Noticed the other day that the SPRING, CLUTCH RELEASE that goes around the clutch lever shaft was broken. It does not seem to affect engagement or disengagement of the clutch. In order to replace, I'd need to pull the clutch cover off, pull the shaft, replace the oil seal, and reassemble in reverse order. My question is this - is it absolutely necessary to replace this spring or can I go without it?
Last time I rode it, it didn't feel like the clutch was dragging... put the bike in neutral with the clutch lever disengaged and the bike idled fine. Same thing when I put it into gear and held the clutch in. For the sake of thoroughness, I'll replace the spring over the winter. I might have to replace the kick start spring too as it slips from time to time.
I think that spring is one of those parts that is nice to have but not completely necessary. If you have the cover off then it would probably be a good idea to change it but I don't think it would stop me from riding until I had the chance to fix it.
rbates9 wrote:I think that spring is one of those parts that is nice to have but not completely necessary. If you have the cover off then it would probably be a good idea to change it but I don't think it would stop me from riding until I had the chance to fix it.
Thanks for the feedback.
I'll eventually replace it. The cost of the spring and oil seal is negligible. Just not thrilled with the actual process of taking the thing apart and putting it all back together again.
Dont bother to even buy or replace or install a new release spring. it doesnt hinder any clutch operation.
I too run without one, cause by having the spring, it actually wears out the oil seal belows it causing some oil leak.
Interesting. I didn't notice any oil seal wear on my bike but now that you've mentioned it, I'll take a closer look.
Still - the engineers felt it was necessary to have a return spring for some reason. I can't see running without one for an extended period of time to be a good thing on the clutch?
Clutch engagement /disengagement is controlled by clutch springs themselves.The spring in your description is only there to take up cable slack so the clutch lever does'nt shake around
Ahh... ok, that makes sense. I will not replace it then. That saves me the hassle of draining the oil and tearing the thing down just to replace that spring.
OTOH, if my kick starter begins to slip even more than it does now, then I'll replace the clutch release spring when I work on the kick start assembly.
That little clutch arm spring may also be there to keep the arm shaft from riding on the pusher shaft in the center of the clutch with the tiny ball bearing.
When you pull the clutch cover off you will see the the spring (when it is there) is holding the flat spot in the shaft parallel to the pusher shaft allowing for a maximum gap. It might not mean anything but that is the best I could come up with. And it does pull the cable back a bit too.