TOPIC:

Hi all - it's been a while since I was on here. Winter and Covid-lockdown means that I've spent this winter in my garage restoring my bikes. I've just finished getting my Guzzi 1000s back up and running, and now that the Guzzi is done I've turned my attention to my badly-behaved 500 Saturno. The clutch is being annoying...in that when I pull in the clutch lever when the bike has sat for a while (anything longer than overnight) the clutch won't disengage. i.e. I can't get the bike into gear without it lurching forward and stalling. I need to rock it backwards and forwards for ages before the plates finally disengage and I can get it into gear. Once it's freed up and the engine is warm it's all good - it's just the first time after a layup that it doesn't free up. My questions are:
Is this a known fault, and if so is there a way to fix it?
If it's not a common problem - any clues as to what it could be? I'm thinking along the lines of warped/broken/worn clutch basket, but that's just a guess. I'm hoping someone might have had a similar problem and could point me in the right direction...
Many thanks in advance!
Andrew.

Sticking plates. What oil has it got in it and how long has it been in there?

Hi there - Mobil1 10w-40. The oil is about 6 months old. This clutch issue has been annoying me for years, and I've changed the oil a number of times over those years. The clutch problem hasn't gotten better (or worse) in that time.

Hi Andrew.
I’d also be interested to find out if there are others having the same issue and if there is any solution. Mine is exactly the same. I only got the Saturno late last year so I can’t comment about using different oils. If I free it off it sticks again within a a couple of days.

I believe it to be purely the sticking of friction and plain plates together and nothing to do with any clutch component wear. Why this clutch is particularly prone to sticking I have no idea.

Cheers
Keith

Mine is the same if I leave it a week or so. I've found that putting the bike into second gear frees the clutch up without any jerking or stalling.

I've only had Nordwests, or a Saturno with a Nordwest engine. I don't recall any particular issues with clutch plates sticking on those.

Certainly not as much on some MX 2T engines I've had.