The Clutch is always engaged

[Guest]

Hello

I have a 1981 gs450 ex. It had been sittning for quite a while before I bought it. when I was rewiring a bit I noticed I couldn't get the neutral light to work even though I am pretty sure i wired it right. It seems that the clutch is constantly engaged. I can shift through all of the gears when I move the rear wheel a little, without touching the lever. Although I find it somewhat difficult to find neutral again. The lever is really stiff to push in. I removed the housing because I thought it was something wrong with the Cable. But the cable and the mechanism in the housing runs very smooth when it is disconnected from the push rod. So i removed the push Rod and the friction/clutch plates. The Rod seems straight and I cleaned the friction plates. I couldnt notice any difference. It seems that the clutch is still engaged. What is My next move?

[steve murdoch]

A lot of info in this thread.
The rod "might" be slightly bent?

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?197413-Clutch-Push-Rod-Problems

[tkent02]

Disengaged or engaged? People get this idea backwards sometimes. Is the clutch slipping or is it not releasing at all? Did you adjust the clutch helix correctly? (The worm gear thing that pushes on the pushrod)

It needs to have some slack in it, and it does get tighter with clutch plate wear.

The 450 has a stiff clutch lever anyway, all of the GSes with the helix and pushrod type actuator do. A little wear on some of the parts involved there and the lever effort goes way up.

[dbursell]

Erm..Disengaged/engaged, well I can shift through all of the gears without pulling in the clutch lever. I Tried to unscrew the clutch helix all the way put so it doesnt touch the push rod but that does no difference.

[tkent02]

Erm..Disengaged/engaged, well I can shift through all of the gears without pulling in the clutch lever. .

That's pretty much normal. The clutch doesn't really have much to do with the shifting.

Engaged or disengaged? What does it do when you ride it?

[DohcBikes]

First bike?

[dbursell]

Well, this is a fixer upper so I haven't gotten it to start yet. But with adjusting the clutch helix I couldnt find a good manual for it in haynes. Should it just lightly touch the push rod and then unscrew it a 1/4 turn?

[dbursell]

Exactly right Dohcbikes

[DohcBikes]

Everything you describe is normal.

Check this out... you don't have to use the clutch when you shift while riding either.

I know, mind blown right!?

[DohcBikes]

And this is no offense to you but to those reading, a fixer upper non runner is not usually the best choice for a first bike. Many will get discouraged and walk away from the hobby/sport entirely.

I see you've been a member since march, quite the long time to have a non runner. Is there something else we can help with?

Good luck, hope you get it going soon.

[dbursell]

Thank you very much for being so helpful. I dont think there is anything else I need info on, for now. But there will probably come up something in the near future . Hopefully ready to give it a test run in a couple of weeks if everything goes to plan. Just waiting on some spare parts.