Hello..just purchased a '73 CB 750..the bike has a bit over 10K miles on it. So far I have removed, cleaned, n reessemabled the carbs..purchased new boots from air box to carbs, replaced both throtle cables..the usual stuff. The bike starts and runs although a bit ruff...but I can handle that and plan to. The problem I am having is with the clutch, or clutch cable adjustment. When I purchased the bike it shifted into first gear no problem..when i got it home and tried to pull it into the garage..it seemed the clutch lever/cable wasn't working or had moved out of adjustment..meaning when I pull clutch lever and go to put the bike in gear I can hear the transmission gears grinding. I pulled out my Clymers manual and made the adjustment to the cable down on the clutch side and that worked..for a minute. I have been fiddling around with trying to adjust the cable with no luck what so ever. Sometimes after I have made the adjustments it works fine for a minute or two then reverts back to either not working at all for slightly working. I inspected the clutch lever and housing at the handle bar and it seems to be bent a bit but nothing that shouldn't be able to be compensated for for adjusting the cable. I am going to purchase a new cable and see what happens..but does anyone out there have any ideas..I realize it maybe be the actual clutch..but could an old cable be stretched to a point or the clutch lever so out of wack that it couldn't be adjusted to compensate ...PLEASE any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

If I'm not mistaken, you might need to adjust the clutch at the clutch, not just the cable. Pull the clutch cover. There's an adjustment screw with a locking nut at the center. Loosen the nut and turn the screw clockwise until slight resistance is felt. Then back the screw off (counter clockwise) 1/4 turn. Then tighten the lock not, being careful not to change the position of the adjustment screw.

Then you can go back and adjust the cable play....big adjustments at the cable/clutch cover junction, minor adjustments at the clutch lever.

If you have a manual, the process is described there.

HTH!

 

That makes good sense Less, especially after what has been described, a loose lock nut would do exactly what you are describing.