Clutch Will NOT disengage

RobBB

RobBB

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Nov 3, 2024
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Hello Access Norton members, and a Happy New Year to everyone!
New mystery: I know I'm staring at the answer, but so far it has eluded me.
Subject is my 1974 850 JPN.
I opened up Chain case before Christmas, replaced the stator/rotor, replaced crank seal, removed clutch plates, cleaned everything, reassembled all, ADJUSTED THE CLUTCH ROD BOLT AND LOCKNUT, added new fluid, buttoned everything up, started her up and :
The clutch when I pull in the lever, won't disengage the plates. (If I'm explaining this correctly). What happens is , I start in neutral, Pull in clutch lever, put it in first gear, and it Clunks into gear and is immediately at Speed! I have adjusted the clutch Pushrod adjuster bolt several times, and always the same result: it's IN gear when I pop it into first with clutch lever fully pulled in.
I've done this service many times on my bike and on my buddy's Norton, and never an issue.
And before I opened the case to do service, the clutch lever and clutch all worked fine!
What am I over-looking?
 
And as a footnote, I can feel adjuster bolt bottom out, so that I know the clutch rod is in there ( I didnt leave it out., haha,) and the cable is connected, because I can see the results of my adjusting on the lever at the thumb adjuster. Hope that helps... I know it's something obvious I'm overlooking...
 
Have you perhaps dislodged the gb end of the cable in its lever? Check through the gb cover plate to see if the lever has dropped down as per Haynes/Workshop manual description/pictures.
 
the weird shaped clutch rod engagement "arm" inside the gearbox that the clutch cable seats in,.... has dropped out of position, so you feel some tension when you pull the clutch lever, but it's no longer pivoting correctly to push the clutch rod far enough to disengage the clutch
 
o0norton0o said:
the weird shaped clutch rod engagement "arm" inside the gearbox that the clutch cable seats in,.... has dropped out of position, so you feel some tension when you pull the clutch lever, but it's no longer pivoting correctly to push the clutch rod far enough to disengage the clutch
Click to expand...
An excellent suggestion.

Very easy to happen.
 
Ei Yi Yi...
I'm doing something wrong... But I'm following my old notes, (found them after I messaged of course), and still no go.
What I do:
I loosen everything, pull the clutch rod out a bit, settle the cable arm on gear box side in place, nestled in, and on a slight upward angle, push in the rod till it just touches, then install the adjuster bolt till it just touches, then back off 3/4 turn [also backed off 1 full turn, no difference], lock it down, the take up slack at the clutch lever up top, kick start her in neutral, pull in clutch, and when I place selector in 1st gear, it 'clunks' in, and is instantly engaged, with wheel turning.
I've gone over this at least 8 complete times, and including placing the Clutch operating lever into slightly different positions, even though my notes and my common sense tell me there is only ONE position, nested in the slot, with a slight up angle.

I'm dumbfounded. I have not had to adjust a clutch cable in several years. But back when I first brought home my Interstate, I was constantly diss assembling and reassembling parts, as I slowly replaced all the worn parts, to just get her back on the road. Everything I do feels familiar, yet it's not working.

The only thing I can think of, though I don't know how it'll help, is to pull the clutch rod completely out and inspect it. Even though it is doing it's job.
When I cleaned the clutch plates, I methodically removed all the plates, and placed them in order on my bench, then washed them in order, and reinstalled them in their order, w no plates left out, none added either.

I pulled out my Haynes manual as you stated to do, and on page 68 is the clutch adjustment, paragraph No. 7. I compared that to my notes made years ago, and it all seems like it should be fine.

Anyway, It may be dinner time where you are, and I hope I am not disturbing you on a Sunday afternoon.

Dazed AND confused...I'm overlooking some tiny detail.
Rob
 
Are you engaging the clutch while the bike is on the centre stand and your rear wheel is off the ground as doing so will make the wheel spin even with the clutch lever pulled in, when the bike is sitting on the ground no motor running when you pull the lever in does the clutch free up when kicking the KS lever and feel where the freed clutch grabs when releasing the lever, but being a old owner of your bike you should know this.
Did the big circlip sit in its slot all the way when putting the clutch plates back in and is your pressure plate still ok.
The ball on the clutch arm might not be sitting right in the GB, seem something is not right after pulling the plates out and putting it back together, not a hard job to go through your steps again.
 
The other common "my clutch plates don't release when I squeeze the clutch" occurs from a "notching" of the splines of the clutch basket. Your outer clutch basket drives half your clutch plates by the tabs that face outward, and the inner clutch hub is driven by the tabs on the inside of the plates in between those plates. If you get notches from your basket being worn by the tabs of the plates, sometimes the notches in the basket capture the plates, so even though you've released the pressure of the diaphram spring by pulling the clutch, the plates don't move apart because of the notches, so the plates stay engaged,.... or at least partially engaged....

Sometimes you can just change the order of the plates to get the tabs on the plate away from the notches, but if your basket is heavily notched, your clutch basket's days are numbered...
 
RobBB said:
Ei Yi Yi...
I'm doing something wrong... But I'm following my old notes, (found them after I messaged of course), and still no go.
What I do:
I loosen everything, pull the clutch rod out a bit, settle the cable arm on gear box side in place, nestled in, and on a slight upward angle, push in the rod till it just touches, then install the adjuster bolt till it just touches, then back off 3/4 turn [also backed off 1 full turn, no difference], lock it down, the take up slack at the clutch lever up top, kick start her in neutral, pull in clutch, and when I place selector in 1st gear, it 'clunks' in, and is instantly engaged, with wheel turning.
I've gone over this at least 8 complete times, and including placing the Clutch operating lever into slightly different positions, even though my notes and my common sense tell me there is only ONE position, nested in the slot, with a slight up angle.

I'm dumbfounded. I have not had to adjust a clutch cable in several years. But back when I first brought home my Interstate, I was constantly diss assembling and reassembling parts, as I slowly replaced all the worn parts, to just get her back on the road. Everything I do feels familiar, yet it's not working.

The only thing I can think of, though I don't know how it'll help, is to pull the clutch rod completely out and inspect it. Even though it is doing it's job.
When I cleaned the clutch plates, I methodically removed all the plates, and placed them in order on my bench, then washed them in order, and reinstalled them in their order, w no plates left out, none added either.

I pulled out my Haynes manual as you stated to do, and on page 68 is the clutch adjustment, paragraph No. 7. I compared that to my notes made years ago, and it all seems like it should be fine.

Anyway, It may be dinner time where you are, and I hope I am not disturbing you on a Sunday afternoon.

Dazed AND confused...I'm overlooking some tiny detail.
Rob
Click to expand...
By pulling out the clutch rod, this may cause the operating lever to slip downward and out of position, even though cable still appears to be correctly engaged in the end of the lever. That is why to book calls out this issue and has a diagram/image I believe.
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone. I wrapped it up as dinner approached. But tomorrow is another day and I'll be armed with the notes here.
I'll post again when I have learned what it is that's causing this.
Rob
 
IF the clutch lever pull feels normal, I think the clutch plates have seized. Put the bike in 4th, firmly apply the front brake (or place the front wheel against a solid wall), pull the clutch lever all the way to the bar and try to "kickstart" the bike. That should break the plates loose. This is much easier on an electric start bike but...oh well. If the bike is on the center stand, you will have to lock the rear brake instead.

I've had clutches seize several times over the years with different bikes after sitting for a lengthy period. It's no big deal but I discovered that some oils "encourage" this behavior...even oils that you would expect to have the opposite effect.

Just recently my Honda CB400F would seize it's clutch plates after sitting overnight! Each day I had to break the plates loose - put the front wheel against a concrete garage wall, put bike in 5th, hold clutch in, press start. It began doing that after an oil change where I switched to "better" oil," full synthetic motorcycle oil of the recommended weight. I drained the syn oil and installed mineral oil of the same weight and the problem disappeared.
 
ashman said:
Are you engaging the clutch while the bike is on the centre stand and your rear wheel is off the ground as doing so will make the wheel spin even with the clutch lever pulled in, when the bike is sitting on the ground no motor running when you pull the lever in does the clutch free up when kicking the KS lever and feel where the freed clutch grabs when releasing the lever, but being a old owner of your bike you should know this.
Did the big circlip sit in its slot all the way when putting the clutch plates back in and is your pressure plate still ok.
The ball on the clutch arm might not be sitting right in the GB, seem something is not right after pulling the plates out and putting it back together, not a hard job to go through your steps again.
Click to expand...
Ashman, I was so focused on setting the cable, I was too 'close' to it, and just overlooked that basic check. And of course Murphy showed up yesterday (he does keep me company) and when I went to move the car from in front of the garage, the car's battery was dead. That ate up rest of the day chasing that down. But it gave me time to think. I am taking notes that you and the others posted and will report back. I have an idea what 'changed'... I'll post that later once I go through the items you all posted for me to check. Thanks!!
 

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