Here I was trying to do a simple clutch adjustment for the Love Ride tomorrow, something happened and I'm looking to you guys for a little help.

After seating the screw in the primary, tightening the nut around it, and adjusting the freeplay, I pulled on the clutch lever a few times and CRUNCH! The lever went limp with a ton of freeplay (like an inch or two!!) now showing again. I tried to pick up the freeplay slack, but, now it's as if the whole apparatus is locked. I can't get the lever to move much at all and - if it does - the clutch assembly in the primary doesn't move in and out.

I have a feeling something happened in the ball/ramp area.

What do you think happened?

Whiff

 

Sounds bad. Almost sounds like the snap ring that holds the ramps in place has broken.
Your first step is to remove the tranny side cover and check on things in there.
Is is possible that the cable snapped? If so, you'll find out when you remove the side cover.

 

After lightly seating the adjuster screw in the primary, you're supposed to back it out 1/2 to 1 full turn, then tighten the jam nut while holding the adjuster screw in position. You may have done this, but didn't indicate so in your post. Also, you need to have loosened your cable adjustment first so there was a large amount of free play before making any adjustment in the primary.

Hope this isn't too little too late.

furyus

 

I'm thinking something inside the tranny cover as well or maybe the snapped cable. I can't really look at it until my kids go to bed (they'll drive me nuts) since the wife just left for work. The good news is that I've done my own clutch cable change when I did my handlebar swap a couple of years ago. At least I'll know what I'm looking at.

And Furyus...I didn't mention all that stuff, but, I was falling the procedure. I'd done it before.

 

Well then, I hope you don't find anything too serious behind that tranny cover and still get your ride in tomorrow.

furyus

 

I think you need to check the ball & ramp for the c-clip to have come out and the assembly lying loose in the case. All you did by taking up the slack again after was to pull the whole loose ramp toward the clutch cable. The c-clip goes in a certain way so check the manual, Chapter 7; ends of the clip will be in the ring froove as indicated. You will have to let out cable slack and loosen the clutch lever adjustment and then readjust the cable and clutch again.

 

If you can get the tires up onto 2x8s and rest it on the jiffy so it is leaning over a little more, then leave it for an hour or two you may be able to pull the clutch cover without losing much fluid at all. Mine lost some when I had it on the jiffy stand with a stock suspension. If you do re-seat and it still doesn't feel right, keep working and do the clutchpack adjustment. That is what seated my ***** in the ramp when I replaced my cable. Good luck, man!

 

cable end came off behind the tranny cover. easy fix...

 

Curious what happened myself.......

 

Well, gents, after the kids went to bed I mustered the gumption to tackle it or at least die in a mass of Tecates trying to. I drained the tranny and took off the cover to inspect the ball/ramp mechanism. It seemed to be fine. I fiddled and poked around, put it back together, filled it and then moved back over to the other side.

I messed around with the cable adjustments on the Barnett clutch cable, dropped the primary cover and went at a clutch adjustment again. Low and behold, it seemed like it was working all of a sudden. Of course, it's 10:30pm, the wife's at work and I can't test it out till morning - when I'm supposed to leave for the Love Ride.

7:00am rolls around, I get dressed, wheel it out, start it up and - viola! - it was working better than before. The Love Ride was a great experience. :-)

Bottom line: I don't really know what was wrong. My guess is a combo of not having the Barnett cable setup right at the adjustment screws and not having enough of the freeplay taken out with the Allen screw/nut thing inside the primary. I say the latter because I'd always heard that "lightly seated" meant way less turning than you thought. Last night, I pulled up A LOT of slack before backing the screw out 3/4 of a turn. The screw wasn't "lightly seated" as defined by some who've done these adjustments before.

Whiffleboy