Merry Christmas all.

I have "inherited" a K100-RT, sold as a 1985 model, but VIN plated as 11/84 build and RealOEM shows it as 10/84 (serial number in my signature below). When my father had his hips replaced, he decided that he could not risk having a lean-over incident and he put it away, with a good deal of care to prep for the storage regarding fluids and flexible parts.

I recently retired and returned from being stationed overseas and have been working on getting this baby back on the road. I will apologize right up front and admit that most of my "knowledge" on this process has come out of a 1988/1989 set of Haynes breakout books and some friendly consults with my local parts counterman, along with this and other forum accessed as web search results.

All of the fluids and filters are brand-new. Since a stabilizer had been added to the fuels and the system had not been drained, I took a good look in the tank. The pump rubber seat was gummy, as well as some hoses so I dismounted the tank, rebuilt/replaced the entire fuel transport system down to the fuel rail, and up the other side through the regulator, adding a little extra insulation as suggested by my local guru. I bruised up my forearms a bit making sure all of the varnish was out of the tank, but my efforts seem well spent, after a bit of coaxing to get the juices flowing, the engine is now running like a top. I also rebuilt the front brakes' master cylinder and now all of the various functions of the bike seem to be nominal -- except one.

We can not get the clutch to disengage. The transmission shifts up and down on the stand through each gear very well, the LCD display agreeing with each lever actuation -- the power is making it through the drive train just fine. However, it will not clutch out. I have tried "brute force" assessments as mentioned in other postings (using the brake, not my hand), but it is really solid. I have measured out the cable inner wire and it appears correct at just under 3 inches. The release lever provides healthy spring resistance and return, but I understand that is could be more indicative of the coil spring and not the state of the mechanisms through the diaphragm spring. Unlike similar postings here, we have not had the clutch apart, so it is not like it could have been improperly reassembled.

To me, the implication is that the clutch will need to be replaced. I have no problem with that fact, however, we are not jigged to do that kind of work, judging from what I have seen in the various forums, with alignment tools that need to be "re-engineered and re-machined in order to work at all." The most we would seem to be able to accomplish would be a tear down to the level of separation necessary to do a spline lube.

My question to those assembled, is it worth it? Is there some other step I can take to try to regain de-clutch functions, some other mechanism in between that can be causing this? The biggest issue I have is the knowledge that if I will have to pay someone to replace/renew the clutch properly anyway, does it make any sense to crack the drive-train open myself ahead of time?

--Ron--

ok if im getting this right the clutch wont let the rear wheel free spin? I had a bike once that had sat for years and it would not disengage. what was wrong was because of sitting under pressure the clutch had welded it self together. I think your clutch plate is stuck to the pressure plate as for getting it un froze im not sure. I had to take it apart and seperate the disc so guess your gong in to the clutch. we have a bunch of guys here who im sure will be more then happy to help you. also might do a forum search for clutch removel threads good luck and keep us up to date.

Yes, I think you got it right. I suspect as much as well, but trying to make sure I have covered other possibilities by asking.

If that is what happened, I am thinking it would be preferable to just get the friction plate and pressure plate replaced than to expect the "welded" ones to perform up to snuff. When you took yours apart, were you able to resurface/reuse them?

--Ron--

I was able to reuse mine as it was a wet clutch not a dry like the K's are I dont know if the pressure plate can be resurfaced or no like a car but always tons of good used parts but me i would just replace them both also watch the shaft spines for wear

might be a good idea ,,,,given lots of space ...to give it a good (motor running ) rev whilst riding in first gear and clutch pulled in ...could it be that the plate has stuck to the spring diaphram not allowing release with out some good old solid torque to release it ? .

get used to the bike and use the kill switch to stop before you need to a few times .

just a thought

Put the bike in 5th gear and with the clutch lever drawn in rock the bike back and forth quite hard this will usually free a frozen plate. If that doesnt work you will probably need to remove the gearbox to access the clutch. There is a drawing of the clutch realignment tool in the haynes manual and it really is not a difficult job. take your time heaps of photos and ask heaps of questions.
I have seen the tools for sale on ebay for around $10.

The mighty K has a dry clutch so if one does not use it for a long time and the humidity is high the clutch face plate can rust and bond itself to the clutch friction material. I had that happen to a Saab I owned years ago and stored for three years without using it.

The solution I was advised to use was to jack up the car (in our case use the centrestand) start the engine in top gear get up to a good speed and maintaining the speed apply the rear brake putting the bonded clutch under the maximum twisting force to free it, that will usually break it free. As soon as it frees shut the throttle to avoid over revving. Then go for a run with a couple of hill starts to burnish the plate up. It will take some life out of the clutch but it avoids an immediate strip-down.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Further, as a morale boost, getting to the clutch is not difficult. It takes some effort, but again - it is not difficult! These bikes are worth saving as when you have them right they're wonderful to drive! There are lots of guides on how to do it and plenty of nice people here to support you remotely. In all fairness, no special tools are required with a bit of common sense.

Well, I tried all of them over the past couple of weeks (except for "good (motor running ) rev whilst riding in first gear" - My riding skill set is not sufficient to trust getting it moving and then in first without the use of the clutch). Still no luck, so it is into the housing we go when I get back in March. I'll let you know how it works out...

Ron