Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board My A65 Bitsa clutch not disengaging completely.

Hi have a case like in a title with my A65, which is a surprise because most parts in it look much better than in my former BSA. Clutch basket is in good shape with it's indentations not worn by plates, same with clutch hub which doesn't show any movement in any direction, springs and nuts are in good order, friction plates are new, steel plates are mostly flat ( 4 of them ), 2 are slightly warped and I could put under it 0.05" piece of gap gauge between it and a plate of glass. Another fishy thing is a clearance between my clutch basket and thrust washer / clutch hub which for me it's excessive making my clutch basket wobble. I can literally move it sideways 2 - 3 mm pressing with one hand and pulling with another. I just wonder if I had exchange my trust washer for a new one and if my steel plates with this warp are still OK?

All the Steel plates must be dead flat if the clutch is to have any chance of working, the excess clearance is probably caused by wear in the cush drive, this will also cause drag and slip under load. 50 thousands of an inch of warp is ten times worse than 5 thou, 5 thou is enough to prevent the clutch working properly.
0.05" is 50 thou, 0.005 is 5 thou.
Have you opened up the cush drive to inspect the thrust faces of the spider?

Cush drive looks and feel pristine can't find any movement in it in any direction, so I start with ordering new steel plates for my clutch, thank you for clarification Gavin.

There is enough squish in even fecked rubber to hold the cush solid, you will not see the wear until it is opened up.

One step at the time, if I still have problems after new plates are installed, cush drive is next.

That’s a smart approach. Too many folks use the shotgun method and change everything and then never learn the cause of a problem.

Good on ya

Gordon