Clutch not fully disengaging

Ok, so I just bought a 79 kz650 (love it so far) but starting it up yesterday I noticed that when starting it in 1st gear, even with the clutch all the way in, the bike pulled forward very slowly, as if the clutch wasn't fully disengaging. I turned the bike off, and even with the clutch lever pulled all the way, when I tried to roll back, it got significantly harder to roll when it hit the point that it normally would stop due to being in gear. Can I adjust the clutch cable on the handle first before looking at taking the clutch assembly apart, or will that even do anything? Thanks for the advice right off the bat for the new guy!

I think you need 1/4 inch slack on your clutch cable at the lever.

There is more adjustment half way doew the cable. Roy

If this bike has been sitting a while you might want to add a little bit of seafoam and ride it for a short while and change the oil.

Since the oil makers are having to change thier formulas i started using Rotella, Roy

IN the KZ650 manual, this is all it depicts for adjustments... Fairly vague....

Maybe this will help a little better for they're almost identical in setup and operations....

From my KZ900 Shop Kawi Manual

As was said I'd try adjusting it but before that I'd inspect and lube the cable. The cable usually breaks or frays at the top near the lever. Near the barrel that attaches to the lever. Look for fraying. If it is ok then form a cone of tin foil and get some oil down there or grease. Then re-set the cable as OMR suggested. Set the handlebar turn screw to the middle. Set the middle adjuster, then set the case adjuster. You will then have the top and middle to set it as you like. Take the slack up with the top.

This is also a handy thing to have to lube the cable. Put "cable luber" into an E-Bay search.

I hope the OP doesn't mind me hijacking this thread with my own clutch problem. It is similar to what he is experiencing.

Last October, my clutch cable snapped. I ordered a new cable and installed it. Cable is the correct length, I will explain why below. I adjusted it per the Clymer's manual (had a friend do it too to see if I was misinterpreting the instructions). Problem seemed to be that the clutch would not disengage completely.

From some advice here, I removed the throw-out mechanism, completely disassembled it, cleaned it, greased everything that needed to be greased, and put it back together. Reinstalled the cable, re-did adjustments, and still the same result. Clutch does not disengage completely.

After becoming very familiar with the throw-out mechanism, I left the case adjuster cover off to see what was happening to it as I pulled the clutch lever. I can see that it is rotating. However, it does not rotate enough. It only travels about half of its possible lateral distance (into/away from the engine body).

On the handlebars, the clutch lever hits the handgrip so I can not pull the cable anymore. It seems like if the lever could pull the cable more, the throw-out mechanism would rotate completely and the clutch would disengage.

The cable is the correct length, I believe because when I have it adjusted, a millimeter or so of pulling the lever starts the throw-out mechanism to start rotating.

The handlebars do not appear bent or otherwise disfigured. They are the stock (as far as I know) handlebars. They look similar to the bars seen on this bike, just my grips are different (linked for giant picture): chopsueycycles.com/images/dscf0761.jpg

So I am stumped. I am almost sure my problem is somewhere between the lever and the throw-out mechanism. I am open to any suggestions. I have a couple pictures of the handlebars and levers I can upload after work if that will help.

Thanks in advance!

Ah, I forgot to mention that I lubed the clutch cable. I hung it overnight with a bag of oil at the top so it would drain through the entire cable.

Remove your sprocket cover and look at where the clutch cable attaches to the mechanism. Over time this can develope some excess "play" or wear at this point.

On my 82 GPZ1100 I had to drill/ream out the rivet and replace it with a 1/4" fastener and self locking nut.

Perhaps a bushing of some type is needed there as I've noticed it on several older Kawasaki 4's.

I remember you mentioning that advice elsewhere and I made sure to take a look at the rivet. It did not seem stretched out or worn out. However, this evening I will remove the sprocket cover again and take some pictures of everything underneath.

Here are some pictures I took of the release mechanism. The first one is from underneath the motorcycle to show that the cable is seated properly and connected. The second is the sprocket cover off, showing the knock-out mechanism.

Any ideas?

Ah, I seem to have embedded the same picture twice. That was the second picture. Here is the first one I referenced: