Biscuit said:
rx7171 said:
Have the clutch plates been cleaned recently.
Oil on plates can cause some sticking when clutch pulled which can cause problem of selecting neutral.
This would be my first thought too. Even though you said the plates were cleaned 5000 mi ago, could gum up. My Mk3 needed this done at the beginning of each season a few years back, so I added clutch plate cleaning to my season opener maintenance. Tranny would snick back and forth from first to neutral at at standstill with as much drama as a light switch. Also since I started using a motorcycle specific oil in the primary (approved for wet clutches) I've had better cluch action as well. Being a MK3, if you do decide to go with motocycle specific oil in the primary, I would recommend 20w50 or 15w50 because of the needs of the self adjusting primary chain tensioner.
Biscuit, I had to comment on your reference to a "wet clutch".
The Norton clutch is a dry clutch in a chaincase with oil for the chain and clutch bearing.
In fact when oil gets into the clutch pack you get slippage which is solved with a good solvent clean.
This why the amount of oil added to the case should never exceed the 200 cc (7 fl/oz) called for in the maintenance manual.
A pushrod end seal is also highly recommeneded to prevent gearbox oil entering the clutch basket.
When I hear ATF being suggested as an alternative to the 20/50 W oil I'm not sure if it is more likeley to penetrate the basket and cause slippage and to leak from chaincase because of its weight.
