clunk

[hank43]

I noticed on my '09 Voyager that if I "feather" the clutch when stopped, I can hear a distinct clunk.....like slack in the drive line - I parked the bike, and discovered that when I rock the drive belt back and forth, there is play, the front pulley moves maybe a quarter turn before "biting in". This is not the belt moving on the pulley, it is the pulley moving on the transmission output shaft..... Any ideas?

hank

[ewilberg]

Hey Hank,
I have a 2011 Voyager 1700 ABS. My bike has been a "clunky" shifter for the most part the entire time I have owned it. I was thinking it was just the way the bike runs. I have at time been able to feather the clutch in and have a smooth shift. Sorry its not much help but for sure I have not seen anything else mentioned on this subject on any of the other forum sites.

[debron]

I noticed this at the 2011 Western Regional Rally when Kawasaki was there with their "Vulcan Nation" demo bikes. Belt-drive bikes are touted as being much smoother than shaft-drive, not having the "slap" (the "clunk" you describe) that shaft-drive bikes have when letting out the clutch. I was expecting a very smooth ride. However, every one of the Voyagers and Vaqueros I rode that day had the slap, or clunk. Not as much as my shaft-drive, perhaps, but very definitely there.

[Terros]

All the bikes I have owned over the last 20 years or so were shaft. Different makes, engine sizes but shaft. Every bike had a clunk of one sort or another to some degree. You have to consider all the moving parts needed to make that rear tire turn. Two mated gears might not have any movement between them, but throw in universal joints, numbers of gears and clutch plates and there you go, clunk.
After awhile you don't notice or feel it anymore.
Bob