SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB500/550

Which clutch? advice appreciated

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matthewmosse:
my 500/4 did most of it's 180,000 miles without doing anything to the cluch internally, as far as I recall it came with a set of ebc heavy duty cluch plates ready to fit, and these are still in the back of a draw in my shed. At that milage that would be inpressive on a solo machine, mine was / is a sidecar outfit from about 20,000 miles and I genrally had it loaded up with passengers or luggage or on several occasions I carried complete bikes broken down to parts in it.

singleoverheadbraincell:
I took the clutch apart and indeed on closer inspection with the vernier guage the plates are around 2.60mm which is supposed to be their 'as new' size....I have 44k showing on the clock - barely 'run-in' judging by the mileage 'mathewmosse' and 'oddjob' have clocked up. So it seems these little suckers just don't like to wear down very much.

My clutch was quite heavy though - I have removed the cable and oiled it up so that it's now sliding very smoothly........it wasn't that bad before, actually. I'll be interested to observe how the clutch 'action' at the handle has changed and if it has improved. Thanks for the contributions and I'll update the post when I get the whole thing back together with fresh oil etc.

Bryanj:
If it's a genuine Honda cable "Oiling" is the worst thing you can do as the outer is nylon lined and the inner coated with a rubber type substance and the oil swells them up and makes them tighter

singleoverheadbraincell:
Oddjob.....thanks for your advice but I'm a bit confused with your suggestion. I have a 1977 550K. I don't see any grease nipple at the adjuster - is the 500 radically different to the 550 in this regard? surely not? Am I understanding you correctly? anyway, all the mechanisms work fine and the pushrod is in good condition with no 'mushrooming'.

With regard to the cable - I don't know if it's a genuine Honda or not, I suppose it might be printed on the outer cable. It's been lightly oiled anyway using an old syringe (I don't take heroin btw, my poor old mutt gets injected with insulin every day for his diabetes).

Off now to spend another glorious day tinkering in the garage

mickwinf:
the clutch operating mechanism is different on the 550, it is all on the clutch side casing on the r/h side. Adjustment is made with the screw and locknut, with the cable adjustment backed off, then take up the slack with the cable adjuster. Make sure the cable has a good run without any sharp turns, i found on my K3 it made a big difference re-routing the cable.Apparently Honda changed the clutch on the 550 due to problems with the 500, but i have never had problems.

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