Clutch drags 1969 Commando

Hi all,

Have just resurected my old bike after a 10 years languishing in my garage and am having trouble with the clutch. It drags a little and it is very hard to find neutral. I've cleaned up and measuredd everything re- the clutch and all seems to w/in spec. I've also adjusted it correctly so I don't think that's the issue.
However the Bike has 15K miles and still has the original 40+ year old fibre plates (having been oil soaked and cleaned numerous times over the years).
The clutch basket wobbles but there's but the clutch action is even and smooth so I'm not sure if that is contributing to the problem.
Am planning to buy new friction plates a(Barnett) and a clutch pushord oil seal as g/b oil is finding its way into the clutch.
Will replacing the clutch bearing as well if this helps solve the problem.
Any thought are much appreciated. Thanks/Mitch

You went through this? http://atlanticgreen.com/clutchpak.htm
I installed the pushrod seal and Barnett plates at the same time. I installed the Barnetts wholly to have the aluminum host plates NOT wear out the hub as my steel/bronze did. The dragging was so bad before, I couldn't get the bike in gear. It's awesome now.

In addition to ordering your new Barnett friction plates, I would also get new steel plates as these can visually appear to be ok but are likely glazed and contributing to the slipping.

You could just deglaze them yourself with some good mild abrasive and elbow grease but they are cheap enough to just get a complete new plate pack from Old Britts or whomever.

just another thought, the Barnett plates do need to be lightly lubed on the friction areas with like ATF and a piece of cloth as the new instructions should recommend

if this initial light lube is neglected they can create a surface type black powder and wear a little faster and make a mess in the pack, I forgot to do this and the dry wear was accelerated by my belt primary not providing a typical oil mist that is helpful in this respect with new friction plates

Not to shovel crap against the tide, but I run mine fully wet, as in way overfilled with ATF and it performs flawlessly. Just some useless info for consideration. :mrgreen:

thanks for the post concours, it's worth consideration....that's one reason I love this site, we get to see everybody's different ideas and experiences.

I'll be interested to watch this thread.

Will PM the OP.

Dave
69S