Help with Clutch and Adjustment

[obfuscate]

I recently took off my clutch cover to replace a leaking gasket and I'm not able to get the clutch cable properly adjusted. I've used the fine adjustment before but not the course adjust.

No matter which way I move the nut on the course adjust my clutch cable still feels soft/sloppy. When the engine is off I can get it to shift to 1st or 2nd. When I turn it on it jumped a small bit then died even though I had the lever as close to the handle as possible.

Can someone help out with a detailed description of how to adjust the cable ? (I'd also love an explanation of how the clutch mechanism works on a bike in general.) I've read the manual but need something beyond, put fine adjust all in, take out slop with coarse, fine tune with fine. How can I tell if the clutch is engaging/disengaging ?

Thanks.

[Johnj]

Motorcycle clutches are usually made up of a stack of alternating plain steel and friction plates. One type of plate has lugs on its inner diameter that key it to a basket that turns the transmission input shaft, while the other type of plate has lugs on its outer diameter that key it to a basket turned by the engine crankshaft. The plates are forced together by a set of coil springs when the clutch is engaged.

Adjusting your clutch should be outlined in your service manual, which you may have to purchase separately from your bike.

[Sev]

Sounds like you forgot to pull out the "plunger" on the clutch and correctly install the shaft on it. Basically, you're not hooked up to the pushrod that spreads the clutch.

[obfuscate]

Sev-- That was pretty close to being the problem actually. Figured I should give you bonus points for figuring it out without seeing the bike. Cheers!