TOPIC:

I recently replaced my clutch on my 80 kz750H thinking it would solve my problems. What it is doing is it shifting hard going from nuetral to 1st and if you slowly push down to engage 1st you hear grinding. I had 20w 50 oil in it so I thought the oil was too heavy and or my clutch plates were bad. I replaced the clutch plates and put in 10w 40 but it still does it. The clutch basket edges were very sharp so I used some 1000 grit wet dry paper to sand it smooth. The basket is in good shape with only the slightes indentions and only hardly noticable on a few sides of the basket. I have not tried adjusting the the clutch rod as of yet. It has just progressively gotten harder to get into 1st over the months and replacing the clutch has not changed it any. Looking down the oil fill hole it appears that pulling the clutch in gives it enough play and you can part the plates with a screw driver so I would think that enough pressure was taken off the plates, but it still won't disengage the clutch fully. Any ideas?
Mark

Mine clunks a bit when put in first gear but the rest shifts extremely smooth. I put 20w50 in mine and the next day it clunked (is that a word?) really hard and lept forward. I had my hand on the front brake so it killed the engine. It's better now after a few days but I need to see what's up.

Due to the design of the clutch, if you slowly push down to engage first gear it is going to grind. There is nothing to keep the trans input shaft from spinning due to clutch drag, and unless you swap in a dry clutch you are going to have clutch drag,
Especially when it's cold.
10w40 will have less drag than 20w50.

If I were you I would check your clutch cable (to make sure it is not beginning to let go), and your clutch and cable adjustments. I developed a hard shifting problem, only to discover that my clutch cable was down to the last two strands, with the result that the cable was stretching rather than fully disengaging the clutch mechanism. I replaced the cable and adjusted the pushrod and the cable, and it is now back to its old smooth-shifting self.