Clutch help please..

[stinky]

1981 gs 400, the clutch lever started felling soft 5 minutes. Now the lever does not return by itself. What is the cause? Thanks for any help. S.

[jimcor]

Start by examining the cable. If it breaks strand by strand instead of snapping, or pulls out of the cable end it can feel and react in the manner you have described.

[stinky]

First, thanks for the quick response. I took off the cover (part that the cable is attached to) and the cable is okay. I lossened the lock nut and adjusted the screw (for clutch adjustment?) all the way in. The cable has very little, practically no resistance or return. I am thinking the clutch is worn out perhaps. Any other ideas/ suggestions. Thanks S.

[jimcor]

OK, if you're sure the cable is still in one piece and solidly attatched to both its ends, I'd look at the nylon screw assembly next. Alpha Sports doesn't show a GS-400 for '81 but they do show the 450 and I assume they are similar. This is located under the left hand side of your engine. Check to see if it's still operational, and the return spring is still attatched and not broken. Clutches don't usually go out in the way you described.

Here is a link to the AlphaSports site for a schematic of your clutch and the actuation parts.

http://www.alpha-sports.com/suzuki_parts.htm

[stinky]

I checked the return spring, it is okay. I don't see a plastic screw. There is a SCREW ASSY, RELEASE? it seems to be functioning. Perhaps my original description was not exact. I down shifted a couple times and it (the lever) was not returning all the way. I think I tried to shift once more but there was nothing there (totally lax cable). Another question, any tricks to get a cover off that does not seem to want to release? Thanks very much for your help by the way. S.