Clutch Problem

Hi everyone, this is my first post.
I bought an 82 550 Maxim last summer. When I test rode it I noticed there was a little slippage in the clutch. The previous owner hadn't had much experience on a motorcycle so I figured he just wore down the plates. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a clutch kit for it and got a manual. When I took it apart I noticed there was only one clutch boss spring when the manual called for two. I got another spring from the dealer and put it back together. Now when I squeeze the clutch lever it has a really hard pull like there's too much spring tension on the flex plate. The clutch also doesn't engage like it should. Everything was torqued correctly and I'm stumped. I just figured I'd post on here and see if anyone had any advice before I take it to a dealer. Thanks.

 

not too belittle you, or make you sound dumb, but are you sure the cable is adjusted, and lubed correctly? just like computer trouble shooting, always check the simple things first.

Also does the oil your using contain friction modifiers? (look for "energy Conserving" on the bottle in the API circle.

 

The cable is lubed and adjusted. Before it was taken apart the pull was about what it should be. Friction modifiers aren't an issue at the moment because the plates aren't separating enough to slip. My guess is that maybe at some point the clutch was apart before I bought it and they took a boss spring out to give it enough slack to work. Of course I could be wrong. Thanks anyway.

 

Welcome to site 82xj550.
I went to Yamaha web site to check the parts listing there. I can see two clutch boss springs, but they have two different part numbers.

Attached is the parts blow up from Yamaha and I circled the springs in red!
Part number 1J7-16383-01-00 for item #9 and part number 4G0-16383-00-00 for item # 22.

Sorry, I don't know the difference between the two springs. thickness??? tension???

When you pull on the clutch you are actually pulling the pressure plate #14 against the five compression springs #15. This should not relate to the two boss springs as they are in with the clutch plates, unless they have added more thickness to the overall clutch assembly?

Have you aligned the clutch leaver arm #29 correctly? If not this may be throwing the leverage off?

 

Thank you for the reply Nick. When I was looking at the Clymer manual it pointed out two clutch boss springs like #22 in the Yamaha schematic, each spaced equally apart, between the fiber plate and the steel. The Clymer manual doesn't show the #9 spring at all. I'm pretty sure the Yamaha schematic is correct. I didn't pull the wire clip out on the inside so I'm not certain if the #9 spring is in there now or not. Seeing how the schematic looks it seems pretty obvious that I added too much to the thickness of the overall assembly by putting in that other spring.
I actually reassembled it with only one spring before I ordered the second one. The pull on the lever was really hard even then. I have the clutch lever arm mounted so it's parallel with the engine case, so the leverage should be right. Is it possible that when I torqued the flex plate bolts down that the compression springs have too much pressure on them, causing a heavy lever pull?

 

There's not really much in the clutch assembly to mess up with in my mind.

I'm assuming the xj550 is similar in overall design with the 650 or 750!

There is an alignment dot on the pressure plate.
There is also an alignment mark (a punched dot on top) on the clutch lever arm to line up with a mark on the crankcase cover.

No you can't overtighten the flex plate bolts, the design is such that it wouldn't happen. The correct torque for the xj650/750 is 1.0 m-kg ( 7.2 ft-lb )

Hope this helps.

 

It seems like the designs should be the same or really close. I'm lining up the dot on the pressure plate with the one on the clutch basket. All of the tabs on the metal plates are spaced correctly (72 degrees) from each other. I'll make sure the clutch lever is right when I put it back together. It'll have to come apart again to take the extra unneeded spring back out. I asked about the flex plate bolts because when I tightened them down they went up to the proper torque number (8 nm), and you can actually keep tightening the bolt, the spring just compresses. Thanks.

 

It's been a while since I had mine apart, I thought for sure they would bottom out on the posts that they screw into in the clutch basket!