Lost my clutch..Completely.

[Kiwirider]

Howdy all (in best accent)
About a month ago I was about to start my Saddle Sore 1000 ride. I had literally gassed up the bike at my start point, got my receipt and signature, took a photo, hopped on the bike to leave....... No clutch!!

It went from normal operation, to nothing just like that. I called the ride off then. I adjusted the play out to where I got pressure back. Then couldnt start the bike (another story there). Then all that slack went as well. I eventually got her running, roll clicked her into gear and rode her home.

Ok. Since then, Ive pulled the pulley side and all seemed to be in order. The push rod hadn't come loose (I was hoping it was that simple) and the cable fully adjusted out has good tension, ie hasn't broken. So Im thinking Primary side.

Ive had the clutch pack out a while back, cleaned, inspected it all and everything looked good. Ive done about 1000 miles since then. After putting it all back together clean and switching to Spectro I was pleasantly surprised at how well she shifted and found neutral.

Before I drain the oil and pull the cover. What are some possibilities that could cause a complete clutch failure with no warning?

Cheers in advance ladies and gents!!

 

[nobbyjohn]

Clutch hub nut

 

[KaptinAmerika]

Clutch hub nut

X10

If your flanged hub got trashed there is a little good news. WSW has them in stock at the moment. Baker will not sell the flanged hub by itself anymore. You have to buy the entire carrier.

Flanged Hub

 

[cajunbiker]

Throw put bearing on clutch actuator side. It happened to me, upon inspection it seems Big Dog neglected to pump grease into the actuator & it fried the throw out bearing. It took less than 100 miles to burn it up.

 

[Kiwirider]

I think the clutch nut is still good. It still holds together, so I can actually ride it, llike how I rode it home, rolled it down a hill running, popped it into gear and no clutched it home (not that dificult) and popped it into neutral before I had to stop.

Im hoping its something simple. Throw out would be great, bu yea Ill pull the whole thing and have a proper look.

 

[Viking]

This little bugger:



Throw out bearing went on mine but it was a gradual thing. Ordered new from Baker and has worked great ever since...

 

[Kiwirider]

Thanks for the info gents. I pulled the Primary cover, and instantly realised what it was. Yup, the clutch nut!
I thought that if the nut was loose, I the plates wouldnt hold and I couldnt run at all. Then I realise the whole clutch pack slide in and out, so the push rod had nothing to resist to seperate the plates.
So I pulled the pack out, sprayed the threads and bolt with brake cleaner and re applied loctite. For some reason I have a feeling, last time I might have used blue loctite for some reason. Put it back together, torqued it to 80lbs and put the cover back on. 1qt of Spectro later and shes good to go.
All I need to do now and re assemble the clutch cable and bearing side and I think ill be sorted.

I do have one question though. Would a loose clutch hub nut make it hard to the starter to enguage and turn over? That happened at the exact same time as the clutch. It wouldnt turn over enough to start. Only with a fully charged battery did it turn over. And even then it struggled.

 

[BWG56]

Probably should have torqued to 120+

 

[Kiwirider]

I was going by the manual. Shit!I got plenty of Red Loctite on there though.

 

[MN K9]

The manual is wrong, the torque spec has been updated to 120.

 

[KaptinAmerika]

Did you pull the carrier, clean everything thoroughly and check the flanged hub o-ring seal. After doing all that did you check for excess movement in the carrier. When installing the carrier you need to use a primer activator and a high heat red thread lock. Torque to a minimum of 150ftlbs, back off and torque again to 150ftlbs.
The hub is not heat treated. Once the hub nut comes that loose the hub WILL get stretched out of round. Once its stretched out of round the carrier will continue to move no matter how tight you torque the nut.
What does all this mean?
If your an average size person and a mild rider, meaning you weigh 200lbs or less and spend majority of your time in the 2500-3000 rpm range, you will probably be okay. Outside of those parameters, and in your case because you only went to 80ftlbs, I highly recommend you open your primary up again and go through the above procedure.

 

[Kiwirider]

The manual is wrong, the torque spec has been updated to 120.

Did you pull the carrier, clean everything thoroughly and check the flanged hub o-ring seal. After doing all that did you check for excess movement in the carrier. When installing the carrier you need to use a primer activator and a high heat red thread lock. Torque to a minimum of 150ftlbs, back off and torque again to 150ftlbs.
The hub is not heat treated. Once the hub nut comes that loose the hub WILL get stretched out of round. Once its stretched out of round the carrier will continue to move no matter how tight you torque the nut.
What does all this mean?
If your an average size person and a mild rider, meaning you weigh 200lbs or less and spend majority of your time in the 2500-3000 rpm range, you will probably be okay. Outside of those parameters, and in your case because you only went to 80ftlbs, I highly recommend you open your primary up again and go through the above procedure.

Thanks gents. I still havent taken her out yet. I hope I can save enough of the new primary oil to re use it (Spectro aint cheap and I have to order it online). I used red loctite and had cleaned the threads with brake cleaner. Looks like she'll be out of action again until I can get to it. How is the best way to check if its warped out of round? Any particular places to measure? Id be considered and Mild rider I guess, those tires are to F&%$ing expensive to ride hard lol. Did that with my last set haha.

With the weather changing now, I think Ill just be getter her ready for another attempt at the IBA 1000 next spring (though Id probably do it now if it stayed about 45 during the day).