Boxerworks.com

Hi guys.
I'm new to this site so hello!
I have a problem with my clutch that's driving me mad and i'm ready to scrap the bike.
i have a 1985(manufacture date 1983) r65,I acquired it from a friend of a friend of my son so i don't know the history of the bike,it had been mostly restored but quite a few bits were missing,i collected these parts over about a year and a half,got the engine running but the clutch has myself and everyone stumped.
I noticed that the clutch lever at the back of the box was too close to the box,it should be 4 degrees aft of vertical but it's nowhere near that,i thought maybe the pushrod was too short but it's the right one,the bearing and the piston are present and correct,there is very little swing to the lever because of being too close to the back of the box,the piston sits too far inside the tunnel and the gearbox lever just touch it.It gets better,I removed the box to ensure the diaphragm spring,pressure plate,friction plate and cover plate were correct,all appeared to be correct.
I placed to clutch assembly back on the flywheel and put the six bolts back on,tightened them as tight as i could with the allen key and on a hunch i put the box back on and put the pushrod,bearing and piston back in,hey presto the piston was sitting out the right amount out from the tunnel,i put the lever back on and it was sitting at the correct position and i had a clutch.
Wait for it-I removed the box again and torqued the bolts up to 16 lb/ft and put the box back on,re-installed the pushrod,bearing and piston-yep the piston's sitting too far back in the tunnel again,I took of the box again(I've done this a couple of times now) and checked the clutch assembly which appears correct.
I've removed the clutch assembly a couple of times and i get a clutch right up until i torque the bolts then i lose clutch.
The problems seems to be the pressure plate pressing the diaphragm plate too much when torqued up and pressing the diaphragm fingers too much thereby pushing the middle of the diaphragm plate in which the pushrod tip rests towards the flywheel and away from the gearbox.
Can anyone shed some light?

I hate to say this, but it would be great if you could post a few pictures of the parts and order and direction they were assembled...

thanks for your quick reply,i'll be round at the workshop tomorrow and will take pics.

Rob (R65) had this problem a couple of years ago too.
ROB, where are you???

I had Ryanair aircraft engineer (only the best people work on my bike) round the other night to look at it and he told me the problem was the clutch assembly,he showed me what was wrong with each part and i have to agree with him,I've ordered a new clutch assembly so I'll let you know how i get on.
The worst offender was the clutch plate,apparently it's swollen with rust between the friction plates and this was what was causing the biggest problem.

Jean wrote:ROB, where are you???

In the shower. I think Duane is too.

Surely not together?
actually, A similar problem came up some years ago when someone had a clutch rebuilt with a thicker friction disk to accomodate facing the plate what I thought was too much. The plate actually warped a little under spring pressure...only a few thousanths, but enough to foul-up clutch operation.

Jean wrote:Rob (R65) had this problem a couple of years ago too.
ROB, where are you???

My problem was a little different (and it was on a '79 which is completely different when it comes to the throwout assembly and the clutch/flywheel than on a 1983 model) - my lower arm was coming into contact with the right frame tube. Otherwise it was fine.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=257&start=15

Somehow, running the gearbox without oil until it bound up and replacing it with an older used gearbox solved the problem nicely.

Until I found all the internal rust on my latest replacement engine.

I threw in the towel.

justoneoftheguys wrote:
Until I found all the internal rust on my latest replacement engine.

I threw in the towel.

Get a Honda.

I think he done done it.
I missed the story of the replacement ENGINE. I was away just after the tranny-with-NO-oil excitement.