Judder engaging clutch from takeoff - sources? Lifan X-Pect

bugman-74 · 05-13-2023, 07:37 PM

Hi All,
I caught the bug 6 months ago and first picked up a Hawk DLX for myself. I was so impressed, I also picked up a Lifan X-Pect for my GF (the Hawk was perfect for me, but too tall/heavy for her, and the Xpect is just right for her).

The Xpect has about 70 miles on it, and when I engage the clutch from a stop, I get a lot of clutch Judder. Happens no matter if its hot or cold. There is no judder when clutch is fully disengaged or fully engaged - only when slipping it primarily from a stand-still. In my mind that rules out things like dragging brakes, chain with tight-spots, etc (I also checked these separately). Its probably been doing this since I uncrated it, but I don't recall. I tried a few clutch adjustments and interestingly when I adjusted the clutch to be too tight (drags just barely when disengaged), the judder goes away. This lead me to believe the cause was warped frictions/springs. FWIW I am running Rotella T4 15W-40, and we primarily ride on acres of our property which is mostly dirt and some paved roads.

I suspected it was just bad clutch frictions/steels, and got a full replacement clutch (steels, frictions, springs, basket, etc) from the place I bought the bike from. Figured I would just do a quick swap and not waste a lot of time Sherlock'ing it. I swapped the clutch out, readjusted, and it did not improve the judder at all. So I'm a little befuddled. Did I get another set of bad parts, or is something else causing the judder?

Looking at the Lifan diagram, the only clutch parts that were not replaced are #1 clutch lifter, #2 clutch pusher, #3 bearing, and #11 thrust washer. I'm somewhat suspicious of the bearing, pushrods, and pushrod bore. I bought a new brand-name 16003 bearing to try, and will measure and inspect the rest of the parts.

I plan to dig into it again soon, and this time will be taking a lot of runout measurements on all the components, put the frictions/steels on a granite plate and check with feeler gauge, etc. But before I get that far I wanted to get some input on what else could cause this, in case I'm completely overlooking something else that could be contributing?

05-13-2023, 07:37 PM	#1
bugman-74 Join Date: May 2023 Location: AZ Posts: 4	Judder engaging clutch from takeoff - sources? Lifan X-Pect Hi All, I caught the bug 6 months ago and first picked up a Hawk DLX for myself. I was so impressed, I also picked up a Lifan X-Pect for my GF (the Hawk was perfect for me, but too tall/heavy for her, and the Xpect is just right for her). The Xpect has about 70 miles on it, and when I engage the clutch from a stop, I get a lot of clutch Judder. Happens no matter if its hot or cold. There is no judder when clutch is fully disengaged or fully engaged - only when slipping it primarily from a stand-still. In my mind that rules out things like dragging brakes, chain with tight-spots, etc (I also checked these separately). Its probably been doing this since I uncrated it, but I don't recall. I tried a few clutch adjustments and interestingly when I adjusted the clutch to be too tight (drags just barely when disengaged), the judder goes away. This lead me to believe the cause was warped frictions/springs. FWIW I am running Rotella T4 15W-40, and we primarily ride on acres of our property which is mostly dirt and some paved roads. I suspected it was just bad clutch frictions/steels, and got a full replacement clutch (steels, frictions, springs, basket, etc) from the place I bought the bike from. Figured I would just do a quick swap and not waste a lot of time Sherlock'ing it. I swapped the clutch out, readjusted, and it did not improve the judder at all. So I'm a little befuddled. Did I get another set of bad parts, or is something else causing the judder? Looking at the Lifan diagram, the only clutch parts that were not replaced are #1 clutch lifter, #2 clutch pusher, #3 bearing, and #11 thrust washer. I'm somewhat suspicious of the bearing, pushrods, and pushrod bore. I bought a new brand-name 16003 bearing to try, and will measure and inspect the rest of the parts. I plan to dig into it again soon, and this time will be taking a lot of runout measurements on all the components, put the frictions/steels on a granite plate and check with feeler gauge, etc. But before I get that far I wanted to get some input on what else could cause this, in case I'm completely overlooking something else that could be contributing? Attached Thumbnails
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