Rekluse install problem on my TXC450 - Clutch disengagement rod issue

I was installing my Rekluse in the 4fiddy tonight (in my freezing cold garage no less)... everything was going fine until I went to put the throwout assembly over the Clutch disengagement rod. Well, actually, that went fine... the problem is when I put the pressure plate on and try and compress the springs,rod, slave, etc. I cannot for the life of me press it down hard enough to get the inner clutch hub "fingers" to slide into the pressure plate.

I have the outer pressure plate fingers and the inner "fingers" all lined up, and even have adjusted the inner slightly with a small punch to make sure that there's not a "fit" issue of some sort.

It's definitely that the rod protrudes too far... with the little ball bearing up inside the throwout assembly, it's just too tall.... even with the clutch fully compressed. I can feel it when it bottoms out.

Any thoughts?

Nevermind. I am dumdum. There is a "spacer" used in the smokers and pre 08 bikes.... The instructions are very clear. I should read them more closely.

Beat you to what? the dumdum part?

I can't say it's not accurate

I've installed a few rekluses in Yamaha's, so I was just kinda skimming the instructions.... needless to say, I went back and "read for comprehension" after that little snafu. Got her all buttoned up and ready to rock !!

I can't wait to try it out! AND my NEW (to me) MOTOSPORTZ damper ! Whoooo hoooo!!! The damper has made a difference in even the yard, I hope it will do so off road.

So back to this fiasco...

Clutch is installed. right off the bat, I fired the bike up on the stand and the back tire was spinning 10mph or so. I shifted to neutral, dropped it from the stand and backed it outside. After it had idled for a minute or two, I mounted it and clicked it into gear. If I don't try and hold it back, it will begin to carry me forward on flat ground at about 3-5mph. I can pull the brakes or put my feet down and it doesn't take a WHOLE lot to hold it back, but it does take a little effort.

I called rekluse shortly after thinking about it for a couple mins. They suggested that I had one of the following three problems:
1. I had forgotten to move the stock shim from under the inner clutch hub to the rekluse clutch hub.
2. The bike hadn't been warmed up enough and the cold oil caused the plates to stick together.
3. I had air in the clutch line from pumping the rod into the slave repeatedly.

I'm not sure I buy into #1 or #3, it seems like neither of those would allow the drag.

I disassembled the clutch and measured the drive plates and the friction plates with a mic. They were all where they should be. I had originally installed the MEDIUM engagement spring. Tonight, I did the LIGHT engagement spring (I think... it's the thickest one). There's no discernible difference between the two.

I have of course checked the install gap, and it's well within tolerance as well.

The only thing I can think of now is that maybe the idle is too high?

I will also say that the unit is used. My clutch basket is perfect, no groves in the fingers. The rekluse inner clutch hub does have some groving... although it doesn't appear to ME to be bad at all... maybe that could have something to do with it.

It also SHIFTS LIKE CARP It never has shifted great, but now it seems to be awfully hard to shift, sometimes I can't shift up at all...

I'm running the AGIP 10w-60. I've used rotella in the past with Rekluses and had OUTSTANDING results.... but I'm scared to run it in this motor since it specs a 60 weight oil.

Thanks for ANY help!
Andy

you dont mention which ball bearings you used , as your post is very accurate .

when i received my kit that spacer was missing so i made one up .

to me its not the oil at all .

like you say idle to high , i have my idle about the 1800 revs off the speedo setting.

or you have the wrong spring in there , and the balls not correct . you sure that installed gap is correct and your clutch plates are moving freely in the basket .

if you turn the idle down its gonna stop the creeping forward , but i suppose the idle will be too low .

so it has to be the spring or the balls combo is incorrect , you said it was second hand , maybe the parts are mixed up , check the balls to see the differance . ?

I would also file flatter those ridges in the basket , the plates will grab and you''ll break a fibre , as long as you have to open it up again may as well get rid of those ridges.

I use caltex dello 400 15/ 40 diesel oil and its darn hot over here .

OOH. Good catch! Yes, I have 3 Tungsten balls and 24 steel balls. I verified this with a lightly magnetized screwdriver. I put them all on a towel, and picked them all up except for 3. I repeated the exercise of selecting them all with the magnetized screwdriver a couple times. I also found that I could tell the tungsten balls were a HAIR darker in color.

Okay, on to the springs...
There is the one single spring that is larger in diameter than the other three, so it's obviously right (unless the guy pulled it from another kit?). The three engagement springs are three different heights right? So initially, I had installed the middle height one. Tonight I put in the tallest one. No discernible difference.

Regarding the install gap.
With the Pro, there is no documentation on how the gap measures out, there are only two "z" shaped allen wrenches. I can get them between the pressure plate and the top outer portion of the first friction plate.... I cannot however get the wrenches between the friction material and the pressure plate. According to the documentation, this is the correct outcome of measuring the installed gap.

Regarding the plates moving freely.
The best I can tell, they ARE able to move freely. I've had notched clutch baskets before and not been able to move plates up and down with my fingers. There's not a lot of play, but if I remove the pressure plate, I can move the whole stack up and down pretty easily.

I don't have a factory computer, but I do have the generic (hardline brand) hour meter with the tach on it. The idle is set just over 2000 RPM... about 2010 to 2020 RPM. I could probably lower that some.

In all honesty, I don't mind it creeping forward a little... it seems to me it would make it really easy to ride this way... but it's probably terrible for my clutch.


Thanks!

Mine has gotten notchy on the shifting on my last couple of rides, guess I'll change to the Rotella non synth and see what happens. It also wants to creep from a stop, idle is @2k.

can i just ask... if going along at over idle speed on the bike and you shut off the power, do you get it dragging like its in gear ? ie, gear/engine braking ? friends rekluse on his berg freewheels and i dont htink it should be like that ? my big bore quads with centrifugal clutches all had resistance right till the revs dropped to low levels.. sorry if its off track somewhat..

rabskyline, it depends on how you have your idle set. I haven't fooled with it much, but I've heard that you can blip the throttle while going downhill to engage the clutch and get engine braking... if you hit the brakes, it'll disengage and freewheel.... Just what I've heard.. YMMV.

BTW... lowering my idle from 2000RPM's down to 1800RPM's has stopped the drag/pulling issue I was having. I can now click the bike into gear and it will sit still. If I have it up on a stand, the rear tire will still spin.

This is with the softest (thickest) engagement spring. I may go back to the medium engagement spring... although, it jumps right off throttle... no delay in engagement.