Clutch no release! Newbie help needed.

[Parry]

Hi Guys,

I have just had an oportunity to purchase a GT750A that is in great cosmetic unrestored condition. Having had a GT750J 20 years ago, it was time I relived my youth.

The A I now have had not started for 3 years, so I cleaned the tank and carbs, cleaned plugs and points and now she runs great at idle and through the revs with no load. Decided to take her around the block to see how she runs under load but the clutch will not dissengage.

I adjusted the clutch to ensure 2mm of play but still no good.

What would you guys recomend I do next? I pulled the clutch cover off and it had a fair bit of nice clean oil, I am gathering this is normal as it is a wet clutch.

Also any good references out there on how to work on the clutch, step by step for me would be good.

Any help will be apreciated.

Cheers,
Parry
Sydney Australia

[tz375]

Parry, it sounds like the plates are stuck together. Sometimes they can be broken free by sticking the bike in gear and rocking in back and forth. I have head of others pushing or towing the bike in gear but I wouldn't recommend that.

The alternative is to remove the outer and inner clutch covers and then remove the bolts in the clutch pressure plate and then pull the plates out and separate them.

Or pull in the clutch and use the kickstarter until they break loose.

BTW did you adjust the clutch at the engine end first and does it feel like the plates are lifting or does the clutch lever feel "dead"?

[Parry]

Parry, it sounds like the plates are stuck together. Sometimes they can be broken free by sticking the bike in gear and rocking in back and forth. I have head of others pushing or towing the bike in gear but I wouldn't recommend that.

The alternative is to remove the outer and inner clutch covers and then remove the bolts in the clutch pressure plate and then pull the plates out and separate them.

Or pull in the clutch and use the kickstarter until they break loose.

BTW did you adjust the clutch at the engine end first and does it feel like the plates are lifting or does the clutch lever feel "dead"?

Tz, thanks for your reply. I did all the adjustment at the engine with the outer cover off. There is definately a feel of a spring when depressing the lever.

Done some research and there is a suggetion on starting the bike in gear and getting it upto 20mph and then stalling the enigine with the rear brake whilst depressing the clutch. Will try this on the center stand as I cant risk trying this on the road, don trust the tires as they look like they are quite hard.

I also need to go through and check the oil feeds, after the tune, the bike is surprisingly smoke free after the choke is released.

[Suzsmokeyallan]

In a situation such as this it may be best to open the clutch cover, take the plates out and manually separate them. Many times they can lose sections of material from the faces if stuck well enough and suddenly forced apart using the engine to do so.
This will also give you the opportunity to check the inner basket nut which is commonly found loose due to previous owners not tightening them correctly.

[Parry]

In a situation such as this it may be best to open the clutch cover, take the plates out and manually separate them. Many times they can lose sections of material from the faces if stuck well enough and suddenly forced apart using the engine to do so.
This will also give you the opportunity to check the inner basket nut which is commonly found loose due to previous owners not tightening them correctly.

Agree, will be simpler and safer. What is the correct way to tighten the inner basket nut?

Thanks for all your help, dying to get her out and about as Summer is just around the corner!

[Parry]

In a situation such as this it may be best to open the clutch cover, take the plates out and manually separate them. Many times they can lose sections of material from the faces if stuck well enough and suddenly forced apart using the engine to do so.
This will also give you the opportunity to check the inner basket nut which is commonly found loose due to previous owners not tightening them correctly.

Agree, will be simpler and safer. What is the correct way to tighten the inner basket nut?

Thanks for all your help, dying to get her out and about as Summer is just around the corner!

Well as luck would have it, it was not siezed as bad as we thought, just rocked it forward and back trying to get it out of gear and she came unstuck easily. Took her for a ride around the block but no low down power unless the choke is on. I guess the carbs need to come off for a good clean.

[Coyote]

but no low down power unless the choke is on.

Pilot jets and or circuit clogged. The choke is compensating for the fuel not being delivered from the pilots.

[Parry]

Thank you sir!

[Suzsmokeyallan]

To make an inner basket holder two old steel plates (GT750 of course) welded together for thickness and some mild steel rod makes a cheap and efficient basket holder.

[Parry]

This bike has character! I loves to be tinkered with...Took her for a spirited ride yesterday living with the loss of low power, the carbs will be done in the next few weeks, when i got back oil was leaking from the vent! Had a sleepless night thinking about the expense of crank seals and what have I gotten myself into. Today I took out the overfill bolt and about 300ml of oil poured out, obviously overfilled at the last service. I am now hoping that that was the cause and seals are ok.

Is 400ml overfill actually overfill to cause the leaking? 300ml today and I guess another 100ml yesterday on the ride.

The bike does not blow excessive smoke, but only on startup when cold and on full throttle you can only tell it is a 2 stroke. I assume if the seals had failed completely I would be getting excessive smoke from at least 1 or 2 exhausts.

Anyway, will ride her when its quiet again as it is not registered as yet. Will build carbs, replace rear brake switch and should be good for registration, but if the seals are gone I will have to get it done after xmas. Lets hope for the best.

[tz375]

Overfilling the box seems to be a common mistake.

If the seals are gone, and that will happen eventually, who does crank rebuilds around you? We sent our last TZ crank to Nobby in Ballarat or Bendigo (I don't remember which) in VIC.

[Billiardking]

Just thought I would chime in on this seized clutch topic
I just got my bike ready to ride (Finally) and figured out my clutch was stuck
I went thru procudures in book to set shaft clearance and adjust cable
BOTTOM LINE is I just drove the bike about 10 miles holding clutch in every so often and throttling the bike up in its power rpm range and finally my clutch plates let go and clutch is working perfect

FYI my bike had sat for 20 years before I got it

Just wanted to share my experience in case it might help out

Thanks