| Author | Message | ||
     Smoker |
98 S3t I just bought it. PO laid it down on the right side when someone pulled a u-turn in front of him. Very minor damage. It sat for a few months before I bought it. It starts right up, engine sounds fine, but the clutch won't disengage (meaning I can't put it in gear while it's running). Clutch pull feels normal. Cable seems to be adjusted properly. If I put it in gear (engine off) and try to roll the bike, there is no difference whether the clutch is pulled in or not, it won't roll without turning the motor over. I plan on changing the primary fluid, to get some fresh stuff in there, and see if any bad news comes forth from the drain plug. Anything else come to mind for you guys? Am I missing something obvious? | ||
| Akbuell |
First thought, pull the clutch inspection cover and look-see. Perhaps the cable is coming apart and just hasn't broken completely yet. Or an issue with the inner or outer clutch ramp. Back in the day, before the quality of the parts we have now, wet clutches from time to time would 'stick', where the driving and driven plates would glue themselves together if the bike sat for a period of time. Not so much anymore. If you want to chance it, put the bike in gear, pull the clutch and front brake lever, and thumb the starter. Risky, but if the plates have stuck, this May break them loose. If it does break loose, you have found the problem, and should probably overhaul/clean /replace the clutch pack. Hope this helps, Dave | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
The "grenade plate" may have chosen to show itself now. When mine went bad, it dragged the clutch almost to the point of lockup. Another idea may be the previous owner may have used something wrong in the tranny and glued the plates together from inactivity. My old KLR250 used to glue its plates together if I left it alone for too long. One fix was to tie the clutch lever to the bar so that the springs weren't mashing the plates while it was being used. | ||
| Smoker |
Sounds like you guys are thinking along the same lines I was. I had an old yamaha xt250 last year. It had been sitting for a few years when I bought it. When I got it running, it showed the same symptoms I'm fighting with this bike. My fix was to roll it downhill while running, get it into first, then give it a good dose of on/off throttle with the clutch pulled in until it finally broke loose. I don't think I want to try that in my yard on the Buell... | ||
| Alfau |
Clutch plates are stuck together. You should be able to move through the gears without the clutch. Using a paddock stand (rear wheel off the ground), rock the rear wheel back and forth as you work the gear selector until you are in 4th/5th. Then off the stand, pull the clutch in and rock the machine back and forth as though your trying to pop start. (with the ignition OFF) Worth a try. | ||
| Smoker |
Yep. Primary turned out to be almost empty. I put fresh oil in, worked the clutch a few times, and it freed right up. Now to put some miles on... | ||
| Jim2 |
Make sure your starter gasket is not leaking (loose). Why else would the primary be almost empty? (Message edited by jim2 on March 07, 2017) | ||
| Upthemaiden |
I feel like I've heard about bad crankshaft seals that causes oil to drain from the primary into the rest of the engine. I'd say drain the regular oil and see how much is in there, to know if the oil moved, leaked out(or just never had enough to begin with. | ||
| Ralph |
UTM, it works the other way around - motor oil into the primary. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
There is no pressure on the primary side. The engine side is pressurized by the oil pump so it always goes to the primary. It can't leak when the engine is not running since the primary oil is at a lower level than the crank shaft. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I guess if you ran it pretty much out of motor oil, *and* you had a bad crank seal leak, *and* you didn't notice a quart of transmission fluid being ejected all over your back wheel, a crank seal problem could empty your primary. Not likely though. More likely would be that somebody "drained the engine oil" by removing the primary drain, then "filled the engine oil back up". | ||
| Smoker |
Ha! I tried to reply to this yesterday, but I guess it never went through... it was leaking through the clutch cable after the PO dropped it. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Hey! pre-lubed cable. It's a feature! | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Clutch cable! Should've guessed that one. My bike was leaking out of the same spot when I got it. | ||
| Harleyelf |
The stock clutch cable leaks after a year or two. Left to sit for a year with a newspaper or pan under it, the primary could have been drained. | ||
| Hugie03flhr |
A little condensation can lock the plates together. Put it in gear with the motor off and push it backwards with the clutch pulled in or just rock it back and forth with the clutch pulled in will usually break them free. |
