Captive threads and other
mechanisms
If thefemalepartofyourclutch
actuatorisactualcastintothecase
bodyand it’s worn,thentherereally
aren’t manyoptionsotherthan
replacementwitheitheraNOSor
good-qualityusedcaseinbetter
condition.Iftheclutchactuatoron
yourbikeis thepivotingtypethenthe
bushthatlocates itinthecaseneeds
tobeintip-topcondition.If it’s worn
or partiallyseizedalot ofeffortup atthebarwill bewasted,butat leastit
shouldbe possibletore-bushthe
caseeitherwithanOEMpartora
custom-madebronzeinsert. Anywear
oneithertype ofmechanismis likely
toexacerbatepoorclutchaction,and
evenasmall amountofrockor
distortioncanhave a
disproportionateeffecttobothlever
feelandoperation.Preventionis
alwayspreferabletocure.It’sdefinitelyamessyjob butsomeone,
that’d be us, has to do it! When you
consider that our latter-day classics were
only supposedtobeviable forahandful of
years, isit really surprising thatperipheral
componentsare starting toshow their age?
Looking at the construction of the
RD350’s clutch actuator it’s veryobvious
thatalthoughit was designed to perform a
specifictaskit was very much made down
toaprice. Some basic moulded nylon,
pressedsteel sheet,acheapballbearing
and screw/lock nutare allthat’sthere.The
screw isn’t even passivated soit seizes in
short order.Ifyou’ve never evenlooked at
your clutch actuating mechanism,perhaps
it’sdueacheekypeek? After all, it’smuch
betterto sort these things outinthe
workshop than be marooned at the side of
the road, eh? cmmSimple solutions:Keep any decanted cleaner/liquid clearly marked!
10111213/Back togetherwithboththe lock nut and adjuster screwcleaned and liberally dosed
with anti-seize compound.14/Onefinalsanity checkthat the twomarksmade earlierline
up: there should bearightand wrong waytorebuild these actuators,but you know what
old bikesalike!10/Back at thefemale half of the mechanism it’sworthchecking thattheseintegral nylon
pins are in good conditionorthe operation may becompromised.Modernadhesivesand/or
strategically insertedgrub screws should restoreintegrit yifthere is anydamage.11/The
grease seal needstobeinstalled with this,the taperedface downwards into themale body.
12/Lashingsofwaterproofgrease arekeytosmooth operation. This grease isasynthetic
one,whichcontainsPTFE,whichwill again aidoperation.13 1478 / classic motorcyclemechanics
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