Clutch pull still very hard...

[mattsz]

You're better off leaning the bike right over on something soft, you can then remove the clutch cover without draining the oil.  I've replaced s few clutches this way.

I'll file that away for the future, thanks!  But I'm draining the oil anyway...

[mattsz]

Just drained the oil - what a messy job!  As soon as I loosened the filter cover, oil begins to drain out where the cover joins the engine and runs all down the cover, through the fins... there must be an easier way...

[mattsz]

Ok, so I managed to remove all the screws that secure the clutch cover.  They are were very tight, or corroded in place, or both - even with heat and my new impact driver, all the heads got a bit banged up, and the three big screws on top really didn't want to come - I ruined all three.  One I had to basically destroy with my dremel and a small cutting wheel to get a proper big bit to bite without stripping...

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So now... any tips for removing the cover?  I don't see any convenient prying points, and battering it from various angles with a non-marring mallet while trying to pull it in the general "off" direction yields no movement.  I imagine if I manage to remove it, the gasket will likely be destroyed in the process...

[K2-K6]

Pulling the clutch lever,  if you've still got it hooked up will try to push the cover out 

[mattsz]

Pulling the clutch lever,  if you've still got it hooked up will try to push the cover out 

Well, there's an idea!  I can have it hooked up again in about a minute...

[mattsz]

No luck... 

[K2-K6]

Quite stuck then!

Try tying the clutch lever in against the bars and then tapping the cover gently to see if it'll release from the gasket.

[Bryanj]

You will need a new gasket anyway

[mattsz]

Quite stuck then!

Try tying the clutch lever in against the bars and then tapping the cover gently to see if it'll release from the gasket.

I held the lever with one hand, and tapped away at different angles with the other hand... I may have to resort to splitting the gasket with a sharp edge?

[mike the bike]

Make sure you've removed all the screws and not left one in.  It's the sort of muppetry that I get up to on occasion.

[mattsz]

Make sure you've removed all the screws and not left one in.  It's the sort of muppetry that I get up to on occasion.

Me too... but not this time...

Funny story - which probably won't surprise some of you who have been at this rodeo for awhile:

I went back out to the garage to check... I don't know, something... and found a new pool of oil beneath the engine.  What the... where the heck is that coming from?!?  Turns out, from behind the clutch cover.  I had tied the hand lever in to the grip and walked away from it with pressure being held - after about 20 minutes, the cover popped free on its own while I was the house. 

The gasket basically stayed stuck (thoroughly!) to the engine case; the cover has a few stray gasket bits.  If I can't reuse this one, I suspect it's gonna be a job cleaning the old one off...

Unfortunately, the clutch release bits behind the cover look in perfect condition - clean, well lubricated and rust/oxidation free (they appear to get their lubrication from the oil splashing around the clutch, rather than separate greasing which some of the other old Hondas seem to require).  I say unfortunately, because I was hoping for an obvious cause for the hard stiction-y pull of the lever.  Could be the cable, I know, even though it's "new."

Could it be just from sitting for a few years without running?  With no oil circulating around all the plates and springs, etc?  I suppose I could keep digging and pull the plates, but I don't know what I'd be looking for...

[K2-K6]

Yay, makes it easy now it's popped off.

It's quite possibly the cable as a new genuine one is usually "oh so smooth"  it amazes me when working on bicycles,  just having the gear cable corroded in the last little loop out to the rear mech puts a huge amount of friction into the gear changes and far beyond all reasonable thought considering it's such a skinny little cable.

[Bryanj]

If the cable is non genuine and has been stood for a while it is very possible there is corrosion between inner and outer

[mattsz]

Just drained the oil - what a messy job!  As soon as I loosened the filter cover, oil begins to drain out where the cover joins the engine and runs all down the cover, through the fins... there must be an easier way...

Oil draining results in my Project thread, if anyone's curious...

http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,17461.msg203713.html#msg203713

[mattsz]

If the cable is non genuine and has been stood for a while it is very possible there is corrosion between inner and outer

I've looked through about 20 different sites, including amazon and ebay (US), and cannot find a single vendor who claims to offer, or have in stock, an official Honda clutch cable for my bike.  A few list the '75 and '76 cables (22870-377-000), but not the longer '77 USA cable (22870-377-710).  Anyone have any suggestions?