TEST TIME Kiddies ..........

[Wickedfinger]

.... My buddies 1984 ATC200X had an intermittent problem. While riding, usually after the trike was warmed up to operating temperature, the clutch cable became stiff and refused to budge. Sometimes the trike would shift in and out of gears in this condition, sometimes it wouldn't. Usually the locked up clutch cable would release after some riding then happen all over again after a while. Sometimes especially if the trike was stalled out, the only way to loosen up the clutch was to rock it in gear back and forth - first the gears would unlock then the clutch problem would go away. ..... One last thing, the problem has been remedied - what was the cause of it?

[ATC crazy]

Im not very mechanically inclined but I would say the throw-out bearings went. Or a warped clutch basket What did I win huh, huh :-P :-P :D

[Kilborg]

Why this could be none other then the shift lever being bent!

Seriously though, I have had several motors do this. I'll wait for a few more people to post before I break the news if nobody else comes up with it.

[hrc200x]

Johnny: Is the answer a grooved clutch basket or worn shift forks?

[Tri-Z_Jim]

Do I need a #2 pencil for this test???

[mtbikr]

grooved basket or badly frayed clutch cable?

[Wickedfinger]

.... somebody get Jim a #2 pencil ..... everybody else can just type.

[KASEY]

ok,it is winter , there is water in the clutch cable housing it freezes and the clucth seizes up after riding and a little engine warmth it starts to thaw out working again,,,,,,, right??????

[4cylinders]

Is the cable laying on the exhaust pipe? Toasted cables are not good!!

[TimSr]

I cant picture the internal clutch mechanism on the 200x, so without seeing it I cant consider anything there, but of what I can picture, very deep brooves in the clutch basket could do it, when the fiber tabs move forward into the V groove in the basket, and get stuck. Rolling it backwards would "unstuck" them.
First check would be to see if the cable was actually stuck, or the clutch was holding it. The after determining it wasnt the cable, Id drain the oil. Water in oil will cause fibers to swell. Then Id take the cover off and look at it, and Ill bet the problem would be looking right back at me.

[Wickedfinger]

Ok, the answer was indeed a grooved clutch basket ... but the problem was compounded by notches in the tabs of the friction and steel clutch plates - they would actually inter-lock with the basket - wierd stuff - too many full throttle, no clutch shifts from the previous owner I guess.

[hrc200x]

I think it would be neat to start a post about weird problems people have encountered with trikes. your friends problem would be considered one of them and so would this one: I had a '84 200x. I killed it in a mosquito infested wet area and tried to kick start it, 1/2 way through the kick the kick lever would jam up tight and almost break my foot. I kicked it probably 30-50 times (about 8 of those times was a foot breaker) and finally it went. Got home and started looking into the problem by taking off the CDI cover on the top end, and there lied the problem. The springs for the ignition advance broke. I slid a whole different adavnce thing onto the cam with good springs and it never did it again.

[TimSr]

Hey Wickedfinger, mentioning the notching of the friction plate tabs, I once bought Vesra plates for my R, and while the fiber portion didnt seem to wear out any faster than OEM, the friction plate tabs notched MUCH faster, almost hook shaped. Just something for folks to keep in mind with clutches that take a lot of abuse.