Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cr125m-elsin ... E++02.html

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80 CR250Ra
80 CR250Ra
78 CR250R
80 CR80
82 Bultaco Sherpa 340
78 Bultaco Pursang 250 MK12
76 Bultaco Frontera 370 MK10
76 Bultaco Alpina 250
73 Bultaco Lobito 125 MK6
76 Suzuki RM125A
90 Kawasaki KX250

I always struggle with this D@#MN thing.

#5 in the drawing/microfiche.

This works for me:

1) Remove the clutch adjusting cap on the clutch cover, and rotate the clutch lifter piece (w/adjustment screw) until the flat 'notch' part points up and to the left at about a 45 degree angle.

2) Oil the clutch actuating lever shaft and slide it down into the seal (be careful not to damage the seal) with the lever arm pointing to the rear, parallel to the side of the bike.

3) The bottom of the shaft has to slide into a short cylinder in the clutch cover, then the engagement 'finger' on the shaft has to engage the notch in the lifter piece by rotating the shaft inward. It can take a few tries to do; try playing with the angles of both the lifter piece and the lever arm. It can also help to use a small magnet to pull the lifter piece out slightly and hold it in place.

It helps to practice installing it into the cover a few times when the cover's off, but maybe your cover is already back on the motor.

Ray

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'74 CR125M (175cc), '75 MR175, '82 RM250Z, '08 YZ250F, '14 Zero FX electric, '14 Zero MX electric, '18 Alta MXR electric

Thanks, the cap is a no go on this bike.
But your advice is helpful. I didn't want to pull the cover because I just put some liquid gasket on it but I may anyway.

For what it's worth, I remove my caps with a thin steel sheet-metal bracket I had lying around, held in sideways across the entire slot width with both hands and turned like a steering wheel. It works great even if the center is completely gone from trying to remove it with a screwdriver. On the really stuck-on ones, I use the heat gun too.

If your cap is welded/epoxied/etc., these covers come up all the time on eBay. The later ('76-'78) covers are better, since they have the steel bushing around the kickstart shaft.

Ray

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'74 CR125M (175cc), '75 MR175, '82 RM250Z, '08 YZ250F, '14 Zero FX electric, '14 Zero MX electric, '18 Alta MXR electric

Thanks again!
You're full of good tips.

I used heat & the bracket to remove the cap.
I'm lucky I didn't cook the o-ring up.

Can you describe the proper way to adjust the clutch?
I've had a very stiff clutch since replacing/fibers/springs.
I was doing an oil change & thought I'd try to solve the stiff clutch issue.
I initially thought I had tightened the clutch spring bolts too much but that wasn't the case.

Now I have a new issue - everything appears to function OK until I install the cable then it doesn't spring back.
I realize I don't know the proper procedure to follow.

I'm glad you got the cap off! The original O-ring has ben discontinued, but Honda P/N 91310-PH3-003 works fine if you ever need one.

The factory clutch adjustment procedure is basically two steps:

1) Loosen the locknut on the clutch adjuster screw (under the cap) and turn the screw in until it just stops turning, then back it out 1/2 turn and tighten the nut.

2) Adjust the cable adjuster (clutch cover end) until the flat front part of the cable clevis - the sheet-metal thing that pivots in the end of the clutch actuator arm - is within 10mm of the ridge cast into the clutch cover, directly behind the cover screw nearest to the actuator arm. This is a non-critical adjustment, but if you can't get the cable within 10mm of the ridge, it tells you something's not right in the clutch assembly.

In addition, I adjust the cable adjuster at the clutch-lever end to engage the clutch when the lever is about 1/3 to halfway away from the grip, which is where I prefer it to be.

Your clutch lever should move smoothly and easily. I use Barnett springs (which work much better than the OEM ones for me) so my lever pull is a bit more than stock. I use OEM fiber and steel plates; I didn't like the Barnett plates (they dragged and slipped ).

Ray

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'74 CR125M (175cc), '75 MR175, '82 RM250Z, '08 YZ250F, '14 Zero FX electric, '14 Zero MX electric, '18 Alta MXR electric

12 years later I'm just getting to adjusting this clutch. Cancer sucks!
My main issue appears to have been the wrong clutch springs. They are quite a bit longer than the stockers I sourced off Ebay LONG ago.
I looked up how to do it & found this post. LOL