Barnett Spring Clutch replacement troubles

[cgenebrewer]

Hello everyone! I am having some trouble fixing the slipping clutch on my 94 max. I purcahsed it from a guy for $1100 because it had trouble starting and needed "clutch lever adjusted." I fixed the starting issues with carb cleaning and new battery, and figured I would flush the clutch lever system because previous owner said he had someone replace the clutch. After bleeding the clutch lever I took it for a test ride. All seemed fine, but after a couple miles my clutch started slipping. I figured that I needed to replace the clutch spring, and I tried getting it back by using neutral at stops and letting it cool down after the clutch slipped. Unfortunately I ended up smoking the clutch as by the time I got back to my neighborhood the clutch was completely gone and would not come back. I decided to replace the friction plates.
I saw a green gasket sticking out from the clutch cover, so I thought the person probably just used a cheapo ebay clutch kit. I ordered some OEM friction plates and the barnett spring conversion with heavy springs. I took the clutch apart, cleaned the steels a little with a 400 grit foam block, and put everything back, with the barnett heavy springs installed. After I got everything together, I noticed that the clutch was still spinning after I had installed the 6 bolts holding the springs in. I thought this was normal since the motorcycle was in neutral. After installing the cover and starting it up, I discovered that the clutch lever does not move much at all, and the clutch still does not engage when the bike is in gear. When I shift out of neutral I feel the clutch THUNK like old bikes usually do when you shift out of neutral, but there is no further engagement in first gear, it just acts like it is in neutral. Can you gives me any pointers on what to do next? I am not the most experienced(having only done one other clutch on my ninja 250). Should open it back up and tighten down the barnett springs some more? Should I do that with the bike in gear? I cant really tighten them much because once they seated themselves down the clutch just spins when I try to apply any torque. Also, in the barnett instructions, they say that the pressure plate may need to be rotated up to three times to be fully seated, and I do not understand what they mean. The plate seems to just slide onto the clutch basket. I feel like I am missing something!

EDIT: So i have found out that the spring plate is not seated fully. It looks like the pushrod is not seating itself fully down. from the photos on lvlhead site, it should be fully seated down, but I cannot get this one to move anymore, it seems stuck. I can pull it out just fine, but it wont go any further in.

 

[Fire-medic]

Hmm, I wonder if there's something going on with the clutch slave cylinder, where the piston isn't retracting fully?

Here are diagrams from the Service manual. http://vmoa.net/VMX12-Service-Manual01.pdf



Part #21 is the clutch push-shaft (labelled as "push rod 2") and #22 is a ball-bearing between the push-shaft and the #19 "push rod 1"

https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/yam/500456a6f8700209bc79313f/clutch
I use Ron Ayres Yamaha for OEM parts. 2006 Yamaha V-MAX 1200 (VMX12V) OEM Parts, Ron Ayers

Nearly all parts are interchangeable across the years. The CDI boxes (1985-'89) and (1990-2007) are one exception, the front fork is another (1985-1992) and (1993-2007). The fork years also affects front brakes and the downtubes/triple trees.

 

[cgenebrewer]

Hmm, I wonder if there's something going on with the clutch slave cylinder, where the piston isn't retracting fully?

Here are diagrams from the Service manual. http://vmoa.net/VMX12-Service-Manual01.pdf

View attachment 85036View attachment 85037View attachment 85038

Part #21 is the clutch push-shaft (labelled as "push rod 2") and #22 is a ball-bearing between the push-shaft and the #19 "push rod 1"

https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/yam/500456a6f8700209bc79313f/clutch
I use Ron Ayres Yamaha for OEM parts. 2006 Yamaha V-MAX 1200 (VMX12V) OEM Parts, Ron Ayers

Nearly all parts are interchangeable across the years. The CDI boxes (1985-'89) and (1990-2007) are one exception, the front fork is another (1985-1992) and (1993-2007). The fork years also affects front brakes and the downtubes/triple trees.

Thanks for the response. I believe that after I installed the pressure plate incorrectly and pulled the clutch, the system would not allow the no. 2 pushrod and ball back far enough, since the space was now full of brake fluid. I ended up opening the slaw cylinder valve and using a sledgehammer and piece of wood, tapping the pushrod back into the assembly. I have properly assembled the clutch now and I can see how the plate needs to fully mate up with the clutch basket. I have torqued everything down, and am now waiting on a trip to oreillys to get more brake fluid, since I forced out enough that the reservoir ran dry. Once I bleed the system, hopefully the system works and I didn’t break anything with my percussive maintenance. Wish me luck.

 

[cgenebrewer]

I believe I have fixed it. Bleed the clutch and I was able to move the bike around in my backyard. Will take it for a ride tonight and see for sure. Want to make sure the clutch is fully disengaging so I don’t burn it up again