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Strange Clutch Drag Problem

Nessism

Nessism

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On my '81 GS550T I'm experiencing a strange problem I think is related to clutch drag. When the engine is warm there is a fairly loud click/clunk noise when the clutch is released. The noise sounds like the transmission dogs banging together as the lash is taken up. It's very annoying during stop and go traffic, such as when moving up to take my turn at a stop sign. When the bike gets like this the transmission is pretty clunky as well, particularly when downshifting to lower gears at a stop.

Yesterday I pulled the clutch apart and everything looks like new (bike only has 700 miles on it from new). Running Rotella 5W-40 oil. Clutch performs perfectly as well and adjusting the freeplay has no effect on the noise. Oil level is to full line - not overfilled.

As an experiment I put the bike on the center stand and ran the bike with the clutch pulled in. Even with the clutch pulled in there is enough clutch drag to spin the tire in relation to engine speed. Each time I rolled the throttle on-off the click/clunk was very apparent.

I'm really at a loss about this noise - it offends my mechanical sympathy. Any suggestions appreciated.
 
Loose chain, worn out dog ears or bent shifter forks. Have you ever had to force it into gear and got pretty agressive?
I think we're pretty close in diagnostics so your guess is as good as mine.:-D
Could even be rear sprocket cushions.
 
If the engine is oil is cold, the rear wheel will still spin even with the clutch pulled in with.
Check to see if the front sprocket is loose. It's happend to me and at least two other 550 riders I know of.
 
Nessism said:
On my '81 GS550T I'm experiencing a strange problem I think is related to clutch drag. When the engine is warm there is a fairly loud click/clunk noise when the clutch is released. The noise sounds like the transmission dogs banging together as the lash is taken up. It's very annoying during stop and go traffic, such as when moving up to take my turn at a stop sign. When the bike gets like this the transmission is pretty clunky as well, particularly when downshifting to lower gears at a stop.

Yesterday I pulled the clutch apart and everything looks like new (bike only has 700 miles on it from new). Running Rotella 5W-40 oil. Clutch performs perfectly as well and adjusting the freeplay has no effect on the noise. Oil level is to full line - not overfilled.

As an experiment I put the bike on the center stand and ran the bike with the clutch pulled in. Even with the clutch pulled in there is enough clutch drag to spin the tire in relation to engine speed. Each time I rolled the throttle on-off the click/clunk was very apparent.

I'm really at a loss about this noise - it offends my mechanical sympathy. Any suggestions appreciated.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like a loose or worn out chain slapping around. Maybe the chain is smacking the shift shaft when you accell or decell?
 
Check both sprockets are securely tightened and the condition and tension of your chain. You shouldn't have any transmission gremlins after only 700miles of operation.
 
Clutch gremlins

Clutch gremlins

For a while my bike would feel like something was grabbing when I was about 30 ft from stopping with the clutch disengaged. I pulled the cluch pack to check the basket for wear and found no problem. When I put the plates back in I rotated each one a couple of notches and now it works better than when the clutch was new. I don't know how or why it worked but ya gotta like these type of cures.
 
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