The International CBX Owners Association

Dragging clutch that won’t properly disengage

NOTE: I originally posted this on CBX Enthusiasts group but thought it might be useful to CBX owners on here.

UPDATE: this fix has completely transformed the clutch on Pete’s bike. I have added some more photos of the shimming as I found I had some shims that we could have used in my parts box.

Peter Hall had clutch disengagement problems on his Z model that could not be overcome by adjusting the free play at the bars or at the adjuster on the clutch itself. Even after fitting a brand new (NOS) Prolink clutch he was still having problems selecting neutral and the clutch dragging. So yesterday we stripped it down again to try and solve the problem. On removal of the clutch cover and stripping the operating arm mechanism we noticed that there was significant wear on the shaft and in the cam wear they touch. This caused slack in the actuating shaft and it sat higher up than normal.

To counter the wear in the shaft and cam I came up with the idea of shimming the bucket that sits in the top plate (the one that holds the springs). Using a 1mm washer (i.d. 20mm) we fitted that before the bearing. this has the effect of moving the bucket out 1mm. On reassembly, the clutch actuating lever was sitting further down giving a better "pull" on the clutch and more disengagement.
After we refitted everything and the bike was warmed up on the drive, the dragging had disappeared and once the oil was fully warm, selecting neutral was a breeze.

Unfortunately we didnt take any photos during the process as we weren't sure it was going to work so the photos are just for reference.

If you are having clutch problems it might be worth checking the mechanism to see if there is any wear.