Clutch adjustment

[Cluster148]

Took my 2022 with 200 miles out for a spin over the weekend.Went up a pretty steep hill on our farm and when it got particularly steep, the bike bogged down and it seemed as if the clutch was slipping.Walked it up the remainder of the hill ,turned around and rode it back to the garage thinking I needed to do a clutch adjustment.
Watched a couple of video on the clutch adjustment.Unlocked the 14mm lock nut after marking the screw head position.Each video I watched showed no more than a half rotation of the screw before tension was felt with the screwdriver.My screwdriver did two full rotations before coming to a stop.I never felt the slight tension that was shown in the videos.Next I backed the screw counterclockwise until it stopped.No slight tension.
I was confused because of what I expected and what I found.I put the screw back in it’s original position,locked the lock nut and went for a short ride.The bike seems Ok,but I didn’t do the steep hill again.
Any suggestions?

 

[dmonkey]

One thing I can think of is to make sure the nut is loose enough off that it's not causing the full stop before feeling the slight resistance.

 

[Cluster148]

One thing I can think of is to make sure the nut is loose enough off that it's not causing the full stop before feeling the slight resistance.

Thanks.I’m pretty sure that the lock nut was plenty loose.But I will see what others say and will try it again .
Best!

 

[RubyRed]

Thanks.I’m pretty sure that the lock nut was plenty loose.But I will see what others say and will try it again .
Best!

That’s how my adjustment goes. I can spin the screw a few times around before I feel any resistance. I’ve watched the videos, read the manual and all the threads. My clutch is wack. I’m hesitant to take it to the dealer for something so simple but I might have to.

 

[Plotus]

I have been thinking, wondering how Synthetic will fare with the auto-clutches ?

 

[oldskool]

I have been thinking, wondering how Synthetic will fare with the auto-clutches ?

Fabulously. What do you have to lose .......about $4 an oil change. What do you have to gain.......a longer trouble free life for the bike.

 

[RustyRodder]

Do you guys adjust the clutch when hot or cold? mine seems to work better with a hot adjustment

 

[SneakyDingo]

Do you guys adjust the clutch when hot or cold? mine seems to work better with a hot adjustment

I've done it cold and I've done it hot. I do it hot more times because it's usually pissing me off mid ride.

 

[KYtrailfan]

I recently did the "mid-ride" adjustment as the clunking noise developed a half hour from home. I theorized that if shifting was "clunk-less" for several hundred miles that a minute amount of clutch wear might be taking place. Past adjustments I have had to repeat the process a couple times to get the desired result. This time I decided to mark the current position of the adjusting screw and then just went counter-clockwise about 1/16th of a turn and that removed the clunk.

So my question to the people that actually understand the workings of the clutch does this make sense? Kind of like fine tuning a carb screw; 1 1/4 turns from seated is your starting point. If you need to smooth out the idle by a few rpms you do a slight adjustment from where you are rather than going through the whole process and hoping you get it right?

 

[SneakyDingo]

I don't pretend to know the intricate workings of a clutch, but it does make sense to me. Those threads are going to be a set TPI. 1/8 of a turn ("half of a quarter turn") as the manual describes, plus or minus some eyeballing, will correspond to a very specific amount of distance. With loose enough tolerance, your ability to eyeball it will be enough to put the clutch into spec.

The tighten all the way, then loosen, then tighten again is likely to dislodge anything that might cause it to stick or otherwise not allow the accurate setting of the tolerance gap. So your method will work until it doesn't, at which point you'd likely just... do the normal process.

 

[dmonkey]

I believe the "tightness" that you turn until you feel is the clutch disengagement. You then back off the 1/8th turn so that you aren't riding with the shifter clutch slipping at the point of engagement. That's the same way you adjust a cable operated shift clutch lever, so that it's not riding the point of engagement but has a small buffer. I don't think you'd be able to make an accurate guess at how much to turn it as you are blind to how much the plates have worn since the last adjustment. Clutch wear is not directly proportional to mileage, but to how the clutch is being used, at what RPMs, with what load, etc.
But if you mark the original position you would at least know that if the clutch has worn since that position it will need to be turned farther in than the original reference position.

The last adjustment I made that was a noticable difference was less than 1/16 change in rotation from where it had been.