Can't Solve Dragging Clutch

[Mucci]

Working on a 2001 TE570. I can not figure out why the clutch is dragging. It drags so bad it stalls at stop lights and constantly tries to pull forward. It's driving me crazy. Here's what I've done:

- Cable adjustments upper and lower
- New billet Surflex clutch basket
- New OEM fiber discs
- New OEM steel discs
- New OEM springs
- Screwed clutch arm free play adjuster (at the flywheel) all the way in
- Yes the metal ball is in there
- Checked rod for mushrooming or excessive dimpling. It looks fine.

There are some discrepancies with what the manual states and how my clutch is designed. I feel like there may be 2 different types and mine is not accurate to the manual.

Here's what mine looks like:

Manual states there should be 3-5mm of free play in the clutch arm. With the set screw screwed all the way in mine still has probably 10-15mm of free play.

In the parts fiche it shows there's a washer and needle thrust bearing between the flywheel and freeplay adjuster. Mine doesn't have those 2 parts, however it appears I have a different design.

Here's the parts diagram with the thrust bearing and washer:

Here's my setup:

And then here's another photo I found of what I believe is the design in the parts diagram. Notice the flange is much larger and matches the bearing OD.

So am I supposed to have a needle bearing and washer stack up in mine or is it a different design? The flange size on my adjust perfectly matches the inner bearing race of the flywheel which makes me think it's meant to not have the extra needle bearing.

For reference here's the clutch rod and pivot piece. Both looked fine.

Here's how the free play adjust sits with the set screw all the way in.

 

[Mucci]

Should also mention I'm running Lucas 20W-50 full synth motorcycle oil.

 

[ghte]

One trick is to put a washer on top of each clutch spring.

 

[Mucci]

One trick is to put a washer on top of each clutch spring.

I think that's a trick for a slipping clutch. That would just increase spring pressure.

 

[Mucci]

Tried switching to Rotella T6 5W-40. Still drags

I was able to screw the free play adjuster in a little more to get to the 5mm free play setting at the clutch arm. Now the cable is always under tension even with both adjusters bottomed out. I can't get any clutch cable slack. It doesn't make sense that the cable is suddenly too short. The clutch worked fine before I took everything apart to do the case bearings.

Also tried removing two clutch springs. Clutch holds power fine but the drag is still there.

 

[grunt628]

So did you manage to find the culprit? I'm also dealing with this on my 610 but it's not as big of a problem as yours is. Mine only wants to pull a little bit forward in 1st gear.

 

[Mucci]

So did you manage to find the culprit? I'm also dealing with this on my 610 but it's not as big of a problem as yours is. Mine only wants to pull a little bit forward in 1st gear.

Still trying to figure it out. I just ordered all new metal discs. I could see light through a couple when holding up the stack even though they only have 400 miles on them. None of them seemed to be warped beyond the spec stated in the manual but at this point I don't know what else it could be.

 

[rancher1]

I would try a replacement cable.

 

[Mucci]

I would try a replacement cable.

I've swapped to a different used cable but haven't tried a new one yet. They're NLA so I'll have to get one through Motion Pro likely. If the plates dont work I'll look into that. There aren't any signs of fraying on the current one though.

 

[mg94]

How many discs do you have? It should be 7 friction plates and 6 metal plates for the left kickers while it's 8 friction and 7 metal for the E-start 610 motor. You'll probably already know about this, just throwing it out there. Also had a dragging problem with a e-start 610 even with the cable always tensioned. My current 610 never had this problem.

Your pressure plate desing is very different to mine, which is of the second design you posted photos of. Mine doesn't have the ball bearing, just the flat roller bearing working against a alu surface. I have never seen your design in a Husqvarna motorcycle.

 

[Mucci]

How many discs do you have? It should be 7 friction plates and 6 metal plates for the left kickers while it's 8 friction and 7 metal for the E-start 610 motor. You'll probably already know about this, just throwing it out there. Also had a dragging problem with a e-start 610 even with the cable always tensioned. My current 610 never had this problem.

Your pressure plate desing is very different to mine, which is of the second design you posted photos of. Mine doesn't have the ball bearing, just the flat roller bearing working against a alu surface. I have never seen your design in a Husqvarna motorcycle.

Yea my pressure plate has the MV Agusta logo stamped in it. Part of that Italian ownership I assume. Good to know that the other style doesn't have the ball bearing. That makes more sense that mine doesn't have the needle bearing in it like the diagram shows. I thought it would be weird to have two different bearings stacked against each other. Mine has the right amount of plates. I've checked many times hoping it was just that.

 

[ct cr430]

How about trying a slightly longer set screw so it can thread in a little farther and maybe take up some of the slack on the clutch arm .

 

[mg94]

How about trying a slightly longer set screw so it can thread in a little farther and maybe take up some of the slack on the clutch arm .

This. You need to figure out if your clutch is dragging because it doesn't disengage fully because it's "too short" or if there's something else. Also, post the part no. of the plates you bought, and check the friction plate thickness and post it here.

 

[Mucci]

I just installed a new cable and all new metal discs and the problem persists.

This. You need to figure out if your clutch is dragging because it doesn't disengage fully because it's "too short" or if there's something else. Also, post the part no. of the plates you bought, and check the friction plate thickness and post it here.

Friction plates are 3mm thick. The total stack up comes out to 21mm exactly. PN: 8000 81511
Metal discs are PN: 8A00 81510

I can screw the set screw on the pressure plate in enough to get to 5mm of free play in the clutch arm. At this point there's really nothing left of the set screw. I can only get the lock nut on by about 1 thread. I'm going to go pull the clutch rod out and TIG some material to the end of it to extend it a bit. At this point I have no idea what else it could be. I've probably spent $500 on this fucking clutch already.

Is there anything between the clutch rod and the rotating pin the arm attaches to or do those interact directly? I can't remember what the inside of that case looked like.

 

[ghte]

what about inserting a ball bearing ahead of the clutch rod?

 

[mg94]

I can screw the set screw on the pressure plate in enough to get to 5mm of free play in the clutch arm. At this point there's really nothing left of the set screw. I can only get the lock nut on by about 1 thread. I'm going to go pull the clutch rod out and TIG some material to the end of it to extend it a bit. At this point I have no idea what else it could be. I've probably spent $500 on this fucking clutch already.

This is abnormal. 5mm at the end of the adjustment screw is wayyy too much, there's a problem there for sure. like ghte suggested, try adding another steel ball. If I recall correctly the e-start 610 has two of them, one on each end of the rod. (?)

 

[ct cr430]

How is the bearing on your pressure plate ? Does the pressure plate lift evenly when you pull the clutch lever in ?

 

[Mucci]

This is abnormal. 5mm at the end of the adjustment screw is wayyy too much, there's a problem there for sure. like ghte suggested, try adding another steel ball. If I recall correctly the e-start 610 has two of them, one on each end of the rod. (?)

When I said 5mm of free play I meant at the clutch arm. Manual states "between 3-5mm of free play"

I just welded an extra 4mm or so to the end of the clutch rod. Now I have plenty of travel left in the set screw. I set the clutch arm free play to 3mm, went for a ride and it still grabs.

I tried tightening the cable up so much that the clutch slips under hard acceleration and adjusted my ASV lever way out so it has the most throw. Clutch still grabs hard enough that I can barely hold the bike back.

 

[Mucci]

How is the bearing on your pressure plate ? Does the pressure plate lift evenly when you pull the clutch lever in ?

The bearing seems fine. Spins smoothly. I can't feel any play.

I'll check the clutch movement now.

 

[Mucci]

I took a look at the throw of the clutch assembly and it did look like it was pushing out more on one side than the other. The springs and basket are brand new so with those out of the equation I went to the inner clutch housing. There was some minor grooving. I could barely feel it with my finger but it was enough to catch a nail so I filed them all down.

I filed a bit more than what's shown in the last photo until there were no more signs of grooving. This definitely helped. I'd say it cut the dragging in half. It still wants to pull a bit and won't go into neutral at a red light but the idle is staying high enough that it's not stalling out.

It's still not 100% ideal. I have to run a high idle when the bike is in neutral in order to compensate for how much the dragging clutch knocks the revs down in 1st with the clutch in. As I'm finding with all 570 parts those inner hubs are impossible to track down. The part number (8A0096746) doesn't even show up on any of the Husqvarna parts sites.