Is my clutch on the fritz?

[iranana]

Hello all, I'm trying to sort out my clutch on my RD250E, and it's still not feeling right after adjusting it as per my manual. My manual says to loosen the locking nut and turn the screw in till you can feel it just meeting the push rod, then turn it out half a turn and adjust the lever side to give it a bit of slack. My clutch doesn't engage till the lever is about halfway out, and then when it does start to engage, there's only about 1cm between being partially engaged and fully engaged. As you can imagine, this makes hill starting very tricky and I feel like an idiot when doing so. If I give it a good blast of throttle on a steep hill as I'm letting the clutch out, it'll slip and it screeches. Now, thing is, it doesn't slip on the flat even when blasting it full throttle into high RPM. I don't know if it's acceptable to just turn the screw in some more so it makes contact sooner or whether my clutch is just dying and I need to replace the friction plates. I wouldn't be surprised if my clutch is on the fritz, it's done 47,000 km and judging by the condition of the bike when I bought it, whoever rode it in the 80s certainly rode it hard... Any ideas or suggestions?

[G4L4XY]

Come across your post and seeing as how I have no experience and yet noone else has offered advice maybe have a mechanic look at it. Could be due for a new clutch. As you said you've tried adjusting it yourself to no avail

[Akzle]

clutch slip generally indicates a worn clutch.

or. some knob put the wrong oil in it. are you that knob?

pull the basket out, check the plates and shit, measure the springs and shit, and if it looks like it's not too fucked, chuck it back in.
and shit.

[iranana]

Nah it's running the right oil, Motul Transoil I believe. I'll pull the clutch this weekend and have a look then, or see if I can cheat and not take it apart. It seems strange to me that it won't slip at high rpm on a flat. But then again, high rpm on a hill is more strenuous. I've also got an oil leak coming from my push rod seal (got a new one coming in the mail). I wonder if that might have anything to do with this?

[Akzle]

Nah it's running the right oil, Motul Transoil I believe. I'll pull the clutch this weekend and have a look then, or see if I can cheat and not take it apart. It seems strange to me that it won't slip at high rpm on a flat. But then again, high rpm on a hill is more strenuous. I've also got an oil leak coming from my push rod seal (got a new one coming in the mail). I wonder if that might have anything to do with this?

short answer is no, to both.

Pulling the clutch is a 10 minute job.

[iranana]

Aye, I'll just pull the clutch and take a look. Won't know till I do I guess. Judging by the fact is was missing the gaskets for the ignition cover, clutch adjustment cover and oil pump cover, my guess it's also missing a gasket on the clutch plate side too. I also happen to have that gasket, so I should pull it anyway so I can chuck that in there while I'm at it. Need to rejet the carbs as well. Looks like another weekend of bike tinkering And another week of riding my near-death Suzuki

[Akzle]

Need to rejet the carbs as well. Looks like another weekend of bike tinkering

its what we're here for
whats wrong with the carbs?
-.^

[iranana]

I don't actually know what sizes the jets are, so I'm pulling em apart and taking it back to stock and then tuning it from there. Based on the fact that my air screw has to be set at two turns out for proper idle, I'm thinking the jetting is out. It kind of runs fine as it is, but it'll probably run a whole lot better afterwards, and I'd prefer to know exactly what's going on in there. Don't want to kill my fresh top end...I also noticed that one of the needles is a little bent, and a needle costs almost as much as a whole rebuild kit that includes the needle, jets and gaskets, so I thought why not. My oil pump might also be out of tune, I think it's running a bit rich, and I also have to check my ignition timing. I figure I'll look at the clutch once I get the engine running properly. Two stroke tuning eh?

[fridayflash]

cool bike, worth fettling to get it sorted..id def pull the clutch out for a looksie..separate all the bits
and have a cleanup n re-assemble, see if you can get a clutch kit for it theses days..or even an extra
worn plate to trow in and take up the slack.
why do the crabs need rejetting? has the airbox or pipe been modded/changed?

[Akzle]

I don't actually know what sizes the jets are, so I'm pulling em apart and taking it back to stock and then tuning it from there. Based on the fact that my air screw has to be set at two turns out for proper idle, I'm thinking the jetting is out. It kind of runs fine as it is, but it'll probably run a whole lot better afterwards, and I'd prefer to know exactly what's going on in there. Don't want to kill my fresh top end...I also noticed that one of the needles is a little bent, and a needle costs almost as much as a whole rebuild kit that includes the needle, jets and gaskets, so I thought why not. My oil pump might also be out of tune, I think it's running a bit rich, and I also have to check my ignition timing. I figure I'll look at the clutch once I get the engine running properly. Two stroke tuning eh?

damn good clean is a good start.
Unsure how your timing is, cdi? Points? Eithr way, fuckall you can do.
Im guessing you hav a split throttle cable. Usually theres a mark on the slide (carb), lock the throttle there and set to the marks on the pump.
More is better than less, fouled plugs are cheaper than heads.

[F5 Dave]

E will be CDI.

Don't know what has gotten into Akzle, I'd almost warrant that as helpful advice.


Start from the start, its an old bike & has been no doubt sitting for an age. Yam plates get pretty bite-y if left to sit. Cables can get knotchy & grabby so don't let out evenly sometimes. I'd pull the cable & oil it feeling how it operates unhindered. Pull the plates & clean them up rubbing them on the smoothest concrete you can find & then cleaning them off. Check basket for grooves on the basket.

A good carb clean, new plugs & replace that woebegotten airfilter before you adjust anything much. (try find another needle on internet with same number) look for airleaks (sometimes weeping oil) around reedblocks, inlet rubbers, behind flywheel & monitor gear oil for level dropping.

Clean out the mufflers, search internet for how to.

Yeehah.

[Akzle]

haha! Blowtorch decarbonisation!

Op gets points because he didnt start a 'what bike' thread...

Dont be a fucking bogan. Rough the plates with a flat file, not fkn concrete.

[F5 Dave]

Nah smooth smooth concrete is super effective at deglazing without removing heaps, try it some time.

[iranana]

When I bought the bike it hadn't been on the road since 1988 (weird, that's before I was born). The last owner was apparently a bit of a monkey - when I pulled the heads I found mismatching pistons (one with a cracked skirt, the other one with so much clearance it would actually rattle inside the bore). Since that, I'm the third owner, the two people before me partially restored pieces - polished up the chrome, replaced screws and bolts, put new decals on it (very very badly, I might add) but I can't be sure that one of them tried to rejet it with a busted top end.

So when I bought it, I rebuilt the top end, replaced the air filter, replaced all the rubber bits, rebuilt the gauge cluster, replaced the swing arm bushings, painted shit, decarbed the baffles, replaced gaskets and cleaned up that bloody mess of wires in the headlight etc etc. Tuning it is new ground for me though, and I'm constantly scared I'll accidentally blow it up!

What makes me doubt the jet sizes in the carbs is the fact that it has Boyesen Reeds in it, and my guess is that the last person who rode it might have fucked with the jetting trying to tune it up. Considering they had mismatching pistons in the engine, I don't have much faith in the parts I haven't fixed myself! I should have really just rebuilt the carbs when I had the top end off, but ah well. I'll check over the cable, pull the clutch and try breathing new life into it before I go buying a new set of plates, good to know that scuffing them up might help a bit. I'll report back once I've open her up and figure out what's going on in there Despite my doubts about how it runs, it goes like a bat out of hell when it hits the power band.

[F5 Dave]

Ok so you've got half a clue & done some good work, good thing the bike ended up in your hands then. Post some Pics if it is presentable.

Carbs could easily have blocked airjets but very likely pilot jets. That's a long time to sit around & fester, you may look at ultrasonic cleaning if they are really foul.

Std is a good place to start, but Boysens usually require erm I think it is down a size in pilots. . .or is it up one? But start std & see


Hmm you said 2 turns out on airscrews so it is too rich supporting theory 1. But make sure you fix things like bent needles & whatnot as you don't want to tune it then fix something else & have it now too lean.

PS if the boysens are too curled and yellow they may be junk. They won't sit 100% flat, but just keep it in mind.