Is the entire clutch assembly moving around axially?

You'd have no clutch pulling the lever in. It would be each and every time the gap. You yourself could not remove the back without an air tool. You yourself reassembled the whole pack and still the same thing. So no, I don't see how?

You had the gap set where you said there was very little pop. I wanted to gap that a touch more so the pop is away from that gap still [needed???] is the question? And if that arm was more polished than gouged at, then no, that seems to be wearing fine is more (smooth) rub than {rough} sheer at that ball area at the tip of the arm?

Hub, I'm digging this clutch action now, rode it last night, cold gap closes up everytime to the same place, maybe 2mm airgap, clutch release is smooth and chatter free, lock up is nice and firm. May be all in my head but it seems like the bike accelerates harder now. I can live with temperature change at the airgap, not a problem as long as it's predicatble. The Pop doesn't seem to hurt anything but it's like a good detective novel, I want to know why???

Not a good picture of the actuator lever but the fork area that rides on the pushrod end was not smooth, looked rough, really rough. Shouldn't that be smooth, polished in by riding on the mushroom? Replace the $32 part??

Problem is I can't see what could be hanging up that bad on the fork to cause the clunk and I say clunk because it is a clunk or metallic thud when it releases.

Pack is right, I had that thing torn down for almost three weeks waiting on parts and scrutinized every inch of every part looking for clues, assembled by the book sweated every detail. Columbo couldn't solve this one, case closed?

The 32 dollar part comes with a companion on the other rubbing side. One wears, the other gets chewed up equally say. So if that is a roller bearing? Then a blind bearing puller is headed for the tool box. Can we see score marks on the needle bearing? Then, there is the seal to replace too.

1. Arm
2. Seal
3. Needle bearing
4. Throwout pin so the arm and pin kiss each other all brand new parts.
5. Clutch cover gasket
6. Small size blind bearing puller kit

Still wanna change the arm only for another chapter in the book? Then, 2 thru 5 is the next chapter = NOLTT you rub both hands together: which one stayed cold?

Lot of wear on that shaft for only 4000 miles and running in needle bearings, especially since it never moves except when pulling in the clutch.

Hubster, I was thinking the $32 part eliminates one variable and requires no disassembly of the cover. 20 minute change out and see if changes anything.

Fact: after tear down and inspection the only abnormal wear in my clutch was on that shaft, the fork was chewed up and bearing contact areas were grooved and worn enough to snag a fingernail. Start with the simple and obvious ...no? Running out of ideas here.

Hubster I think I've found it. I pulled a Columbo, studied the evidence and fit the pieces of the puzzle together. It's in the pushrod and lever. When that cover cools down, the lever slides inboard on that shaft, look at the wear band behind the mushroom on the pushrod. There's almost no clearance there and Mother Teapot left a sharp edge when they machined the end of that lever. It's digging in to the pushrod shaft and binding up as it cools down. That's why there's zero freeplay the next morning. Pull in the clutch and those springs put about 360 lbs of pull on that lever. The force is finally great enough to overcome the bite on the pushrod and releases it with a pop. This explains the damage on the end of the release fork, should be polished smooth but it looked chipped up, hard to see in the photo but it's tore up.

Verdict: New pusher and lever or take the old one out and polish the shaft and deburr the fork on the end of that lever so it won't bind anymore.

I have a way to test this theory, stay tuned!

* Last updated by: Kruz on 6/13/2013 @ 8:24 PM *

When in doubt, polish the shaft.

;)

Found the problem Hub, it was the "crude" lever shaft binding up on the pushrod as suspected all along. Mother Teapot should have cut a 45 degree chamfer on that notch in the lever shaft to prevent this. I'll need to pull the shaft now and bevel it with a die grinder, start out by taking maybe .001" off at a time and see how that works.

The excessive wear on this shaft is a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself. The shaft is damaged from the binding load and probably the needle bearings are shot as well. The grooving I noticed in the transmission input shaft where the pushrod rides on the inboard side is also collateral damage from the pushrod binding. To fix everything, new transmission input shaft, new actuator lever, new needle bearings and new pushrod. Problem was caused by setting the lever freeplay too loose. This is why the guys that were setting it tight were not getting the pop but were getting clutch slip. It's a narrow band setup, Mother Teapot needs to re-engineer this.

Polishing goes something like this. I have those two pins in a master link? They go around that sprocket and rub the pins down? Now I'm going to polish the pin away even more is the weakest link?

Like I said, who took out whom? Needle bearing? It is now cocked just enough to lock up something? What should be a perfect 180° [is the shaft] to a 90° [call it the bearing] is say this is X to Y are those degrees. The 90 fails, cocks the 180 to move, and lets exaggerate the lower angle to 45° and now look at the end being jammed up in those few degrees of cocking.

I guess it didn't take much to lock that actuator that is usually bulletproof?: as long as the parts don't fail. So do we narrow it down to the shaft's needle bearings? The pin has that wear pattern is rubbing on the cage, not a roller? This caused the bottom part to gouge rather than roll over each other?

This same setup has been used for years on all the ZX lineup with no issues until now. New variable is the they relocated the clutch up away from the oil bath and it cooks the cover, too much thermal expansion for close tolerance parts. That setup works as it heats up and expands but as it cools back down you're trying to push on a rope so to speak. The quick fix believe it or not, is a rubber band around the clutch lever when you put it away hot. Pull an airgap at the perch, maybe 5-6mm and let it cool down....perfect...no bind and no pop. You're holding that lever up tight against the mushroom head on the pushrod as it cools and no bind.

Should I contact the Mothership and let them fix it or field fix?

They probably read this place like any other kawi site. Maybe it was just a matter of perch gap and how could you tell kawi to change what is ... "perfect" ... as you mentioned?

Rubber band? I'd spiral a small enough spring in between the clutch boss where the outer cable screws into, and it butts up against the swivel arm of the inner cable. See where that replaces the cracks about to cook that rubber band?

You get me near something that needs a yank on the X to Y, eye will spring into action jackson hand me that 1/4 drive rat shit. Failed fix is a field mouse me, hello mother tea? Yes, I set the trap. I see why you raised the clutch like a kitchen sink? Now open the door at the bottom, scoot that clutch cover in there with the cheeze on the shaft. A little bit farther away from the ajax can... There... Perfect!

Hub, where'd you find that relic? Looks like a candidate for Smithsonian museum or on display with King Tut....lol

OK' lets talk x and y here, walk the tech. That clutch pack needs a straight linear pull, let's call that the x axis. Rotary puller mechanisms like the ZX pulls both x and y, think high school trig 101 here, sine and cosine blah blah.

My first jap bike, a Suzuki TM-125 had a more elegant clutch puller than my ZX. It used a rack and pinion mechanism in the clutch cover to convert rotary action into straight x axis pull. Zero issues ever!

There's only one position of the ZX actuator where it delivers straight pull down the x axis and that's at 90 degrees. Everywhere else you're mixing in some why with your ex, y component is side loading the shaft creating the bind.

I'm yelling you Hub, that thermal part of the equation is putting that stone age tech outside it's normal operating window.

It is not "perfect" or Ai wouldn't be spending a month of my life trying to fix mother teacup's hiccup.

BTW , I ordered a new lever, the needles and cages looked OK, I'll relieve the sharp edges on that new lever where the bind is happening before the install.

Do we have basket growth? Centrifugal force may be pushing the pressure plate out? That takes up perch gap. Where is the X to Y at the pull? In other words, set the growth the cable needs, this places the arm where? The rotary should be hanging up right now... All hot and put to bed. You come out in the morning, where is that arm in proportion to cold [no snap] position? Where is the arm in the snap position?

Cold, not spinning, the growth is back to room temp. Can you see the clutch basket from the oil cap filler? So if you could take a probe, a scribe, a pocket size screwdriver, you could move a plate before you pop the cable. This says; did I move with pressure plate under pull pressure, or is this cable slack in bind via that gouged area you mentioned?

Hub, I just might be able to see that contact area in question through the filler hole. It is the shaft that is binding, that's where all of the wear and damage was.

There's the gap, pull it in maybe 6-7mm and let it cool, no pop.

Hub, I think this is where the hang up is happening, wish I had gotten a better photo.

What does the pull arm look like? You could almost dress that with a jeweler's file and try it again. Unless it needs more of that arch and if you file it down it may catch even more? So who knows? I'd see how the arm and that hook actuate in the static in your hands? See if that can catch itself as you move it thru the arch throw.

Roger that, you can bugger that thing up even worse if you're not careful. The catch has to be in that lever end, how else would the ziptye/cool down eliminate the bind and pop?

I'm focusing on the bottom of that half circle notch, when I get the old one back out I should be able to see where it's been binding.

You know looking at that lever gap, I've seen racing setups a lot sloppier. This is one of the nastier sport bikes so it's going to have that little race trick added to it. It's hard to see if that is that torn up? You have the shot at the X and that is head on. I can't see the Y shot to see how torn up that arch is?

And what I'm saying is when all is said and done with a new part(s) is it will occur again. She is high strung and if you are going to put it thru its paces, it looks like normal race gap will be the set point to me?

And then this just popped in my head. If say we polished out the rod's scored area, we have to pull more lever to take up what material that came off. But as the arm is released, it is farther away from where it was. Get it? So it sits farther away at rest, possibly will not catch where the arch is say less worn down is the catch? More worn is the clearance not to catch?

And you do know by doing that, the throw is shorter. You are not pulling the pressure plate farther away, but rather the shallower arch has less pull-away. See it?

Got it Hub, moving the sticking point to a new location might just favorably change the dynamic of the setup. Yer right, just changing that lever is not going to solve anything, if it does it would most likely come right back.

When the new lever gets here, I'll pull the old one out and get some clear pics of where the wear/damage is occurring.

I really can't see anything else that would create the bind except that pushrod and lever.

Good cut away shot of my slipper setup.

Look at the pushrod, actually a pull rod. For that clearance to open up 6-7 mm freeplay at the lever on the pop, clutch pack/pressure plate would have to move outboard as it cools, makes no sense. The only thing that makes sense is the cover and lever attached to it is expanded out at operating temperature and as it cools it moves back inboard increasing freeplay, except that it binds and can't release the freeplay until the pop releases it all at once.

It has to be in the lever Hub, can't see anything else in this cutaway that would cause what we're seeing.

Man, what a great shot, you can clearly see how the slipper ramps and slipper springs work, looks bullet proof here Hub. Look at the lockup when the engine is driving the wheels, solid! Walkin the tech, I can't see a source for the pop here, it's gotta be out in that lever.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 6/17/2013 @ 11:47 AM *

That's some engineering. Look at the pop-out at the spring's table legs can walk inside there. See how the ramp is about as much distance to break the plates as the hand lever moves the pressure plate? And too, look at the right cut side, the friction closest to falling out. So there is no way the pack is compromised be it the pressure of the springs walking those table legs into the basket.

I can't see how that arm and pin can hang up? That arm is just an arch over the back of that pull rod's face or under its chin say. And when you push that pull rod into the basket, there is the needle bearing/machine washer/rivet? So how much push does that collapse into? Your 4mm to your 3mm perch gap makes 6 to 7mm total give or take?

So I now have to wonder where we can chase that extra mm gap? What stops the throwout bearing [call it] from dumping into the clutch inner? The main shaft and nut, right?