RD250E clutch issues

[PirateJafa]

Howdy folks,

I have a 1978 Yamaha RD250E, with a hard clutch.

Actually, calling it a "hard" clutch barely does it justice - you can barely pull it right in with your strong hand, it is extremely stiff. And even once the lever is hard against the bar, she is still riding the clutch - you can't even get her into first gear without her stalling.

The clutch cable may or may not be rooted, but it is more likely that the bike has a stronger clutch spring than is normal?

Does anyone have any thoughts, or willing to offer some help? The bike is currently in central Auckland, until the clutch is fixed.

[Ixion]

Ah. They do that. Is why we luvs them :love:

The 350 clutches do drag somewhat. But not that much! Nor are they that heavy. Just usualish

Have you taken the little cover off on the right hand side and adjusted the little thingy so the other thingy on the left hand side is arranged like it should be ? That's quite important.

[Katman]

You'd be amazed at the difference a cleaned and lubed clutch cable makes.

[Ixion]

Oh, yeah. Inspect very carefully the cable. Look for signs of it having been jammed in the steering stops, or bent at a right angle. They can get squished if not run correctly.

[PirateJafa]

Ixion: Ooooh yes. :)

She's a 250E, but with the 350 cylinders and head.

More importantly however, what is the thing and the other thingy and arranged like it should be how?

Katman: Yes, I am aware of that. A new clutch cable is already on the cards, however we doubted that the cable alone would be causing all these symptoms - particularly the way she is still riding the clutch when the clutch lever is fully compressed against the handlebar.

[PirateJafa]

I'll have a look at the cable next time I see her (tomorrow probably, as we left her at Squiggles' place after we WOF'd and rego'd her yesterday), but after I re-routed the cable it looked fine - no kinks or sharp bends in the cable that I could see.

[Ixion]

..
Katman: Yes, I am aware of that. A new clutch cable is already on the cards, however we doubted that the cable alone would be causing all these symptoms - particularly the way she is still riding the clutch when the clutch lever is fully compressed against the handlebar.

Yeah, that happens if the thingy isn't done right.

I'll see if I can find the wozzaname and post it

EDIT Was it always like that or did it go bad suddenly. If it went bad it's not likely to be the thingy

[PirateJafa]

No, it has always been like this.

I need to fix her though - constantly semi-engaged clutches are bad for stopping a bike, and extremely hard clutches are also very bad for someone with a shattered elbow.

I'll have a quick hunt through my manual and see if there are some thingys, other thingys, some wozzanames and any doohickeys in the index.

[Ixion]

Oh, y' already got the manual. Just look at the bit about adjusting the clutch. Not the noob bit about adjusting it at the handlebar, the other bit about the thingy.

Its on P22 and 23 of my manual. I'll try to add it as an attachment

[Ixion]

It would also be well worthwhile pulling out the whole left hand thingy, and giving it a good coat of greasy grease. It's just a shaft, you undo a screw and wiggle a bit. Only hard bit is getting the spring back on, just make sure you have a spare set of eyes on hand, y' bound to lose one at least.

[PirateJafa]

Slightly confused by those attachments, they have some detail which my manual doesn't have (Haynes Owners Workshop Manual). I can't quite tell from that how you adjust with down on the clutch end? Is it by tightening/loosening the attachment onto the centre of the clutch?

[Ixion]

Yes. You adjust the thingy in the middle of the clutch until the other thingy on the other side is at the specified angle. But I don't think you have to take all those bits off if your model has the port hole thingy in the middle of the cover.

[PirateJafa]

Shouldn't the left-hand thingy (clutch assembly?) be sussed by the transmission oil? Or does the RD have a dry clutch (I vaguely recall hearing this from someone)?

[Ixion]

Nope. Not dry clutch. Absolutely bog normal

The left hand thingy has an oil seal to stop oil leakage. But it runs in a tunnel and doesn't get much lubrication. A good grease with greasy grease is always good. Just watch that spring.

[kiwi cowboy]

Nope. Not dry clutch. Absolutely bog normal

The left hand thingy has an oil seal to stop oil leakage. But it runs in a tunnel and doesn't get much lubrication. A good grease with greasy grease is always good. Just watch that spring.

Im right up with whotsits.whodacky's and thingy's in bikes but whot's this greasy grease you speek of:devil2:

[F5 Dave]

On my PV which has a similar clutch arrangement I put in stiffer springs. The pull became unbearable despite the new cable etc.

I lengthened the lever in 2nd diagram by about 1cm. Helped a heap. Any fool with a mig at the local garage could do it.

But start with decent cable first. Buy a cable luber as well.

[rok-the-boat]

Lube the cable before you try anything else. Spray WD40 in and leave overnight. Then make a funnel with tape or card and tape it to the cable, support it upright, fill with light oil, and leave overnight. Or, buy a cable oiler. I bet that is it.

PS I had an RD250 in 1979 and an RD400 in 1982.

[PirateJafa]

Well today we took the side off, adjusted the clutch (now it no longer rides the clutch whilst the lever is pressed against the bar, and is a good bit easier to pull), sprayed the inside of the clutch mechanism with WD40, and lubed the cable with a petrol/engine oil mixture. Resulted in a far more useable clutch, so that can definitely be counted a success.

Thanks must go to Ixion - I had never fiddled with a clutch before, so I didn't really know what the parts were, or how to adjust them to achieve the desired result.

On the bright side, now I know what the little cover, the little thingy and the other thingy is. Most useful to know for next time!

[FJRider]

Next weeks lesson is about who-dakk'ys and watcha-macallit's...