Yamaha YBR Clutch Issue

PsychoPigeon

PsychoPigeon

PsychoPigeon

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On my Yamaha YBR I replaced the clutch clamp that holds the lever on to the handlebar, it was a bit tricky and I had to pull on the cable to get enough slack in order to get it through the new clamp and back into the lever, I wasn't too rough but it did require using all available slack which I assume was already being used. The cable is only 2 months old.

I get the lever back on the handlebar and tightened and what's happening is when I hold in the clutch the back wheel does not freely spin, it's very stiff but not completely locked so using the clutch does do something. I'm not sure if this is normal but I have not noticed before.
In first gear with the clutch held in engine on the back wheel spins pretty fast, I can't stop it with my hand. I've loosened the clutch cable and tightened it but neither makes a difference. Have I knackered the cable do you think, or is the back wheel not supposed to move too freely while holding the clutch?
 
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With the engine off, in gear, and clutch in the wheel should spin fairly freely. It's normal for the wheel to spin with the engine on, clutch in, or even in neutral, though it should only be relatively slow, and easy to stop (DO NOT TRY TO STOP THE WHEEL WITH YOUR HANDS! EVER!)

If the clutch isn't fully disengaging, then you will need to tighten the cable, but before you do that, get both wheels on the ground, sit on it in neutral with engine on, clutch in, kick into gear, it'll either lurch forward or more likely stall if the clutch isn't fully disengaging.
 
I don't know if it's a coincidence but the lights come on and when I press the ignition key the engine cranks really slow then eventually just gives up, like the battery is dead. Could this be clutch related too? (I took the bike out yesterday before working on the clutch and it was fine no warning signs that the battery was about to give up.)
 
brand new cable put on a month ago, but like I said to get the cable to go through the new clamp and into the lever again I did have to apply a little force
 
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I read up more on the back wheel not freely spinning while holding in the clutch and in gear, and it seems that it's common when the engine is cold because the oil hasn't been warmed up and flung off the clutch plates yet so there will be resistance. Tbh I can't remember the last time I moved the bike while it was cold and still in gear lol. I always leave it in neutral.

I've tightened up the cable quite a bit and haven't seen any difference so I presume the above is factual? Either that or the cable is completely done but to me I can see/feel the slack increase and decrease still.

If that is the case then it's the starting issue and figuring out if it's related to the clutch. Could it really be that the battery decided to pack up right after I had done work on the clutch but the day before showed no telltale signs? I did find some posts talking about the clutch switch, and if it isn't fully pushed into the lever that could be an issue but how would that effect whether the bike engine cranks or not? The bike engine won't crack even if it's in neutral.

*I just ordered a charger in the event the battery being flat is a coincidence
 
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You should have between 10 - 15mm of freeplay before you feel the clutch engaging, if that's the case your clutch adjustment should be fine.

The clutch switch will stop it cranking if it's in gear, but shouldn't if the bike is in neutral, unless you've always had to pull the clutch in to get it to crank. Are you getting any noise or anything when you press the starter? Like a click from the starter relay or anything? Are the lights working, and do you have a multimeter to check the voltage across the battery terminals? Have you checked you haven't inadvertantly knocked the kill switch? Easy thing to do and miss / forget.

You starting issue sounds imo to not be related to your clutch thing, I would treat them as seperate issues.
 
Munchies said:
The clutch switch will stop it cranking if it's in gear, but shouldn't if the bike is in neutral, unless you've always had to pull the clutch in to get it to crank. Are you getting any noise or anything when you press the starter? Like a click from the starter relay or anything? Are the lights working, and do you have a multimeter to check the voltage across the battery terminals? Have you checked you haven't inadvertantly knocked the kill switch? Easy thing to do and miss / forget.

You starting issue sounds imo to not be related to your clutch thing, I would treat them as seperate issues.
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It won't start even if in neutral so I guess that is an indication that it is separate from the clutch. There's no kill switch on this YBR (2016). Lights come and stay on. When I push the starter the noise is a very slow crank which fades and then it gives up, it's not continuous like it was trying to spark (spark plug also quite new.) I did a 1500 mile trip a little over 2 weeks ago had no issues, and I've ridden the bike for 10 minute trips twice a week, so I guess it is plausible this 5 year old battery is struggling to stay active through periods of inactivity?
 
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If it's cranking over it won't be a safety switch like your clutch or side stand switch. Definitely sounds like the battery is toast. If you have a charger no harm in trying to charge it, but don't be surprised if it dies again. Might be worth checking the charging voltage when you get it started to ensure it is charging correctly on the bike.
 
Since my current battery is 5 years old I ordered a new one they're only £30, and the charger will help keep this new battery topped up through winter and beyond. I'll post if I run into further issues with the clutch once I get the bike running.

I'm a bit annoyed because before I went on my roadtrip I took the bike to my mechanic and mentioned to him to check the battery as it is relatively old, but he said there would be warning signs if it started to fail, but it just cut out so suddenly.
 
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PsychoPigeon said:
Since my current battery is 5 years old I ordered a new one they're only £30, and the charger will help keep this new battery topped up through winter and beyond. I'll post if I run into further issues with the clutch once I get the bike running.

I'm a bit annoyed because before I went on my roadtrip I took the bike to my mechanic and mentioned to him to check the battery as it is relatively old, but he said there would be warning signs if it started to fail, but it just cut out so suddenly.
Click to expand...

A dying battery usually does show signs of failing by hard starting in cold conditions or after long periods of inactivity, but they can just fail. I had one lose a cell and fail whilst I was out one day, had to bump start to make it home.
 
My charger arrived, it was close to this number when I first hooked it up, maybe at 12.4v with 4 bars. Supposedly the YBR should be at 14v for optimal use but would being at 12.4v not be enough to crank over the engine?



I just got the bike started once it got to 13.4v. However there is a definite issue with the clutch it isn't engaging the engine I can switch into gear without using the throttle and it doesn't stall, it's like the clutch doesn't exist.
 
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The battery voltage should be around 12.9V fully charged, with the bike ignition off so it looks fine from your picture. 12.4V will be enough to start the engine, the battery has probably just been sat in a box where it will naturally discharge slightly.

When the engine is running, it will be providing additional voltage to the battery to charge it, and will read around 14V.

From your OP, with a hot engine in first gear and clutch in, your back wheel should not be spinning fast, if at all. Cold oil can cause the back wheel to spin very slowly when everything is correctly adjusted. Your clutch cable is not properly adjusted and sounds too tight. You should have 0.5-1 inch free play in the lever before any tension is felt off the cable. Have you adjusted the clutch cable at the lever, or at the adjusted at the clutch end by the engine? This adjuster provides greater adjustment whilst the lever gives you small adjustment.

 
I've tried tightening and loosening up from near the engine and by the lever and neither results in any bite coming from the clutch when in first gear. I can see the cable moving the mechanism and there is a slight change in engine noise when the clutch is held in, but there is no bite and the back wheel changes speed depending on what gear I'm in. So if I go into 2nd the wheel moves faster etc, but there is no slow down if I hold in the clutch.
 
Then the clutch isn't disengaging. Do you have a centre stand? If so, pop it on that and try moving the actual clutch lever on the gearbox and seeing if that changes anything.
 
The lever on the gearbox seems to be moving fine, there's no extra slack that the cable isn't picking up and it resets into its default position the cable isn't tugging on it. Is it possible I need to adjust the clutch from within the gearbox itself?
 
There is nothing to adjust in the gearbox, only replace. Even though the lever appears to be moving fine, have you tried as Diddums suggested, and moving the lever by hand to the stop?

If you can move the lever on the gearbox to the stop, and the clutch still doesn't disengage, then the cable is not your issue.
 
When you say lever you're talking about this gear shaft that the cable pulls right?


If so then yes, or at least it won't budge any further than where the cable is pulling it. And then I make sure it's back at its default position and not still slightly forward.
 
Yeah, the cable pulls that arm, the shaft turns and operates the clutch plates, they can be exceptionally hard to pull by hand, which is why it's best to try pulling from fully 'closed' so to speak, to fully 'open' so you know how much pressure is required as it could still not be operating fully. The purpose of that test is to take the cable out of the equation. If you are confident that arm is working correctly then you have actual clutch issues, which would be exceptionally unlucky if all was well until you changed the clutch lever clamp.

What I'm thinking is probably the issue, bearing in mind I have no idea of your experience / expertise.

You have pulled your cable stretching it / causing it to slip if you applied quite some force when changing the clamp. You've since attempted to readjust the cable, but aren't adjusting it tight enough, tight enough being the lever on the gearbox is slightly engaged so to speak, it's not at it's complete stop as there will be a little slack in the shaft and that is the slack you are looking for. If you tighten the cable more does the lever on the gearbox move further? Even if you are unable to rotate it further by hand. You may need to replace the cable again, but throwing parts at it, in this case, isn't really a very good option.

Did you replace the cable yourself originally? Or did you have a garage do it for you?
 
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