clutch cable change gone wrong

I hope there is an easier fix to this problem other than take it to stealer to fix!.......
While changing the clutch cable, the clutch arm ( the one down on the engine) went limp on me and by that I mean after getting the cable ends into both sockets I then went to pull the clutch lever and I had no return action as in the spring came off inside. I would assume it is the clutch return spring? The question is what could be wrong and how would I go about fixing it, if I can, without going to the shop?

You did not pull the lifter shaft out did you.as long as you did not the spring can not come off the shaft. One must load up the shaft to set spring tension.may be it had turned back a turn .and you have not ingauged it correctly. If you turn the shaft by hand you should feel spring tension when it is correct

Peter has a point there although I do not believe you can fully rotate the liftershaft and unwind the spring while the clutch cover is on you typically have to scoop up the lifter piece to get the cover on. Now I am guessing you did not pull the cover but I am not sure how you went about changing the cable. If you pulled the crank arm off the liftershaft it could be you do not have it on in the proper location. I seen where early models did not have alignment marks on the crank arm and the lifter shaft but if yours is not older then a 06 model I am sure it does and it might just be you do not have the alignment marks right.

below is a picture of mine and where the marks are check yours if you pulled it off to make sure yours is set right.







Another thing to note is the lower cable sheath and the fact it has a lot of threads on it. It is how you adjust the cable sheath length. Say for instance your cable has stretched over time and you have noticed your adjustment collar at the clutch lever is out to far or most of the adjustment it has. You can make the needed adjustment down here to increase the sheath length. This will in turn allow you to adjust the threaded collar back in on top.

you can see what I mean in the picture below. do not pay attention to the external return spring it is not OEM I eliminated my internal one and installed a external one.




Now if you did not pull your crank arm off and instead force the arm to rotate forward to put the cable on (which I hope you did not) you could have took it to far and snapped the liftershaft. which means you can pull the clutch lever in all the way and it does not return on its own. You can also put it in gear hold the clutch lever in bump the starter carefully and the bike will lung forward as if the clutch is not disengaged at all (BE VERY CAREFULL AND MAKE SURE THE BIKE IS POINTED OUT THE GARAGE SO IF IT STARTS YOU DO NOT HIT ANYTHING. IF IT STARTS HIT THE KILL SWITCH) Now if you do not want to try this method just reach down there and grab the liftershaft arm and pull in outward. it it comes out at least a inch or two it is probably broke. you can easily rotate it counter clockwise (anti clockwise for people on the other side of the pond once you do this remove the cable and pull the liftershaft out of the clutch cover you will then see the broken end. If this has happened well its time to learn how to tear into the clutch. easy job 4 to 6 hours the first time you do it.
Hope this helps and I hope your liftershaft is still in one piece!!!!

I think warp9.9 has it nailed. However, if you do have to get into it and replace the lifter shaft, then do the external spring modification as per the picture above and get rid of the internal spring. Warp's mod is MUCH better than OEM.

Just got the front of the engine cover off Easier than I thought I will post pictures of damaged parts if I can The spring was not broken but the other two pieces involved dont look too good will be replacing them as soon as they can be ordered and come in Heres the pics. I just wonder why the shop did not suggest to change these parts after rebuild the whole transmission what a bunch of Morons L&D Suzuki of Dover De that is!!!!!

sent doubles of one picture heres the other one Hope they come out good enough to see the damage

Do Warps spring mod. You will be so glad you did.

Yes Dave the lifter shaft and lifter piece should be replaced. To replace the lifter piece you will have to pull the pressure plate. The disc will stay in the clutch basket. Before you unbolt the pressure plate, grab the clutch basket with your hands and see if you can pull or push it forward or back. I am having you check to make sure the basket is in tight. I would also do it again when you pull the pressure plate off. You will be able to see the clutch basket nut and where it is staked for anti rotation. We are looking for slop in the basket to make sure it is on the input shaft correctly. This is because the wear on the lifter shaft looks a wee bit abnormal; like the clutch basket is moving on the input shaft and rubbing the back of the lifter shaft. This is a rub I have never seen before so we want to check and make sure the basket is all the way on the shaft. Another reason we want to look at this is because the back of the clutch basket is what drives both the oil pumps and the water pump. if you look under the basket in the back of it you will see the drive chain.

This is the drive chain for the oil and water pumps I was referring to; see the pins on the face of the large gear:



Here is the chain mounted to the tranny input shaft the clutch basket is on and the oil pump drive gear.



Below is the back of the clutch basket with the six drive holes that drive the oil pump chain





Ok I could not find a picture with the pressure plate off showing the clutch nut I was referring to but when you get yours off we shall see. When taking the bolts out of the pressure plate you should be careful. These bolts are weak little ones and should be taken off and put on a little at a time like dealing with lug nuts cross pattern this way the spring tension loosens evenly. The same with going back on because you can also warp the steels in between the fibers which will make the clutch drag and hard to shift. These little buggers should be torqued to the proper tension. In fact I changed mine for better and longer ones I got from Fastenall. It is a small amount of torque NM or inch pounds: only 10 NM or 88.51 inch pounds so you will need a 3/8 drive torque wrench do not use a half inch drive. You can get a cheap priced one at Harbor freight.
I cannot say this loud enough it is important you follow the torque because drilling out the little broke bolts can and in most cases will suck!!!!!!!!!


Here is the right lifter piece you need to order; check with the dealer and make sure you ordered the right one. Also I only have 3 dealers near me; two 200 miles away and one 240 miles away I order all my Parts through Andy Lauritzen at North County Yamaha. He is the best and the prices are also the best I have found even with shipping.

andy@ncyyamaha.com

Also I use this method to adjust the clutch cable for proper free play taught to me by a good Triumph tech.

Look how the cable Ferrell is all the way into the clutch handle. this is with no pressure on the clutch lever



Now I adjust it until I can pull the cable out 2 to 3 mm as you can see in the Ferrell below.



You can see the gap between the cable Ferrel and the knurled clutch cable adjusting stud in the picture above.


No matter what method you use you want to actuate the clutch lever a few time and check again. After that I also warm the engine up and actuate the clutch lever a few times and check again. Since I start the engine warm it up and actuated the clutch lever it makes sure everything is seated in before my final check.

When checking you will also see the crank arm on the clutch cover move and you should also be able to check that there is some free play down there by just moving it a little with hand pressure. You will feel the lifter shaft contact the lifter piece. I do not know if it will be 2 to 3 mm because it a a rotational movement. But the point is there should be some free play.

Also Dave take a picture of your timing chain guides particularly the one on the tensioner side the left one as you facing the open engine I want to see what type you have in her. If you do not want to post it my e-mail address is:

szczepaniak@grics.net

Just because I posted my e-mail does not mean I want anyone to send me junk male but pictures of sparsely dress or naked ladies will be appreciated

Ok, off to do some yard work until Al calls from Colorado so I can help him with his high idle problems on his 05 Rocket. Darn dealer has replaced two stepper motors and two TPS units and he still is having some issues. I hope I can help him sort it out after I try to help him learn TUNE ECU

hed /I tried to move the clutch basket back and forth and it was tight no movement here are the pictures you asked for and some others that might help Ill try and get more of the damaged area later on