Z900 A4 sticking clutch

[Gray17]

You are correct in your assesment of the Z series and the very reason i took the plunge to buy 1 in the 1st place despite the elated prices.
If youve read my previous posts you will know I've owned several Kettles and 2 strokes too along with numerous Hodna, Blackbirds, VFRs and a Z650 but the big Zed had always eluded me.
However my upsetting people is not my intention, however i speak as i find, if as you say they are extremely easy to work on and reliable then how do you explain the issues i'm having with mine, if you think I'm making it up, then please come along and try it yourself, make your own assesment.
I would also point out that the help section is littered with numerous posts with people having similar issues so its not just mine.
Perhaps your initial statement was true back when they were new, but thats 40+ years ago, lots of tinkering, bodging and swopping of original parts from prev owners has probably occurred, and could attribute part of the reason?
I myself have tried to put the bike back to as new condition utilising as many original parts as possible, where not available then used or pattern have been used. This i'm sure is true of most old bikes.
None of this explains why the bike refuses to run correctly, or why new issues keep cropping up. The bike looks like a new bike (well it did until the fuel blistered tank paint) but this will be sorted shortly.
But despite it looking new it runs. Crap! I spent £6500 on buying it have spent nearly £4k to get it to its current state, the bike is probably now only worth that and thats if i ever get it running properly?
So my question to you is what would you do with it, leave it as an expensive ornament, or keep trying to get it rideable?
I arnt a magician so no magic wand, i can't stop problems occurring, all i can do is try to fix them as they crop up.
To be fair Robs expertise got the bike running perfect, ticked over great, pulled well without stuttering. But it only ran that way for 300 miles? Now it soots 2 plugs coughs and splutters at low revs and holds back again, so perhaps the settings have altered, although no one has tinckered with them.
The only thing that did happen is the magnet fell out of the pick up cam on dyna S but has now been replaced, everything else is exactly as Rob left it. Even the timing is still spot on and advances correctly.
I come on this forum purely seeking help to get the bike to where it should be, i admit im a complete novice on Kawasakis and relish the knowledge and expertise others have on here that i dont.
But i do still need it, otherwise ive spent a small fortune for nothing!
Whilst you state that youve never heard of anyone having as many problems as me with old Zeds, perhaps I'm just unlucky or youve not read the same posts on here i have? Either way i didnt buy it just to look at it, i bought it to ride it and at moment i cant.
Of course there are jobs Rob left me to do Camchain being 1 but honestly cant believe when replaced that would make much difference to poor running? But its on my to do list

[DeadZedDave]

@Gray17
I stand by my earlier post.
If you want to continue to have a poke at the same group of people who you are asking for help from, then keep on going and see how that works out for you.
Same goes for having a poke at the bikes that so many of us own. To say a z900 is somehow flawed based on even a dozen or so forum posts, when compared to the tens of thousands made, holds no logic whatsoever. Its not a good look for you...... but what do I know.
Keep on going.
I'll continue to follow the posts and very much look forward to the day when you can seriously impress me (and everyone else) by telling us all you've fixed it.

However: In you latest you have asked me a direct question "So my question to you is what would you do with it".
To offer you a direct answer; sell it. Cut your losses and move on. From all you've written thus far it seems clear that you get no pleasure from this bike - why continue to put yourself through the pain. You could put the cash towards a good running example with the emphasis here being "good running" - You might enjoy it .... !
or just keep the money to spend it on something else.

[gray]

About the clutch, I had another thought last night.
You said you put copper slip on the clutch actuating helical drive, which turns the clutch cable movement into a push onto the push rod.
If memory serves, it's a steel centre in a nylon /plastic outer.
I remember reading in a magazine when someone said that copper slip was good to prevent things seizing in place, and assists disassembly for parts that rarely need to move or be stripped apart, but can act as an abrasive if applied to a component which moves constantly ( and you'll use the clutch dozens of times in a 10 mile run I expect).
Maybe better to clean it off and use something like a grease, or better still Corrosion block blue grease. If the nylon component has worn , it may need replaced to give a smooth clutch action

Regarding the other matter just above, keep your chin up.
It's a great bike but requires devotion and fettling over the years you have it, to keep it pleasant to ride. I speak as a Z1 owner since 1988.

[Gray17]

Thanks for reply, strangely enough stripped clutch down today, will remove the copper slip as it is indeed metal spiral in plastic, think issue lies with the push rod as it feels very gritty when rotated for some reason, will have to strip basket off and drain oil to get at it, but may well need replacing, cant have it sticking its like russion roulette when it will actually release. Also stripped off the new clutch cable, so will check the lever pivot bolt whilst apart.
I've also stripped tank off and drained fuel from it, removed tank cap and all badges ready for the repaint.
So at least made a start on it.

[kev edwards]

There is no need to drain the oil just lean the bike over enough to get the oil to the far side of motor, pull the rod first and inspect it, expect some marking, where actuator is concerned I would and have always changed mine to the ball and steel screw type with the slightly longer arm, much more efficient and not prone to any binding, there are other models that have these but I cannot remember which ones.

[haydnw@mac.com]

There is no need to drain the oil just lean the bike over enough to get the oil to the far side of motor, pull the rod first and inspect it, expect some marking, where actuator is concerned I would and have always changed mine to the ball and steel screw type with the slightly longer arm, much more efficient and not prone to any binding, there are other models that have these but I cannot remember which ones.

What he said - run the back wheel onto a board to raise it about an inch and it leans the bike over enough on the side stand that you can remove the clutch cover without draining the oil.

[Gray17]

Cheers guys, will give that a try as oil only been in 300 miles and its not exactly cheap and a bit early for replacement. For some reason unable to remove push rod, stripped off footrest, gear lever and left hand clutch and drive sprocket cover too, can see rod but refuses to pull out, i vaguely remember theres a ball on rod and its inserted from the basket side. Will strip clutch down and take it from there. But as i say it feels almost gritty when rotating it in situ, assume as in oilbath should be smooth, unless something in the oil, will check that also.

[kev edwards]

The rod should just simply pull out, doesn't sound great, check for particulates in the oil now.

[gray]

agreed , that sounds worrying, it should be able to be pulled out from the left side . So long as the exposed bit of the pushrod , at the gearbox sprocket, is clean you can pull it through from clutch basket side ( once the basket's off)
Maybe the ball bearing between the main pushrod and the mushroom has broken up?

[Gray17]

Yes it is rather! That said from memory think my rod has a flared ball attached on the end rather then seperate and can only be removed from clutch side. Im now wondering if its been replaced at some point in its life with an alternative rod? Or could this be why its not working correctly?
Will strip it down and def check oil, any signs of contaminents and ill renew it.

[kev edwards]

The ball and rod are two separate parts and need to be to reduce wear in the rod and associated parts.

[zed1015]

my rod has a flared ball attached on the end rather then seperate and can only be removed from clutch side.

Sounds like the ball bearing has friction welded itself to the push rod which is not unheard of.
This is usually caused by not backing off the clutch worms adjuster a suitable amount ( and also the cable slack ) which leaves no clearance for heat expansion.
A side effect of this is also clutch slip at higher rpms.

[kev edwards]

think my rod has a flared ball attached on the end rather then seperate and can only be removed from clutch side.

That's a new rod and ball to start with, probably new oil and possibly a new clutch operating mushroom, I may have the mushroom but not the rod and ball, I also think you need a factory manual and need to read everything several times before starting any procedure, like the old adage measure several times, cut once.

[Gray17]

Hi Guys, well after reading several posts i was thinking the issue was either the wrong rod assembly had been fitted by prev owner or as Rob suggested the ball had friction welded to rod, makes sense as clutch was originally ok, however Kevs latest post has thrown me as his rod is similar to mine. Think best thing is to strip it and see exactly what ive got. Then go from there.
I do have both parts and full workshop manual to refer to. However i wasnt sure if the original rod and seperate ball had been superceeded by the 1 piece on later models?
Either way it needs sorting.
Question is should i stick with the 1 piece or revert back to original?
Had a quick look online, very little on ebay, Zpower have them but pattern parts, or can advertise on forum.

[kev edwards]

Revert back to original style parts rod and ball, z power probably stock them, not sure about the mushroom.