clutch drag?

:idea: hi all , my berg suffers from a bit of clutch drag, just wondered if they are all a bit draggy or do they suffer from clutch plate distortion, and befor anyone asks the cable is correctly adjusted... :?:

I also feel some clutch drag on my bike when the engine is cold. After the engine warms up this clutch drag is gone. I think this might be normal.

mine drags all the time hot or cold ?

i feel clutch drag as well. its not a problem that causes creeping, just makes it hard to find neutral at a stop. you just have to roll it when looking for neutral. all five of my bergs did it.

must be a common thing with em , i wont worry about it then , i'm gonna have a look at a few levers to see if i can get a bit more movement on the cable, i'll try to find one with a greater distance between the pivot point and the nipple on the cable, try and increase my travel a bit , if not , it aint that bad ..ian

scrapview

what year? what model?

regards

Taffy

I've just got used to mine dragging, neutral can be a bit of a pain to find though

if you have an '01 or an '02 you can have bad problems. the cure is to update the entire clutch assembly to that with the 'tubes' around the inner drum.

regards

Taffy

its a 1995 501,

so do all later model Husaberg clutches fit, is there a best year, clutch to get?

hi scrapview, me too had serious clutch drag with my MC 600 model 1994.
you can not solve it just by adjust anything.
the problem is that the pushrod of the clutch ends in a small diameter bearing and housing not alowing the full dissangagement of the plates because its force tends to be flexible to the whole diameter ( hope i make sense)

the cure is to find a whole clutch assembly out of a 1997 and up motor (up to 2002 i thing)
which has a bigger pushrod end.
i installed a clutch out of a 2000 and i have no drag at all!
the bigger bearind at the end was the only visible difference in the whole assembly compared to my 1994 clutch.

Would;nt just getting a thicker shim and installing it agianst the pushrod solve the problem?

wouldnt that preload the clutch plate?

I noticed too much play in the clutch disengage lever, a thicker washer has put adjustments in the ballpark
98 FE 600

cheers oyk, what you wrote does make perfect sense to me, the clutch push rod comes to the end of its travel (can go no further because of the way it is designed) and not allowing the clutch plates to fully dissengage. have i understood you correctly? or is it that the bit of clutch with the bearing in flexes or bends concavely under the pressures its under when you try to release the clutch.

no i mean't that the pressure generated from the pushrod flexxes the the pressure plate not allowing the dissangagement of the clutch.

you are right though for the pushrod travel.

the bigger bearing design allows better transmission of the vertical force of the pushrod on to the pressure plate.

if you point at the center of the pressure plate with a stick of 10mm then the plate would tend to move slightly not vertical not allwing the disks to fully disangage.

using a 20mm stick reduses this effect

sorry to drag this up again (pardon the pun ) when i pull the clutch lever , the clutch cover travels 3-4 mm , think the problem is that all the plates are staying huddled together and the only bit that is parting, is the cover from the end clutch plate, i have seen rubber rings between the plates on other bikes that force the plates apart when the clutch is depressed.

what are the differences from early to late berg clutches ? anyone got a pic ?

regards

scrap

scrapveiw said:

sorry to drag this up again (pardon the pun ) when i pull the clutch lever , the clutch cover travels 3-4 mm , think the problem is that all the plates are staying huddled together and the only bit that is parting, is the cover from the end clutch plate, i have seen rubber rings between the plates on other bikes that force the plates apart when the clutch is depressed.

what are the differences from early to late berg clutches ? anyone got a pic ?

regards

scrap

Click to expand...

Hi Scrap,

I had a 94 501 and had the same problems, and it was especially troublesome for me since my races are dead engine start. So here's what you need to do fix the problem you are having, this is exactly what I did and it worked perfectly under some real extreme conditions.

The first thing that you need to do is to make sure that your metal plates are not warped. The best way to do this is just to buy new metal plates so you know that everything is right.

The second thing you need to get are a set of clutch springs for an FE350, these springs are more than strong enough to prevent slippage and greatly reduce the lever pull. Trust me on this one, I flogged the hell out of my 94 501 racing national Hare & Hounds and the clutch never slipped.

As Oyk said you need the 97 pressure plate. It is of heavier construction and does not flex like the earlier ones did. I am pretty sure that the 97 pressure plate will work fine with your 95 inner hub.

You can also get a the 97 domino handle bar control which has a nice adjust on the fly adjustment set up, I had the same thing and it worked out great.

Now, the 97 pressure plate uses shims under the throw out bearing instead of the adjustable bolt with the lock nut and cotter pin, to adjust the free play between the actuating push rod, and the cable lever on the motor. This part of the set up is crucial to get right, so you can get the most lift out of the mechanism. Examine the push rod, and the lifting mechanism for damage/wear. You will notice that the lifting mechanism has a flat spot where the actuation rode sits, Obviously there needs to be some play between the actuation mechanism, the actuator rod, and the throw out bearing

With the pressure plate off, push the actuating rod in with your thumb. Now, kind of wiggle the actuating arm back and forth a bit to get the feel of how the actuator works. You can see that the flat of the actuator itself must be facing as near as possible directly towards the clutch to get the maximum lift. TAKE NOTE OF WHERE THE ACTUATOR ARM ON TOP OF THE MOTOR IS POINTING WHEN YOU HAVE THE ACTUATOR ROD PUSHED IN, WITH YOUR THUMB. The owners manual, and the workshop manual are not a whole lot of help when it comes to making these adjustments, they just tell you how much play you need at the handle bar lever. However, The 1998 work shop manual says: " The clutch lever on top of the engine should engage at 90 degree's-If not change the adjustment shim". (when I finish writing this post I will scan the two pages from the 98 workshop manual and put them in my gallery for you)

So, obviously you need a little bit of play here so that as the clutch pack wears you will not be pre-loading the pressure plate, which would result in clutch slippage, just a couple of mm's of play at the end of the engine mounted actuator arm is all that is needed. However, you won't be able to tell how much play you have until you install the clutch pack, and put on the pressure plate. You need only mount four springs and bolts, just enough to compress the pack evenly so you can check the free play at the engine mounted arm. If it too little you will need a thinner shim, and if it is to much you will need a thicker shim. I believe these shims are of hardened material. Some shops that have carried the brand for a long time will probably have a few of these little gems laying about. They are item #2 in the exploded view of the clutch.

Once you have this free play sorted out assemble the motor. The original manual recommends 5W-50 oil, and this will also play a part in how well your clutch works. However, once the oil is good and hot, even if of a higher winters rating it will probably be okay.

You will be amazed at how little effort is required now to pull in the clutch, and how well the clutch works. Mine worked really great until I really abused the clutch and warped the metal clutch plates and then it dragged a little, but, not like it did before.

I know this seems like a bit of work, but, if you are going to keep the bike, and want it to work great then these steps will get you there.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Dale

sorry guys i am not native so i am not familiar with all of the lingo. what do you mean by dragging? is that similar to slipping? because my clutch does the same. it started after 400kms and it happens when the bike is cold and warm. not very often but usually every time i go for a ride. it feels like the clutch would slip for second and it makes a high pitched noise then. shrieking! and yes, sometimes it is very hard to go in neutral.

The bike is pretty much brand new. Is it possible that I have already warped the clutch plates?

alex

dragging is when the plates can't seperate from each other into nice orderly singular plates that are leaving each other alone. usually the dragging we talk of here is on the earlier bikes up to 2003. the plates would make grooves in the middle drum and then they would sit in that groove even when you pulled the clutch lever and they wouldn't seperate. and if they aren't seperating then they are rubbing. if they are rubbinbg they are trying to roll the bike forwards.

in your case you have a new bike and the reason this time they won't split is either because they aren't being released enough trom each other which can be lack of hydraulic pressure OR the other reason is that one plate is bowed. this one bowed plate will as you can guess always be rubbing the plates left and right of it causing friction and trying to drag the bike up the street etc thus the expression clutch drag.

as for the 'howl' as you engage the clutch well that is a dry bearing in the pressure plate. the cure for this is easy! just lay the bike on it's left side for 2 minutes. i mean flat on its side with the handlebars on the gravel drive etc. the oil will go throughout your clutch assembly.

job done.

regards

Taffy