Clutch & cable problems for a '82 KZ 550 A3

I did what Ron suggested and did the Flintstone style start, and thankfully the bike rode smoothly w/o a clutch cable.

I adjusted the cable properly to no avail.
The cable is a bit too long (3-5 inches).
Still having some problems.

When I adjusted the cable properly...(1. at the engine; 2. at the middle-adjuster; 3. fine-tuning at the lever)...I was able to shift into first, but there was power to the wheel (started spinning) before I even let go off the clutch lever. And, when I gave some gas to it there was no real power to the back tire.

Is this, because the clutch cable is too long and still has too much slack? (How tight is the lever supposed to be?)

Installing a clutch cable should be easy & a too long cable should work.
If it doesn't seem to be actuating the clutch correctly, then either the cable isn't installed right, or the clutch is messed up (which I don't think it is, since the Fred Flintstone trick worked).

Post a photo of how you have the cable & release mechanism installed at the engine cover (ie, with the cover removed & laying on a box)

My gut tells me you're doing something goofy... if so, you can join the club. :laugh:

Man, I hope I'm doing something goofy and it's not something more serious. I will say that even though this is time consuming and a bit stressful, I know a lot more about the clutch and this bike then I did 2 weeks ago. :laugh:

I'm going to Flintstone 40 miles to my house then work on it tomorrow morning. I'll post pictures then.

How tight is the clutch lever supposed to be?

TheDude wrote: ......................................
When I adjusted the cable properly...(1. at the engine; 2. at the middle-adjuster; 3. fine-tuning at the lever)...I was able to shift into first, but there was power to the wheel (started spinning) before I even let go off the clutch lever. .............

That part sounds normal. Bike on centre stand. clutch lever pulled in. put into first gear and the rear wheel should turn/spin. Not enough to move the bike if both wheels are on the ground but enough to give a tug.

loudhvx has a lot of useful informaion (manuals) in a link he has in his signature
home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb/index.html#home

including clutch adjustment for the 550
home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb/ClutchReleaseMech.GIF

The ball can only come out on the clutch side. If you never removed the clutch plate, then the ball could not fall out.

loudhvx wrote: The ball can only come out on the clutch side. If you never removed the clutch plate, then the ball could not fall out.

I pulled the rod today and I saw, what looked like to be a steel ball at the end of the tunnel. That's good to know it didn't fall out.

Do you know what that ball does, loudhvx?

I think the ball is there because the mushroom shape pusher that actually presses to release the clutch is likely to spin with the clutch, so they put the ball between the mushroom pusher and the pushrod to more or less isolate the pushrod from the spinning.
Sorry otherwise my ideas to fix your bike are lacking. Normally and by all odds the replace of a cable should be very simple, but a KZ550 expert I am not.

There's a lot I have to learn about bikes...in due time.

It sucks this became such a complex problem, I hope I figure it out soon.

How tight is the cable? It sounds like it might be too tight and is not allowing the clutch to function properly.

Loosen it all the way by tightening the mid adjuster and any adjusters you have on either end. Then slowly tighten it up just until the slack is taken out of the cable. See if you get power to the rear wheel then.

The way I did it was, route the cable, attach it to the clutch release, attach the opposite end to the clutch lever, then put everything back together and begin adjusting.

From the multiple times I routed and adjusted the cable I found a few things:
1) The cable housing had about 2-4 inches by the time I routed it to the clutch lever
2) The opposite was it was inch too short to attach to the clutch lever

The problem I have is that I haven't been able to get a steady tension on the clutch lever; it always has too much play.

What I'm doing from start to finish:
1) Remove the left engine housing (foot rest, clutch pedal, then bolts)
2) Loosen all the adjusters on the cable
3) Route the cable
4) Connect the bottom of the cable to the clutch release,
(I haven't been installing the housing on after I do the above, I wait till both sides of the cable are attached, is this the right way or should I assemble the engine housing back on once I attach the cable to the clutch release?)
5) Connect the top end of the cable to the clutch lever
6) Assemble the housing back onto the engine
7) Adjust from bottom to the top; leaving the clutch lever for fine tuning.

That's pretty much how I've been doing it.

RonKZ650 wrote: I think the ball is there because the mushroom shape pusher that actually presses to release the clutch is likely to spin with the clutch, so they put the ball between the mushroom pusher and the pushrod to more or less isolate the pushrod from the spinning.

What he said.

RonKZ650 wrote: ...Normally and by all odds the replace of a cable should be very simple....

Normally it is. The one catch is usually the adjustment of the ball-pocket type adjuster. One of the manuals has the procedure backward for the adjustment of the ball-pocket type actuator. The set screw is reverse from the screw type actuator, but the manual doesn't make this distinction.

The link in my signature has the correction with a brief explanation of operation.

Appreciate you putting those links up.
I'm going back to work on the bike tomorrow morning and hopefully I get it up and running.

A question I had is: how much slack should I feel on the cable and the cable housing when everything is connected to it's proper spot, but hasn't be adjusted yet?

I ask, because I remember the times where connected everything together (one end of the cable to the clutch release and the other to the lever) the cable could easily move around, like it had 2-3 inches of extra length to move around.

Wish me luck tomorrow!