Clutch Problem

[Stewbie]

Right, I have a new issue with the SV.

The battery is dead so I went to move it to bump start it today but when the bike is in gear the wheel turns freely. It's never done this before, so I'm really stuck.

Any ideas?

[Stewbie]

Couldn't tell, the neutral light went out and I flicked it to fourth to start it. The weird thing is it tried to start once, but then nothing before or after.

I'm properly stumped.

[Stewbie]

The issue I have is that if I start the bike when the battery's charged, and the clutch/gearbox isn't working properly, I'm going to break my bike severely.

I don't understand though because it worked fine before. Then I changed the chain and sprockets and it doesn't work. Maybe I've put the clutch linkage together wrong? But I don't see how I could have done that.

[Stewbie]

Shush, you clever bugger!

I'll see if I can borrow a battery charger tomorrow otherwise I'll give you a shout, cheers.

I don't understand though, I want to know what I've done.

[cagimaha]

Not wanting to teach the art of sucking eggs or anything but there are a couple of other things you could try. What Mr.Molloy says is bob on, if there is very little resistance to moving the bike then either it is in neutral or the clutch is engaged. Can you move the gear lever? If so try selecting some gears whilst the bike is moving without using the clutch. If the dogs on the gears arent lined up and neither of the shafts are spinning then it wont actually change gear. The next thing is to check that the clutch isn't stuck.

Also I think that with an SV in 4th I could probably just push it in gear anyways but there would still be some resistance. Best bet for a bump start is 2nd unless the bike has daft gearing/compression. Hope this helps, Ben.

[ronenige]

take the front sprocket cover off and make sure the pushrod for the clutch is seated correctly when you refit the cover , if it was hard to do the cover up for the last bit then you have been lifting the clutch when you re-fit it

[lorenzo]

If your clutch has seized up while it's been sat, it'll have seized the other way round, IYSWIM: The clutch plates will have stuck together, and will remain stuck despite you squeezing the lever. This'll give the opposite problem to what you've got here. In short, your clutch isn't seized. Could be your mechanism, as ronenige says, you should be able to feel the lever firming up as you tighten down the last 5-10mm or so of bolts on the cover. 99% sure that if you get a decent charge on the battery you'll have it sorted. Also, on a twin you'll do well to bump start it. I've never tried on a 650, but certainly on a thou, there's just about no chance...

[lorenzo]

My first NC30 suffered with this, it was mildly entertaining.

Put the front wheel against a wall, rev it up with the clutch lever pulled in, then stomp the brake lever down. Easy to fix...

A mate of mine once solved a seized up engine on a mini using the opposite technique: a land rover and a tow-rope, then dumped the clutch doing about 40mph! Ran like a dream after that...

[smugbastard]

Then I changed the chain and sprockets and it doesn't work. Maybe I've put the clutch linkage together wrong? But I don't see how I could have done that. Bit of a clue there ??????

[dodgy_tom]

Daft thought, but is the front sprocket on correctly?