Ok guys. I'm trying to make this bike (which I bought to surprise the wife) enjoyable for her to ride. And so far it's not.  I fixed quite a few things on it but now I have another issue.

She said the bike shudders when taking off. So I explained  that it's an air cooled 500....and you'll need to rev it and slip the clutch to take off to avoid that shudder. She said she does that so I took it out to check out what she's talking about. And I notices it doesn't feel right either. Basically even if you rev it to 5-6 grand and let the clutch out slowly it'll shudder and studder pretty bad. About 3/4 of the way released and almost fully engaged it will hit a point where it almost bucks the bike it shudders so bad.  Its consistent to. Every time at that point it shudders really bad.  So basically it shudders when you slip the clutch till about 3/4 released then it almost bucks the last inch or so of travel. It does this at idle or taking off at 5k rpms .

Any idea as to what it is?  Bike in an 02. I got jets to put on... But after riding it I'm not sure it'll solve the problem. I understand some shudder is normal and explained that to the wife.... But after driving it myself it def doesn't seem normal. There shouldn't be that much trying to take off at that high an rmp and slipping the clutch.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Apart from a rather obvious clutch rebuild/replace/or adjustment...

It didn't have friction modified oil put in it at all??? ... Oil level ok also?

That'll fu...... Errr wreck it 

Maybe a tiny shudder might be normal sometimes.... But mostly the GS clutch is pretty smooth!

some fatter jets will help, but this is a symptom of the bike being carbureted. A longer warm up time is needed, and more choke will also help out.

Graham 

Possibly warped clutch plates. You would need to take them plates out and check them.

Do a good 3 point clutch adjustment first before you start tearing the clutch apart, might not need clutch parts any more than it needed new jets.

http://www.gs500.net/gallery/data/500/GS500_clutch_adjustment1.jpg

I first encountered GS clutch chatter down in the mountains trying to get my 97 GS underway from a stop or near stop on a steep uphill with my 240# butt onboard.  That 97 that I had bought new had 50k miles on it then.  Took more rev up and slip clutch to eliminate that chatter than the clutch slip needed to normally get the bike underway without it balking.

I put 80k miles on that 97 and after it sat unused for 2 years son JP took it for a commuter.  At 88k miles he decided to put in a low mileage engine due to oil consumption in high speed commuting.  He pulled the clutch out and I saw the plates and they looked like almost new.  In my opinion the GS needs some stiffer springs not different plates to eliminate/reduce the clutch chatter issue.

In the meantime my 02 GS has gone 98k happy miles without touching the carbs.  Rejet 02 carbs? Easier to just learn how to use a choke if you want to get away on freezing cold days without waiting for a longer warmup.

Quote from: Janx101 on May 20, 2013, 03:54:29 AM
Apart from a rather obvious clutch rebuild/replace/or adjustment...

It didn't have friction modified oil put in it at all??? ... Oil level ok also?

That'll fu...... Errr wreck it 

Maybe a tiny shudder might be normal sometimes.... But mostly the GS clutch is pretty smooth!

Not sure about the previous owner, but I use Rotella T

QuoteDo a good 3 point clutch adjustment first before you start tearing the clutch apart, might not need clutch parts any more than it needed new jets.

http://www.gs500.net/gallery/data/500/GS500_clutch_adjustment1.jpg

I first encountered GS clutch chatter down in the mountains trying to get my 97 GS underway from a stop or near stop on a steep uphill with my 240# butt onboard.  That 97 that I had bought new had 50k miles on it then.  Took more rev up and slip clutch to eliminate that chatter than the clutch slip needed to normally get the bike underway without it balking.

I put 80k miles on that 97 and after it sat unused for 2 years son JP took it for a commuter.  At 88k miles he decided to put in a low mileage engine due to oil consumption in high speed commuting.  He pulled the clutch out and I saw the plates and they looked like almost new.  In my opinion the GS needs some stiffer springs not different plates to eliminate/reduce the clutch chatter issue.

In the meantime my 02 GS has gone 98k happy miles without touching the carbs.  Rejet 02 carbs? Easier to just learn how to use a choke if you want to get away on freezing cold days without waiting for a longer warmup.

So I did the clutch adjustment, and its about 80% better. The clutch still has a slight chatter and the bike still studders when the clutch is about 3/4 engaged. I kept playing with it to try and get that last bit and wound up bringing it back to the original feel 

So, my questions are:

1.) Is it supposed to be adjusted cold or hot (and does that matter)?

2.) Does it matter if it's in gear or neutral?

It's weird that I kept fiddlign with it and it kept getting worse.....but then again the bike was hot so I was thinking that might effect it?

It will have to wait now...as I broke the cable adjuster screw right by the clutch lever! 

When you get that adjuster screw fixed redo the 3 pt clutch adjustment with engine cold and then do a clutch slippage test hot.  Standing still with bike in gear hold the brakes tight, rev the engine to 2000 rpm or so and slowly engage the clutch.  If clutch isn't slipping it will kill the engine, if it doesn't kill the engine it's time to open up the clutch and inspect it.  Never know what a previous owner might have done to a bike.  As with a car some can destroy a clutch in 10k miles while for others a clutch will last the life of the vehicle.

Quote from: gsJack on May 20, 2013, 10:01:16 PM
When you get that adjuster screw fixed redo the 3 pt clutch adjustment with engine cold and then do a clutch slippage test hot.  Standing still with bike in gear hold the brakes tight, rev the engine to 2000 rpm or so and slowly engage the clutch.  If clutch isn't slipping it will kill the engine, if it doesn't kill the engine it's time to open up the clutch and inspect it.  Never know what a previous owner might have done to a bike.  As with a car some can destroy a clutch in 10k miles while for others a clutch will last the life of the vehicle.

So should I tighten till its tight then back off 1/4 or once I feel any resistance? And in neutral or gear?

Quote from: 1990dtgl98 on May 21, 2013, 03:00:53 PM

Quote from: gsJack on May 20, 2013, 10:01:16 PM
When you get that adjuster screw fixed redo the 3 pt clutch adjustment with engine cold and then do a clutch slippage test hot.  Standing still with bike in gear hold the brakes tight, rev the engine to 2000 rpm or so and slowly engage the clutch.  If clutch isn't slipping it will kill the engine, if it doesn't kill the engine it's time to open up the clutch and inspect it.  Never know what a previous owner might have done to a bike.  As with a car some can destroy a clutch in 10k miles while for others a clutch will last the life of the vehicle.

So should I tighten till its tight then back off 1/4 or once I feel any resistance? And in neutral or gear?

You should back off the clutch pushrod free play adjustment screw 2 or 3 turns per shop manual instructions and then turn it slowly back in until it just touches the pushrod.  Then back it off 1/4 turn to provide correct pushrod free play and lock it down.  It's important to have some pushrod free play when clutch is not actuated but not too much.  Should be done with engine cold but doesn't matter whether you are in neutral or in gear.

http://www.gs500.net/gallery/data/500/GS500_clutch_adjustment1.jpg

Quote from: gsJack on May 21, 2013, 04:52:13 PM

You should back off the clutch pushrod free play adjustment screw 2 or 3 turns per shop manual instructions and then turn it slowly back in until it just touches the pushrod.  Then back it off 1/4 turn to provide correct pushrod free play and lock it down.  It's important to have some pushrod free play when clutch is not actuated but not too much.  Should be done with engine cold but doesn't matter whether you are in neutral or in gear.

http://www.gs500.net/gallery/data/500/GS500_clutch_adjustment1.jpg

Gotcha.  I only ask because in that picture it says to screw in until you meet high resistance.

Off to try again tomorrow!

Does your bike have stock gearing? Shuddering will be worse with a 17t front sprocket.