Gear change hard

[Colonial-Clive (yindi)]

Hi people's, after total ground up rebuild the bike is ready for mot, the problem I have is it is very hard to change out of first when engine is running the clutch is adjusted as per manual I have put new Barnet plates and springs in and am running the motor in using 15w-40 mineral oil. I am down to replacing the cable as this is near its limit maybe an eighth of an inch adjustment at lever a quarter at clutch, any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks Clive

[Tomb]

If the gear change works Ok when the engine isn't running it sounds like clutch drag. Check for bent plates and clutch mechanism working correctly.

Check for bent plates on decent kitchen work top if you havn't got a surface plate. We use lots of new plates on the drag bike and get lots of new plates that are rubbish.

[Colonial-Clive (yindi)]

That sounds logical as plates are new old stock, but was hoping not to pull apart so will keep that one as last option. Thanks for the input Tomb

[deltarider]

Hi people's, after total ground up rebuild the bike is ready for mot, the problem I have is it is very hard to change out of first when engine is running the clutch is adjusted as per manual I have put new Barnet plates and springs in and am running the motor in using 15w-40 mineral oil. I am down to replacing the cable as this is near its limit maybe an eighth of an inch adjustment at lever a quarter at clutch, any suggestion would be appreciated.

Would you mind to inform us... what bike?

[K2-K6]

Are you riding it and finding it doesn't change easily or just running it with it stationary?

If it's just sitting still with the wheels not going,  then clutch drag will really be felt through the gearbox as a difficulty to move ratios.

If you are moving, then the clutch shouldn't really affect gearbox feel as it'll change easily without even using the clutch. If it's this fault then it could be more to do with something inside the box, possibly tolerance wise.

[Colonial-Clive (yindi)]

Delta rider, K2-K6, It's a cb550 f engine and I am riding very short distance 2/3 hundred yards trying to fetter it before Mot.

[Colonial-Clive (yindi)]

It's got new consumables i.e chains,seals, bearings etc,  And it goes through gears easy without the engine running! Running in on 15 W-40 mineral oil which I've never used before and have read the oil used could cause problems. I'm open to all possibility so over to you nice people.

[Bryanj]

If you are trying to get out of first into neutral with the engine running but bike  at standstill it is common to be not easy, I would run it for 500-1000 mile and see what it is like.

Mineral oil is what you are supposed to use , it is the synthetic that causes problems unless the very expensive wet clutch specific oil is used and as it needs changing every 1500 miles what is the point

[Lynx]

I had this problem with my 400 when first rebuilt. I had to replace the whole lifting mechanism to sort it.

[kevski]

If you have had the clutch out and replaced the plates, have you put it back in the correct order and have you measured the new plates to ensure they are not too thick, the person who recommissioned my 350 had taken the clutch apart and put it back wrong ,and i had the same problem as you, i reassembled it correctly and mine is fine now.

[MrDavo]

If you adjusted according to a Honda manual that may be your problem, with my genuine Honda CB750 user manual something got lost in the translation, and doing it by the book left me with a clutch that was completely up the pictures. They had me turning the adjuster 'counter clockwise', ie screwing it out, until I met a resistance, then backing off 1/4 turn, when they should have been telling me to screw it in!

I didn't think it felt right, but surely the official Honda book can't be wrong?

[deltarider]

Delta rider, K2-K6, It's a cb550 f engine and I am riding very short distance 2/3 hundred yards trying to fetter it before Mot.

Without having read everything said here, CB550F owners should, enginenumber at hand, always check the Parts List because the clutch underwent modification! For instance, have a look at p 17 of http://www.honda4fun.com/pdf_parts_list/pdf_spac550/CB550F2/CB550F2_1.pdf if you will.