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Finishing restoration. What am I missing?

4K views 44 replies 10 participants last post by  fog 
#1 ·
Just did my 2nd trip out of town trip. Thinking about the things I'd like to fix on the bike before making a 3rd.

I've noticed the clutch slips in some hard shifts, could be my fingers bumping the lever. But I feel like it shouldn't be that easy to slip it. I'm also noticing that getting into 1st feels weird. Like as I'm letting out the clutch, there's this lurch at the end. I'd like to think after 3 months of the bike being my daily, it's not just a me thing.

So I'm looking at clutch springs because I'm pretty sure they are stockers. Forum says I need zx6 Barnett springs? Any specific year or model?

Springs, chain and sprocket and I'll be done giving this bike its road confidence

2nd thing, I was told by the shop that replaced my tired the rubber bushing in the rear wheel needs replacing? Is that imperative? What's it purpose?
 
#4 ·
Question, is'nt ok to have free play (read: SLOP) on the rear hub/cush drive? I feel that the Kawasaki engineers designed it like that for a reason, maybe shock absorbtion? Waiting for people to chime in, actually just one person, initials start with an F and end with a G. Anyway, I did the Barnett clutch springs with little effort, makes a nice difference, fast clutch now, have not stalled the bike once though! It takes off fast, as soon as you let go, it grabs pretty much. Ride it to work 15 miles round trip and take it out on long rides over the weekends. I enjoy all the modifications I have done with it over the years. Peace
 
#6 ·
have you
Question, is'nt ok to have free play (read: SLOP) on the rear hub/cush drive? I feel that the Kawasaki engineers designed it like that for a reason, maybe shock absorbtion? Waiting for people to chime in,
point one correct it is a shock absorber in place to prevent drive snatch, chain and sprocket wear, and aid smoother gear changes, when it is slack it defeats the object of it being there by allowing those things to happen.
the movement (little that there is) is in the rubber it's self so must be tight inside the drive hub. in the UK a slack cush drive would be a MOT failure.

note for the OP have you made sure your clutch lever is adjusted correctly many of the symptoms you have could be poor adjustment.
 
#8 ·
hi, it's important to understand the causes and effects of backlash, especially for newbies like the OP who may think they have an issue with something when in fact it's just a combination of other factors.
backlash is the feeling of jerkyness when setting off or slowing down changing gear, or generally when moving from a state of acceleration to deceleration, and visa versa, the more pronounced the feeling the more there is.

many things add to this from a slack chain, worn cush drive, wear in the final drive shaft/sprocket, even slackness in the primary chain all add to it, to test how much you have put the bike in 1st (engine off) then rock the bike to and fro the amount of travel in either direction before it stops is the backlash.
you need this travel to be at a minimum for a smoother ride, there will always be some however. and of course the more you ride the more you learn to compensate for it.

on the other point the OP mentions, the clutch on the EX 500 is actually too big for bike of is power. there are more issues with clutch drag than slip, though a well adjusted one in good condition should not slip (ignoring other factors like the type of oil used) if you want a harder clutch by all means fit stronger springs. but it could just be masking some other issue.
like papering over the cracks. but they will increase the clutch drag problems increase cable wear and stretch as well.
 
#9 ·
To ride a bike with excessive slop in the drive line (any) would drive me nuts. Throttle control is what good cornering is about. how in the hell can you control the throttle if you can't tell what its connected to, because that freeplay at rest is only say 1/2 turn in motion and depending on how fast you are going it could be 30 to 100 feet of vagueness where the small throttles increases are not connected to produce any drive.
If you ride such a thing and think it's fine ,I submit you don't know how to ride a MC

FOG
 
#13 ·
All I am saying is that I put a brand new zero mile cush drive in my rear wheel and I had the same or similar free play. I can't quantify the amount of free play because its not a feeler gauge related thing. Based on that and based on the amount of seat time I have on the EX500, I deemed it ok and went on with life, I did change the clutch springs recently and enjoyed the difference it made. I can guarantee you that I know what is what regarding the nuances of motorcycle handling/riding/operation as I have done club racing as well as logged maybe 250,000 miles or more on the streets. In addition, I have worked in the power sport industry and have ridden and worked on thousands of bikes.

I have two older early 90s Honda VFRs and they do not exhibit any bit of free play. One sits on my Handy air table with the front wheel chocked, the other is on its side stand. No movement from the rear sprocket while in neutral, I did the same thing with the EX500 with the bike on the centre stand and in gear and it had a few CHs of play 1/4 of an inch maybe? Put bike into neutral on center stand and maybe it had a touch more.

Based on our conversations in the past on the phone, and how you helped me regarding my head work, I will let you get away saying, "that I can't find my arse with a funnel" regarding riding a motorcycle. Its funny. Peace WRN
 
#11 ·
Fog recommended using AL can strips to shim. I've cut up old bicycle inner tubes in a similar fashion to the OP in the thread above. Bottom line is removing the gaps between the rubber cush pieces and the wheel hub. Those gaps will generate annoying slop as the wheel takes a while to get the drive from the chain.

Those cush rubbers are expensive suckers to replace, which is why people get creative on solutions to prevent the gaps.
 
#12 ·
Re: the clutch. There should be free play at both ends of the cable. Maybe 5-10mm at the end of the lever - but check the clutch arm at the bottom end of the cable. It should also have some free play in it.
 
#15 ·
Ok, I will try it out, thanks for the constructive criticism. I have some aluminum cans with new snippers I bought recently. Its all about the "effects" - Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...Peace oh, after thought, I think I have 300,000 street miles. LOL
 
#17 ·
Well the metal hub was the same. I have the one that came with the 700 mile donor bike. I could try it but, I can tell you that the metal was perfect, when I took it apart the rubbers even looked good, I have take rear hubs off doing tyre changes and have seen the rubbers in dust condition or mangled up. I will try the shim method, I don't have anything to lose but time and you know we got that right. Peace Out
 
#19 ·
well as a old racer you have got to appreciate the positive feel of the drive being exactly as you request from the throttle. WHEN i tuned my race bikes I would gladly trade a few HP for sooth throttle response and any slack in the drive line would disturb the feel of the drive connection to the road, that racers bet their life on.
shim it tight no slop at all. it only their to soften the vibes of the twin fire engine.
That why your 4 cal VFRs had none.

FOG
 
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#20 ·
Who says VFRs don’t have Cush drives? Even Ducati single sided swing arm bikes have Cush drives.

A 3 second google search shows the VFR Cush drive residing in the hub quite like the Ducati does….it does not come off with the rear wheel.

Silver Body jewelry Automotive tire Gear Font


Never worked on a bike without a Cush drive, not even older bikes….unless shaft driven of course
 
#21 ·
Yeh, those rear hubs from those VFRs with the single sided swing arms (SSSA) for short lol; its as bad as the abbreviations for the aviation industry LOL. They are bullet proof, never have fussed with them in 30 years ownership on one bike which is close to 100,000 miles. I did remove one on a bike I picked up second hand that had an ugly rear rotor that I swapped out and had to remove the rear hub set up. The big nut takes like 130 ft pounds or so, its also steaked.

Anyway, I plan on getting the bike on my lift today and do it. Its a nice bike the EX, I really have to question all the electronic stuff that are on the bikes of today and wonder about the longevity of them and ease of keeping one on the road without being married to a dealer or having deep pockets. Peace
 
#23 ·
I really have to question all the electronic stuff that are on the bikes of today and wonder about the longevity of them and ease of keeping one on the road without being married to a dealer or having deep pockets.
Couldn't agree more.....computerized "ride modes", service "reminders" , etc etc offer the manufacturers glitzy showroom selling points but eventually...WILL FAIL in service. Example....a late Ducati model oil change service reminder can only be reset by the dealer ....with many refusing to reset it unless THEY actually do the oil change!
Built in dealer dependence...many more similar examples exist. I'll take my old, obsolete, air cooled 2V Duc any day over the new breed, just as you'll prefer your EX's.
 
#25 ·
Replaced the springs. Adjusted the lever. Super easy job aside from cleaning off the gasket lol. I won't get a chance to test it out until tomorrow but it looks like it'll be fun.

Chain and sprocket come in tomorrow so I'll get to do that and experiment with the inner tube in the cush drive. Beats spending 80 bucks on a piece of rubber.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Just realized I may have caused my own problem with the clutch. I've been topping off the oil in the bike with the liquidmoly 10-40w I use for my car. Figured if it was good enough for my high strung project car, it'd be more than enough for the EX.

Which would've been the case... if not for friction modifiers lol...

Maybe the new springs will cancel out the oil? either way. an oil change is in my near future...
 
#29 ·
Special Notes

Note 1:
Installing friction plates the same orientation as in the above picture would be wrong (backwards), and undoubtably lead to clutch failure. Due to not being able to properly lubricate itself.

Note 2:
Contrary to what may have been mentioned earlier in this thread. The EX clutch even when properly set up (correct oil, cable adjusted correctly etc) is notorious for slipping. Notorious for slipping at high rpm's. Hence the reason for the ever popular and proven Barnett spring upgrade.
 
#35 ·
I don't know, those look pretty good to me. As long as the plates are flat. The friction disks are about 3mm thick when new. With a service limit of 2.75mm.
 
#37 ·
Yeah, I don’t see anything wrong with that. If there were next to no oil relief grooves remaining, then I’d say it was smoked. Looks to me like there’s at least another 10K in those plates, maybe 20.
 
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