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Replaced clutch cable, clutch will no longer disengage

1K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  ooreelaxoo 
#1 ·
Hi all, first post here but have been lurking for a couple months. Just over a month ago I picked up a '13 500R with 9k miles on it. It was bone stock, and had clearly had a couple newbies on it already. The saga goes like this:

I started commuting with it and installed adjustable shorty levers a couple weeks later, when swapping them out I noticed the top of the clutch cable by the adjuster was starting to fray ever so slightly. One thing I noticed with this bike is that the lever pull seemed really soft, way softer of a clutch than any of my other bikes- but functioned fine. I changed the cable with an OEM replacement, lubed it, and was buttoning the bike up a couple days ago when I noticed the lever pull was particularly soft. Wow I thought, this thing will be great in CA traffic with such a light clutch!

Then reality hit, after adjusting the free play top and bottom I could not get it to shift out of N without stalling. I played with it some more, including moving the clutch lifter arm with my fingers (Unusually easy, I'd need vice grips with any of my other bikes) and no dice. So I bump started it and rode in first for 20-30 minutes trying to see if maybe the clutch stuck together because I left the bike with the cable disconnected for 3 days- no dice.

I removed the clutch cover, everything looked fine. I re-seated the lifter arm mechanism and spring and re-installed the cover to see if that was it- nope. When I look into the oil fill opening, the clutch plates don't appear to move at all when I move the lifter arm.

Is there anything else I could be missing before I remove the entire clutch tomorrow? I just can't believe I pulled the bike into the garage running fine, and all of a sudden I have this issue with a simple cable change. Yes, the cable was adjusted correctly and routed as it came from the factory.

Thank you for any suggestions you may have.

Edit- When I bought the bike, the clutch pull was soft- and the retract was a bit lazy feeling, think weak return spring if that gives any clues. No other mechanical issues or things to go on.

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#4 · (Edited)
the clutch cable is actually not adjusted correctly... you probably need to use the lower adjustment more near the clutch arm on the clutch cover to tighten the cable even tighter than you think. it is not pulling the lever arm on the cover plate enough to disengage the clutch. i had the same problem when i replaced my clutch a few months ago. i didn't tighten the cable/slack/pull enough and it was not disengaging the clutch completely even when the hand lever was fully pulled. after i adjusted it so that the lever arm gets pulled even more, i fine tuned the slack on the adjustment up on the handlebar/clutch control lever.
 
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