Clutch Throwout Bearing

The throwout bearing sits in the back of the gearbox, where it is normally held in place by the clutch arm assembly. My model /5 has the ball bearing type, as pictured. Some later ones had "needles" instead of the ball bearings. Moving the gearbox around the shop during disassembly, I've been careful not to lose this piece, as it drops out fairly easily once the clutch assembly is removed.

On reassembly, the throwout bearing should be lubed with non-moly NLG1-2 grease, the same stuff you use for other bearings (fork, wheel, etc.) After lubing, insert the bearing back in, then put a drop of regular moly grease on the tip of the clutch rod (you can see the rod sticking partly out in the center of the photo). Then you're ready to reassemble the clutch arm parts.

Gearbox Reattached

Here's a view of the gearbox back in the frame. Notice that I wrapped parts of the frame with towels to prevent scratching. Even though it's not that difficult to put the gearbox back into the frame, you will scratch it if you're not careful. Also, make sure you put it in from the left side of the motorcycle.

Clutch Spline Lube 2

Here's a view of the clutch side. You can see the clutch plate and, in the center, the spline. Same thing applies here as in the last post -- grease only the outer portion of the spline surface, and don't get any grease on the front surface of the hub. Any excess grease may find its way onto the clutch plate and you don't want that.

If you are worried about having applied too much grease, an option is to slide the gearbox on all the way, then back it off a little and see if any grease has been forced out of the spline area. If so, you can wipe the excess off and slide the whole thing together again. The two halves should fit tightly together without a hitch. Piece of cake.

Clutch Spline Lube 1

Ready for the clutch spline lube. There are plenty of articles out there on the subject, so I'll just go over the few important points I've learned. Number one, notice the beer in the background. Important. Equally important is number two, the gearbox. Make sure that all mating surfaces (basically any of the flat surfaces you see in the photo) are cleaned with solvent. These surfaces must sit tight against their counterparts. There is no gasket between the gearbox and the engine housing. Next, apply a fairly thin coat of grease to the splines (the teeth in the center). Don't pack the "valleys" full of grease, just coat the outer splines. Do the same on the clutch plate splines. I use straight Honda Moly 60 Paste for this. Make sure there is no grease on the front of the hub, only on the splines. At this point, you can also place a drop of regular moly grease on the tip of the clutch rod you see in the center of the hub.