignorance i found a leaking petcock and float needles allowed the crankcase, cylinders, exhaust, etc to fill with gas overnight. (i had just filled the tank)

I was extreemly lucky that the bike didn't grenade right there! also that it didn't hydro-lock, etc, bearings and all seem to be ok too (a few thousand miles later the bike still runs great.)

a good side effect to this was that before this happened, i couldn't read the oil level in the sight glass, afterwards, it was crystal clear.  later case removal for stators, etc, the guts are still whistle clean.  (yes i changed the oil & filter right away.)

 anyway, you can buy a product called "GM crancase cleaner" it's a motor flush i've used before that works really well. i've mentioned it here before.
--Lucky

[sdinino]

Greetings, Mr. Tramp,

Just my $.02, but it seems to me that the most common wear items in the clutch would be the cable and the plates. Your problem is the opposite of worn plates - it remains engaged instead of slipping.

You also seem to indicate that this problem happend nearly overnight - one day it worked, the next it didn't. Is this correct?

Have you had any close encounters with a curb on the left side lately? Just wondering if you might have bent the lever that the cable attaches to underneath.

You might also check to see if the little ball bearing that the push rod rides against is still there. If it were missing, the rod would be about 1/4" short and you wouldn't get any "bite" from the clutch lever, just as you describe.

Seems unlikely to me that the springs or plates would go over night, and if they did your problem would be slippage.

Hope that helps, let us know how it turns out.

[Stormdancer]

Brother, I sympathise!  This bike can be such a pisser when it's pissy, but... what a great ride when it's running!

After my intense frustration with fuel/spark/plug weirdness, just went on a 160 mile ride today, and it was great!

This clutch thing, though... that's pretty funked up.  If the grip is clean, and the travel is good, I dunno what's up.

I have noticed, with mine, that there's quite a 'kthunk!' dropping it into first from a stop, unless the RPM are very low - basically, the clutch isn't fully disengaging.  However, I'm fast on the shifts, and match RPMs well, so it's never a problem when riding.

Stuff like this is so much easier to diagnose when you're there with your hands and ears and eyes on the problem!

If the cable is clean and not kinked, and nothing's bent, I'd check for things like the linkages loosening up and adding slack to the cable.  I haven't even looked at the Vision's clutch mechanism, but on my old Norton it would occasionally loosen up, and I'd just have to spin the nut snug again.  I got tired of this eventually, and bunged up the thread slightly with a vicegrip, so it wouldn't loosen up so easily.  

Good luck, and good riding!

[Humber]

Hi stormdancer.

I think that that's the case on most bikes. My fellows' XJ600, VFR750 and VS750 won't go into First on high rpm's, unless u press gear lever forcefully. CRANKING NOISE INEVITABLE THEN.

But here in POLAND few people complained that their gearshift hardly moves in any gear or it is problematic to change gears.

What I advised them was to stretch gearshift springs, (clutch removal unavoidable), and after that the movement was SMOOTH.

BYE