clutch mystery

hello fello kz riders, i recently (yesterday ) put a new drive chain and sprockets on my 1983 kz 550. well i put everything back together.and now the clutch does not disengage all the way. it slipps just enough too push the bike with out the engine turning over. but when you start the engine the bike creeps. well i have done everything the kawasaki repair manuel suggests to try. and nothing has changed. what is puzzling me is i only took the sprocket cover off the get the the sprocket. i did not touch the clutch adjustments before i tryed to fix it. if you know of something i may have bumped or something like that let me know. cause i really dont have many ideas left. thanks for your time.

Three things come to mind. First you may have unseated the clutch cable where it enters the cover. Try giving it a good wiggle and see if it pops in. If I remember right there should be a cotter pin that holds the cable end in place. The second thing that might have happened is that you may have dislodged the clutch release mechanism and placed it in the wrong position when you reassembled. Third, did you take the clutch pushrod out? Do you have a small ball bearing you don't know where it came from?

Do you have a factory service manual? Check the archives, I believe there is a downloadable one there for the 550's.

Ride Safe

i didnt take the push rod out and i do have a factory manual but i have done everything the book has suggested. but i havent had any progress, and when you say the ball bearing. where would the ball bearing be from. i do not remembe seeing a ball bearing anywhere. i assume you mean if you take the push rod out. which i did not take that of the bike. any help would be apreiciated thanks.

Yes, the bearing is on the other end of the push rod inside the engine. Are you sure you have the cover re-seated correctly? You aren't pinching any wires? I really can't think of anything else that would cause the clutch to behave like that just from taking the cover off. Did you put slack in the cable before removing the cover?

i did not put slack in the cable before removing. other the the few milimeters of lever play.

gcarson64 wrote:

...clutch...slips just enough too push the bike with out the engine turning over....

Sounds like required gap has been lost (for whatever reason) in the clutch push rod adjustment.

Would repeat the clutch push rod adjustment, assuring existence of sufficient gap.

Good Fortune!