RantMachine

Awesome!

I'll try to have a functional bike for at least 51% next year, might have a fighting chance that way

Cheers Bob, much appreciated - I ran out of ideas about three weeks ago I don't tend to do much with my school nights so those are pretty much all free - except Wednesday, gotta see Crystal off back to the States for Xmas. Also completely free at the weekend, the only thing I've got in my calendar is the TMBF Christmas pub outing Any time the works for you would be amazing, I'll keep my garage light charged up just in case

So going back to my most recent enquiry, whar's the best way to check if the plates are warped? Getting very close to hust winging it and buying a new set as that still seems the most probable cause, but if I can double check forst I might save a few quid.

Fixed that for you

Such confuse Had it open again earlier this evening and still no closer to a result. May have lost my temper/sanity and thrown the lever across the garage, in the process snapping off half of the claw that holds the clutch cable. Expensive tantrum fail Think I may have to take you up on the offer of having a look, Bob - I just don't have any practical experience of what the inside of a functional clutch should be like that I can compare to this and work out what isn't right. On the bright side, I'm now an absolute pro at removing and refitting the clutch cover that I was cursing in the thread title - took me several hours just to get it back on last time, today it took me 20 minutes to undo everything, remove it, fiddle around inside a little, put it back on, and tighten it up. At least I'm getting some experience out of this...

Ah, think this might be why I've been getting a bit frustrated with trying to explaining everything I've been trying - confusion about the actual fault. The problem isn't that the clutch won't engage, it's that it won't disengage.

I'm with the biker. Sloppy observation and needs to learn from it, but when push comes to shove why was she looking the wrong way when she decided to cross a one way street?!? And throught the subsequent crossing? And when -let's be honest - you would hear the bike coming from a pretty decent distance?

f**k it - some shitty little convenience store on Mill Road ripped off my card and now it's been cancelled at the worst possible time of year.

I was hoping to do a few of my local ones before the year ended but that plan ended in tatters

It's in my diary already

Chris - Yes, those splines make are the pinion of the rack and pinion that I've been referring to in my earlier posts. Rotating the rod by hand with the cover loose does indeed cause the cover to shift in and out, as depicted in the video. In fact, nothing about the entire process differs from the video, only the end result, and absolutely everything I've tried would indicate that it isn't the release mechanism that's fecking up. I've posted this same query on the F650 forum - it's taken a while to get responses as it's much slower moving than TMBF (and nowhere near as fun), but now that they've got back to me the popular opinion is that something must be off with my clutch plates. Not that anyone can think of a good reason why something would be wrong with them, but it's the only thing unaccounted for So gotta open it up again and check the thickness of the plate stack. Yay, back to the dark and dusty garage

I know that all too well - I can delete the w*nkers on Facebook instead of waiting for them to get themselves banned

I would love to, if I get my clutch working in time! Not massively confident that I'll succeed, though. Could carry one hell of a lot of toys on my bike, too...

Fixed that for you

Hmm, never mind about all that - I went downstairs to talk to him in my lunch break before we made a start, and what did he tell me? Bloody chain came off on the way home from work last night Warned him! Luckily it came off at low speed just outside work, so no harm done. He had to get the bike to the dealership where he bought it (no idea where) and ask them very nicely to sort it for him. So now the plan has changed, I'm going to spend some time teaching him the basics of looking after the bike enough that it doesn't regularly try to kill you...

Interestingly enough that diagram also shows the axle going in the opposite way round! Think the fiche website may have mixed their bikes up Not the bike I'm working on, but you can see what I mean: http://www.mmotoparts.com/img/prod/120/1145.jpg

Managed to download an owner's manual during my morning break, wanting to be absolutely certain before doing anything to the bike (don't mind endangering my own life, not so keen to risk someone else's neck with shoddy workmanship). 93nm!!! And a 24mm nut! Seems utterly barmy for a little 125, that's almost the same as my BMW

Chris - I'm not really following your post, I'm afraid I'll try reading it again once my brain is out of work mode. Stu - The operating shaft rotates just fine, there's enough resistance to indicate that it must be meshing with the release bearing (on par with the resistance when disconnecting the clutch cable back when it actually worked) and it rotates smoothly. No grinding or sticking sensations, and as previously mentioned no signs of damage to the rack and pinion. And yeah, don't worry; I'm not so daft as to apply the grips to the bare shaft. I've got the clutch release lever fitted to the shaft and I'm gripping that part - no pressure being applied to delicate bits. Just wanted to rule out the possibility of the cable being the problem.

To clarify, can you actually hear the starter motor trying to turn the engine over, or just a clicking noise? If it's the latter then it could be the solenoid, the one on my Lexmoto has a tendency to rust. Failing that, worth checking the connection between the carb and the cylinder head. The rubber on mine split on one occasion, that didn't exactly make for easy starts (or anything else, for that matter). Either problem would be more likely to happen as the cold and wet sets in, so they're probably worth a check.

Hiya all, Does anyone know what the torque setting should be for the rear axle nut on an XR125L? One of the younger lads at work recently bought one second hand and has been putting it through some hefty paces riding to work and back every day then taking it green laning at the weekends. He asks me all his motorbike related questions, which seems pretty daft given as I'm still pretty new to it all myself A few days ago I noticed his chain is looking absolutely dire - any parts that aren't bone dry have so much crap stuck to the oil that it can't be doing anything to lubricate it, and the whole thing is so slack it could fall off tomorrow morning. Going to bring in my chain cleaning bits and the socket set so I can help him sort it out a little bit tomorrow lunchtime, but haven't had any luck finding out what torque setting to use. Anyone happen to own one?

Good man!

Haven't been using the cable to operate the clutch while trying to get it working, just rotating the operating shaft with a set of grips - takes the cable and lever out of the picture, so two less variables while I'm trying to work out the problem. Also I can't pull in the clutch lever and try spinning the rear wheel at the same time, arms aren't long enough Just had it open again. Couldn't take decent photos as the lighting in my garage is crap: * With all plates taken out, clutch core and clutch basket are quite happy to rotate independently of one another - so it's not something in here sticking. * All plates have been removed, cleaned, re-oiled, and replaced in the original order (twice now). * Clutch core can be rotated by hand after all plates have been replaced and pressure plate has not been fitted, rear wheel can be rotated by hand while in gear. Not sure if there is more resistance than there should be as I've never done this to a healthy clutch! * Replaced pressure plate and springs, tightening springs a little at a time in diagonally opposite pairs. All torqued up properly. Basket and core now rotate as one. * Checked rack and pinion of release bearing and operating shaft - no wear or damage. * Replaced clutch cover, gently wiggling operating shaft while pushing into place until rack and pinion are meshing properly. Operating shaft gradually rotating counter-clockwise as cover is pushed into place, indicating that the release bearing and operating shaft are meshing properly and this isn't the source of the problem. * Attempted to operate clutch once fully reassembled - nope, still not working.

Greatly enjoyed the Motorcycle Live road trip, I second the thanks to Bob and Mandy! Good to see you again too, Alan

Thanks for the offer Bob. Now that I'm getting a knack for opening it up I was planning to take a few photos inside of it or record a short video to post in case anyone can see something I'm missing, if that doesn't make it any clearer the I may take you up on that next time you find yourself over this way.