KZ400 Clutch Actuation Mechanism Question

2_DONE_THE_TON

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Hey guys!

I cannot get my clutch actuation on my KZ to work properly (no pressure on the lever).
My manual only has the 'snail' mechanism depicted but i have 3 steel balls.
Is there a trick how the actuation should be oriented...must the 3 ball disk be placed in a certain direction?

Hope you guys can help me out!
 

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When you pull the cable or lever you should feel the mechanism rise up.
If that passes adjust your clutch.


.
 
Nebr_Rex said:
When you pull the cable or lever you should feel the mechanism rise up.
If that passes adjust your clutch.


.

the rises up just a few mm´s but i guess this is enough.how do you adjust the stop screw behind the "snail"mechanism?
what i did yesterday:

get all bowdens as loose as possible (on the lever and i have another mechanism in between the clutch actuator and the lever) then open up the stop nut,turn the slit screw in.as soon as i touch the mechanism with it I retract the bolt a tiny bit.
then i adjust with the bowdens the bowdens.

i tried this method and had no success....
 
Is it possible you have the wrong clutch cable, or it is severely stretched out? if you have too much slack you wont be able to aadjust it no matter what. Also its kinda hard to see in your photo but make sure you have all the parts in the assembly.
 

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Does the adjuster screw have left hand threads where it screws into the back half of the throw -out mechanism? If it has right hand threads, you would have to turn it counter-clockwise to move the throw-out toward the clutch and remove the slack. (basing this on doc's pic, I don't have one in front of me). Take the cover off, loosen the lock nut, and see which way the mechanism moves compared to the direction of rotation. Sounds like you could be turning the adjuster backwards adding slack in the system instead of removing it.

Also, make sure there is not some other problem, like something keeping the case cover form sitting down all the way tight against the engine. Also make sure that the throw-out is in the completely collapsed position when the cable is loose, and that it is fully expanded when the cable is in the pulled fully in position. Also make sure there are no missing parts either in the throw-out or the push rod mechanism. Some push rods have a ball between the it and the piston that actuates the clutch which is easy to loose if you don't know it is there and you remove the push rod.
 
Thank you guys for chiming in!

I will check if i have all the parts in the assembly tomorrow and how the screw is threaded...

As for the steel ball,is there a way to check if its still in there?
Yesterday i took a look with a light into the pushrod hole and i think its still in there...not 100 per cent sure though.

What i can say too is that the stop screw and the nut are pretty mangled...maybe the threads are broken,i ll check tomorrow.

Another question:does this position of the mechanism look right to you guys?
I made pics of the 2 possible positions.
 

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The top pic is only correct when the clutch is fully disengaged, i.e. the hand lever is fully pulled toward the bar. I would expect two things to be different in the top pic. First the lever arm should be about 90 degrees clock wise from its position in the photo. Second, the mechanism should be fully retracted (the three balls fully in their pockets in both halves of the mechanism) in the +90 degree position. It should be fully extended in the position shown in the photo.
 
Guys!
Victory!

So i let the whole setup soak in wd40 overnight.then took it apart and checked if all parts were there.all there.
Then i took a look at the stopping screw (left turn brings the mechanism more near to the clutch pushrod) and saw the threads were slightly 'mangled' cleaned them with a brass brush and wd40...issue gone.

Then i took a look at the diagram and put all the parts back together.the disk with 3 balls and one straight end was crucial to be placed in the right direction.

Then i closed the case again.

Started tensioning the bowden kn the middle adjuster then on the lever.
Success!
Great feel.
Then i tried to shift trough the gears...worked fine.
I tried to kick the back over...no compression.
PANIC!!!!
Think think think...ok clutch is to strongly engaged...backed the clutch bowden out a bit....compression back :-)
Thank you guys for the help!

Last question:would you guys put a stopping nut (with a plastic ring) on the clutch adjuster,i'm afraid that it might vibrate off)...
 

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Looks like you have very little threads for a nut with a nylon insert. That type of thing is not especially prone to vibrating loose, but a drop of blue loctite is not a bad idea. The adjustment for the clutch is not something done very often. Most wet clutches wear pretty minimally dimensionally, the adjustment is mostly for variances in the case assembly. The idea is to have an adjustment for the throw-out mechanism to match it to the case and stacked dimension of all the parts. Once done it usually does not change too much unless you change something in the stack. Once you put it all together, adjust it once with just a bit of free play - that is there has to be an actual small amount of space in the adjustment so the clutch is completely engaged. If there is no free play, the tiny preload pressure might eventually allow the clutch to slip and burn. Once set, you only usually have to adjust the cable as it stretches. You can see how you always also need a little slack in the cable adjustment too, because if you take all the slack out, you could partially activate the throw out mechanism, preloading the clutch and again potentially allowing it to slip.

Make sure that you have the cable completely loose FIRST. Then you can adjust the throw out mechanism. Once adjusted, go back and adjust the cable.
 
Thanks mobius!

The clutch works fine now.i cleaned everything with WD40 lubed it back up with bearing grease and put it back together.

Is there a way to adjust the 'sweet spot' on such a clutch?
I somehow (same with the RD) have the feeling that they tend to have the sweet spot very 'late',so when the lever is nearly all the way pulled.
How can i 'move' the spot?
Is it a way of adjusting or do i havw to change plates and springs?

Thanks in advance!
 
.
adjust it however you want . . there is no such thing as a "sweet spot" but if you have too much freeplay, it will not fully disengage when pulled in.

around 1/2" to 1" of freeplay on the end of the lever is where it should be . . around 1/2" is factory.
 
What seemed to look like a victory is now a big fail :-).

Today i tried to ride the bike....
The bike goes into the gears but when engage the clutch lever and give gas its like riding a moped...
It doesnt pull in any gear...looks like the clutch is slipping or doesnt even fully engage.

Then i took of the cover looked at the mechanism,re-adjusted the stop screw.
My thought was that the clutch mechanism is to strongly engaged so the clutch is not letting the gears 'grip'.
So i backed the stopping out,then again the again,no chance...the bike shows the same symptoms....
I looked behind the clutch rod,the steel ball seems to be in there.
Maybe the rod is bent...

Please help i m lost :-)
 
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