Seems to be a debate on use of clutch when stopped

any bike I ride, I put into neutral. And thats owning ironheads exclusively except for the Norton for 45+ years. If there is any bike where its harder to find neutral its an ironhead, I'd be shocked. If you can't find neutral...well, ride your bike more. As far as a car being impatient behind me for 3 seconds- tuff.

The length of the clutch pushrod has no effect on the clutch leverage given the same free-play adjustment.

I usually have two piece 6mm silver steel pushrods with a 6mm ball bearing or a 6mm roller in between. What I've been told to use from racers back in the sixties.

As I have said have never had any clutch problems and my stock Norton clutch works so well, my Land Rover defender has a duel mass clutch if at lights I do put it in neutral if the light don't change real quick, it had a winding throw out bearing when we brought it 14 years ago but it lasted 9 years before it blew and when we were away.

Mike40M said:

I usually have two piece 6mm silver steel pushrods with a 6mm ball bearing or a 6mm roller in between. What I've been told to use from racers back in the sixties.

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That modification is mentioned in the 'Commando Service Notes' booklet. It is suggested as a way of stopping gearbox oil seeping through the mainshaft and getting into the clutch. I have done it on my bike, not sure how effective it is...

daveforty said:

That modification is mentioned in the 'Commando Service Notes' booklet. It is suggested as a way of stopping gearbox oil seeping through the mainshaft and getting into the clutch. I have done it on my bike, not sure how effective it is...

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Bikes like the Yamaha xs650 have a ball bearing in the middle of the clutch pushrods
Interestingly the upgrade is one piece pushrod
I once fitted a ball bearing in the centre of two pushrods on my t140
And despite a liberal coating of grease eventually the ball itself seized right in the middle of the gearbox shaft
It welded itself solid,both rods were ok but the ball had welded itself
It took a 4lb hammer and a length of silver steel to hammer it out
I kept hitting it from the primary side then the timing side
Eventually the remains of the bearing came out!!
I was talking with an old boy about it and he said exactly the same thing happened to him in the 50s on his BSA b33 !!
It's probably fine on a commando as it's known that oil migrates from the gearbox to the primary

The only possible problem I can think of while holding a well setup clutch in for a long time while the engine is idling/running could be lateral load on the main shaft bearings?? But what's the point of holding it in? if the clutch is well setup neutral should easy to find and first gear should just slip in?

cash said:

The only possible problem I can think of while holding a well setup clutch in for a long time while the engine is idling/running could be lateral load on the main shaft bearings?? But what's the point of holding it in? if the clutch is well setup neutral should easy to find and first gear should just slip in?

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All depends on the clutch
If it's a triumph or BSA for example there's also wear on the rear of the clutch basket where it runs against the clutch centre
That's why the fitted a thrust washer on later models

baz said:

Bikes like the Yamaha xs650 have a ball bearing in the middle of the clutch pushrods
Interestingly the upgrade is one piece pushrod
I once fitted a ball bearing in the centre of two pushrods on my t140
And despite a liberal coating of grease eventually the ball itself seized right in the middle of the gearbox shaft
It welded itself solid,both rods were ok but the ball had welded itself
It took a 4lb hammer and a length of silver steel to hammer it out
I kept hitting it from the primary side then the timing side
Eventually the remains of the bearing came out!!
I was talking with an old boy about it and he said exactly the same thing happened to him in the 50s on his BSA b33 !!
It's probably fine on a commando as it's known that oil migrates from the gearbox to the primary

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What was ball diameter and shaft bore? A 6mm ball in the 1/4 inch rough bore in a Norton mainshaft is unlikely to seize. To me the .35mm play (somewhat less after hardening) seems enough.

Mike40M said:

What was ball diameter and shaft bore? A 6mm ball in the 1/4 inch rough bore in a Norton mainshaft is unlikely to seize. To me the .35mm play (somewhat less after hardening) seems enough.

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No Idea of the size of the ball
It was 40 odd years ago in a triumph t140 and I don't remember removing the main shaft bush to fit the ball so it would have been the clutch pushrod diameter or smaller
It was my only means of transport and had to be fixed quickly

ashman said:

And the reason why???

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Don't leave a Suzuki T500/GT500 two stroke in gear with the clutch in. Pull the clutch lever in and three things happen, clutch disengages, (I hope you were expecting that!), your tacho drops to 0, and the oil pump stops running!

Slightly silly design, but be sensible and it's not a problem.

Personally I don't know another bike this happens on.

So the oil pump stops every time the clutch throw out bearing is in use?

Riding a motorcycle anywhere is always an exercise in risk management. Look at what might happen, how likely it is to happen and what the potential consequences might be. In racing, I never stick my neck out when facing a wall. One of the guys I worked with used to ride a motorcycle to work every day. At one particular intersection, he used to always stop back a bit. One morning a car went across the front of him and crashed through a fence into a paddock.

acotrel said:

Riding a motorcycle anywhere is always an exercise in risk management. Look at what might happen, how likely it is to happen and what the potential consequences might be. In racing, I never stick my neck out when facing a wall. One of the guys I worked with used to ride a motorcycle to work every day. At one particular intersection, he used to always stop back a bit. One morning a car went across the front of him and crashed through a fence into a paddock.

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It's even safer to just stay in your house if all you crave is safety

There will never be consensus on this topic, as with several other Commando-related topics.

grandpaul said:

There will never be consensus on this topic, as with several other Commando-related topics.

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NAME ONE !!!!

Ron Hulton said:

NAME ONE !!!!

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Engine Oil
Gearbox Oil
Primary Oil
Fork Oil
Probably even Canola Oil
Locktite
Tab Washers
Staking Nuts
Clutch Pushrods
The terror of gearbox oil leaking into your standard clutch

In truth state an absolute fact and you can count on a couple of contrarians saying you're wrong!

marshg246 said:

Engine Oil
Gearbox Oil
Primary Oil
Fork Oil
Probably even Canola Oil
Locktite
Tab Washers
Staking Nuts
Clutch Pushrods
The terror of gearbox oil leaking into your standard clutch

In truth state an absolute fact and you can count on a couple of contrarians saying you're wrong!

Click to expand...

Don't forget twin carb verses single!!!

Or adding grounds to support devices that didn't exist when the bikes left the factory.

acotrel said:

Riding a motorcycle anywhere is always an exercise in risk management. Look at what might happen, how likely it is to happen and what the potential consequences might be. In racing, I never stick my neck out when facing a wall. One of the guys I worked with used to ride a motorcycle to work every day. At one particular intersection, he used to always stop back a bit. One morning a car went across the front of him and crashed through a fence into a paddock.

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Al it's seems you been staying home for a long time now not riding your motorcycle and your wife has put a stop to that, life is a risk, every time we wake up in the morning, more accidents happen in the home, there are more deaths on our roads from car accidents, I was watching a Aussie medical TV show called Emergency last night and 2 involve motorcycles and of course the doctors kept saying motorcycles at dangerous, I turned around to the wife and said "motorcycle aren't dangerous, it's the fu cking cars that hit them that is dangerous" 9 out of 10 MC accidents are caused by cars and 1 out of 10 inexperience riders, well close enough with the figures as you get my point, a few time in my early days I put my bike down usually from my own mistakes.
My point is life is a risk, people getting killed from freak accidents, but I never worry or think about that, I am not going to stop riding because of all the dangers that is around me and hopefully I be still riding till the day I die when I hit 105, not a day sooner, staying home because we live in a dangerous world and keeping safe, no thanks I am going to keep doing what I have always done, enjoy my life and my bikes, no matter what gets thrown at me, as for my wife she would never say stop riding my bikes as she know I be trapped if I did and most of my riding mates are the same, a life time of friendships riding motorcycles.
You can stick your MC racing up your rear end (sorry Al) as I can take my bikes out on the road anytime I want, go bush on my dirt bike anytime I push it onto the trailer and hitch it to the Land Rover, no life is too short not to enjoy what I do best, you just got too be aware of what is going on around you when out riding and think a head so you not put in danger.

Ashley