can somebody explain the clutch to me?

[jonwright]

Most of you know this, but this is my first bike build so please bare with my ignorance and help me out here cause i really dont know. On my cb360, When i pull my clutch lever and it pulls the cable and that lifts the little drum looking thing with the 3 ball bearings how does that engage the clutch? i know there is a rod going through the crank case but how does it all work? and where do i start when it comes to adjusting the cable to make it all work properly?

 

[rockcitycafe]

the clutch basket is a stack of friction plates, the first one has teeth on the outside, the next has teeth on the inside, etc, etc, the outer shell is connected to the gear that's driven off the crank, the inner is connected to the transmission input shaft, if there were no plates, the outer and inner shells can spin freely of one another, so the crank is not connected to the transmission, when you put plates in with no pressure, the alternating plates can slide past one another, so the engine is still not connected, however, if you apply pressure to the plate stack, they can't slide freely past one another anymore, so the inner and outer shells turn as one, thereby connecting the crank to the transmission. this pressure is applied to the stack by a cover on the clutch basket loaded with springs. the shaft running from the left side applies pressure to the top cover when it's pushed in, thus lifting the top cover off the clutch basket and taking pressure off the stack of plates, so disconnecting the crank from the transmission. the pressure is generated by the clutch drum mechanism, which as you noticed, moves toward the engine when the cable is pulled.

 

[jonwright]

ok, i guess i was surprised that the clutch drum mechanism moves enough to separate the pressure plates. it does not look like it moves a whole lot when the cable is pulled.

 

[VonYinzer]

Like most things in a motorcycle engine, the tolerances are extremely close. Parts dont need to move much at all to have a large effect.

 

[AlphaDogChoppers]

it does not look like it moves a whole lot when the cable is pulled.

It doesn't take much movement to go from touching to not touching. <G>

 

[GK]

the clutch basket is a stack of friction plates, the first one has teeth on the outside, the next has teeth on the inside, etc, etc, the outer shell is connected to the gear that's driven off the crank, the inner is connected to the transmission input shaft, if there were no plates, the outer and inner shells can spin freely of one another, so the crank is not connected to the transmission, when you put plates in with no pressure, the alternating plates can slide past one another, so the engine is still not connected, however, if you apply pressure to the plate stack, they can't slide freely past one another anymore, so the inner and outer shells turn as one, thereby connecting the crank to the transmission. this pressure is applied to the stack by a cover on the clutch basket loaded with springs. the shaft running from the left side applies pressure to the top cover when it's pushed in, thus lifting the top cover off the clutch basket and taking pressure off the stack of plates, so disconnecting the crank from the transmission. the pressure is generated by the clutch drum mechanism, which as you noticed, moves toward the engine when the cable is pulled.

perfect explanation imo, but to understand a clutch completely as a noob, take the cover off and operate the lever and watch how it all works , or better still take it apart and study it , you will be glad you did.

 

[boykinjw]

I took my cover off to change the cable and I guess that is what confused me. It was full of dirt for one, and once I got that cleaned out I was removing the cable and the thing that goes up and down with the ball bearings just came out. It had a ton of bearing grease on it, so I cleaned it up and put some fresh grease on it and sat it back in the hole. There was also a separate ball bearing that was sitting in the dirt that fell out. Im assuming it goes on the end of this rod sticking out of the case so I put a little grease on it and dropped it in the hole on the cover. Im not sure what purpose the bolt with locknut has on the out side of the cover, I moved it around trying to figure it out and im sure my clutch adjustment will be off now...But I dont see how the thing with three ball bearings does anything inside the transmission. So the three things I dont understand and hopefully someone can explain them:

1. Round thing with three bearings that cable connects to. Seems to just sit in the cover...
2. Extra Ball bearing that fell out, Im assuming it has something to do with the rod coming out of the case.
3. Bolt with locknut on the side of the cover, looks like it would screw into the 3 bearing thing but mine does not.

Thanks guys for any help!

 

[AlphaDogChoppers]

1. Round thing with three bearings that cable connects to. Seems to just sit in the cover...

That sounds like the "ramps" which actuate the clutch. The "round thing" that attaches to the clutch cable rotates a bit when you pull the clutch lever. It has ramps on it which ride on those three steel balls. The balls climb the ramps, and make the assembly move against the clutch actuating rod.

2. Extra Ball bearing that fell out, Im assuming it has something to do with the rod coming out of the case.

That goes on the end of the clutch rod. The rod pushes against the clutch pressure plate which is rotating. The rod shouldn't rotate, so the ball is generally at the end of the rod inside the cases.

3. Bolt with locknut on the side of the cover, looks like it would screw into the 3 bearing thing but mine does not.

That is an adjustment. refer to the bike's service manual for how to adjust is. Oh, you don't have a service manual? In that case, STFU until you get one.

Seriously, get the manual.

 

[teazer]

You are looking at the clutch lifting mechanism which is three balls that sit on ramps and are retained by a steel plate. The cable moves the lever which rotates that plate and the balls ride up the ramps. As they move, they push the clutch push rod that releases the pressure on the plates.

Typically the way they are adjusted is to slacken off teh cable first and then adjust the ball and ramp thing so it takes up the slack and then back the adjusting screw off a touch so there is a little free play. Then adjust the cable to leave some freeplay at the hand lever.

Your manual should explain it better. Grab one off the net and save up for hard copy. The best place to get them is GT books and they are in MI IIRC.