How to free the clutch for the first gear selection of the d

[tubehead]

My G9 crunches into first gear no mater how long I warm it up or how many times I work the clutch lever.After that first engagement crunch it is flawless from then on.
Is there a trick to get the clutch unstuck to avoid this.

My G12 has no such problem.

[iansoady]

Before you start it, pull the clutch in and operate the kickstart. That will free the plates off (well as much as they can be).

[tubehead]

Thanks Ian

[Rob Harknett]

The afore mentioned usually works. If not the clutch trust rod may be sticking, so a good clean needed if this problem gets worse. Also try a spay WD 40 on the inside working parts via the oil filler cap.

[Julian_S]

Remove the clutch access cover (if it has one) and check that the clutch is releasing evenly - if not try tweaking the pre-load on the clutch springs to see if you can improve it.

I had this with mine and eventually found the springs not to be of even lengths when measured. Some nice new matched springs from AMC Classic spares helped a fair bit.

Julian

[Rob Harknett]

Regardless of spring length, age or tension. Always go by the book on tightening, as a guide. Then adjust the springs so the clutch opens evenly. I recently had slip on my 1936 250, its about 20 years and 10,000 miles since I last saw the clutch. 2 of the 4 springs had loosened by almost 1/4" inch. Over such a long period of time I had no slip. but got slip eventually when trying to kick start the bike. The gearbox also functions better now. I think that proves once correctly set up, the clutch should function OK for a few 1000 miles.

[1608]

tubehead, what oil do you use?

[tubehead]

tubehead, what oil do you use?

Don't know yet I have only had the bike for 2 weeks and have ordered a new chain case seal from the club as it has a serious leak but the bike tends to wet sump a bit so most likely what ever the motor is running again have not changed it yet .I also have a rust issue in the fuel tank so I am running a remote fuel tank until I get the bike sorted.I was thinking of getting a indian replica and taking my time sealing the original but have heard bad things about the Indian tanks.
The bike is currently for sale anyway because My immaculate G12 arrived from The US 2 days after I bought the G9.Original plan was to sell on the G12 and use the modest profit (got it for a song off graigs list) to buy a G9 as I had one as my student transport for 5 years back in the day.
The G12 is a case of love on first sight/ride so the 500 is going (maybe)
It is a little over priced for our market so if it does not sell I will be forced to keep it and other half will just have to accept 7 motorcycles is an excellent number.

[1608]

The reason I asked about the oil is that although the book says use engine oil ( usually sae 50) in primary chain case, g/box and engine, the general consensus now is to use a much thinner oil sae 30 ( many use atf ) in the p/chain case. Too heavier oil ( especially if its leaking from c/case into p/case can cause sticking plates.

[Julian_S]

One way to get it un-stuck that I discovered in the early days with my bike is to get the engine ticking over as slow as you can by retarding it, then having mounted the bike push off forward with some brisk energetic leg action and then just knock it up straight into first gear. (no clutch needed of course) Then you can just pull in the clutch and come to a halt.

Julian