That rattling noise you get from the clutch while the bike is idleling in nuetral is getting really loud, much worse than when it was new. When warming it up that brief period when the auto choke is done doing it's thing and the bike is still too cold to idle normally, there's a nasty crackling (not the normal rattle) noise that can be felt through the seat, goes away when you pull the clutch in (of course) but is this normal when the clutch is out? Basically the lower the RMP, the worse it gets. Bike has 40K.

That's the clutch basket. What weight oil are you running?

Adjusting the counterbalance shafts might help.

What is your idle speed ?,low speed - more noise from the clutch.You can adjust balancing shafts and inspect your clutch basket,that is about it.

Oh yea one more thing,balancing vacum at idle might help,smooth idle can help clutch noise.

Mine also makes this noise, & when the engine is cold it is the loudest.

I use Amsoil 10/40

How do you balance the vacume?

http://www.carbtune.com/

I think he is refering to EFI model bird's, On a carbed bird you have to wait until warmed up before releasing the choke, so much you can do about it, What does it idle at when on choke ?

On the EFI you just raise the idle until the engine smooths out (usally not by much), when the engine smooths out it will not "stumble" as much & you wont get that noise.

Yes it's an FI model.

I just found some burrs on the clutch rod, the short one right that comes right out

Uh this is bad... The inside of where this was scraping I was able to smooth out but why did this happen and what's to say it won't happen with the new one. Again, the noise was loudest at low RPM in Nuetral, pull the clutch in and it stopped. Clutch rod looks ok, and the inner clutch spins fine. Other than the burrs on the pin and inner shaft, I can't figure out what's happening. Shiftes like crap too.

the short one that comes right out....... now that don't sound right. the clutch rod is three piece made form pieces of different material pressed together. one is aluminum and has a short hard steel end on one end and the other end has a longer hardended steel piece. It should all be together. the long steel end is in the area of the sproket and goes into the clutch slave.
If I am getting what you are saying you may have a bad rod and maybe some things bad in the shaft that are the problem. If the rod turns with the shaft it will turn in the clutch slave and that is not good. Will heat the fluid up and clutch master and fluid will have problems.
The piece you are showing is in a bearing and that is what will let the rod stay stationary while the shaft the clutch is mounted turns.
But the clutch rod is one piece,,,,,,,is yours?

That bearing between pictured part and pressure plate,,,is it in good condition ? Side wear marks on that piece ( clutch joint ?),it seems that it spins too much with the clutch on ,I guess that is why it drags,,,,Pure speculation on my part ,I`ve never taken XX clutch a part.

Is the one in picture that is damages, it's called the clutch joint, my bad. Other than the burrs on the inside of the drive shaft EVERY thing else looks and operates fine, including the bearings. The only thing I can think of was cleaning the clutch joint and not re-greasing the outer side of it.

The pics need to be resized, when I click to enlarge them they get blury & cannot see detail information.

If the burrs are too deep I would replace the part before re-installing. You might want to take a look at the inside of the clutch boss, it is cast aluminum & will damage easily, make sure the bearing is properly seated, or you may have to replace the clutch boss.

I've already ordered the clutch joint, and de-burred the inside, I'm just trying to understand how to not let it happen again. If that piece way dry, when I inspected the clutch last year would that be enough?

Sorry my camera sucks, the first pic is better and is just showing that there's some grinding going on, not the good kind unfortunatly.

Anyone?

Low level engine oil could have caused it, by not allowing proper lube. to the clutch component's.

Very bad for any engine component. Have you been checking you oil level regularly ?

I dont think the oil pump is to blame, since the clutch usually just bath's in the oil ?

Well,some crap got on your clutch joint,I would check condition of surrounding parts,perhaps something during oil change,,,,,,,,

+1 on you camera

The condition of the oil and it's level we always great. IS that part suppossed to be greased heavily??? because I believe it was dry when I put it in last year and only lubed by a small amount of engine oil. It was a about 2k miles before I noticed the problem and got worse from there.

No grease. Maybe some assembly lube wouldnt hurt though.

Mine makes quite a racket when cold in nuetral too. It got quieter after a 10-30 valvoline change, but only for a coulple hundred miles. Back to noisy again. My bike has only 20k on a 97, so I am kinda skeptical about messing with anything. Hell, I have been waiting 3 wks for a manual from the local bike shop (not Jim's). I have noticed that when I am WOT at about 8k in 1st,2nd,3rd, i feel a little slip. I hope it's the tire breaking loose, but I don't see any tire proof of that. i bought the bike from a fat guy that lives in str8 road country. Is 20k about time for clutches? The problem is, I love my bike so much that I'm scared to tinker much. . .yet. Course being a mech for 8yrs and having thoudsand of tools laying around means it's just a matter of time! Need a damn book! Been thinking of checking the valve (noticed the sewing machine sound when running near a wall) adjustments, balance shafts, and anything else I read in the e-family we call a forum. Any other ideas? Thanks

answer to all your problems

If that's a bird, check your cush drive, too.... We changed ours before we sold the bird because of rattling and chain lash. If you've never changed it, it might be worth checking out since you have quite a few miles on the bike. Just a thought.

If your cush drive is making noise when the bike is in neutral you have more serious issues ;)

+1


thanks for the reminder, I knew I saw that online manual somewhere!

Does anyone think my problem could be related to the really late clutch engagement problem I was having? Late and inconsistent.

Yes, it is possible if you still have the problem try this:
Pull the clutch push rod & measure it make sure it is within factory specs
Pull clutch f/plates & s/plates make sure they measure within specs.
Make sure you have the right number of f/plates & s/plates.

If that dosent do it it would most likely be your clutch basket, with a slight possible it being your hydrolick clucth master cylinder/slave cylinder.