With the clutch basket cover on & the old springs refitted, I hooked up the cable to the worm drive.
Still not right. With everything adjusted as far as possible, the plates move maybe 3mm when the lever's pulled right in to the bars. Looking at this video, that seems to be about all this guy's move:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oYFW1rycKUBut it's not enough to disengage the drive -when I put the bike in gear & rock it back & forth, it's not releasing. That's with the adjusting screw on the worm drive screwed in until there's no free play & the cable adjusters at both ends on their maximum setting.
Really don't know what to do now, although hitting it with a hammer's a tempting option. Maybe the friction plates are too thick? Maybe they need really soaking in oil so they slip more? Maybe there's not enough travel in the new worm drive to move the pushrod & push the plates apart?
With the lever pulled in, I can push a screw driver, (carefully), between the plates, so they
are separating, but apparently not enough. Shouldn't have to have everything on it's maximum adjustment either.
I'd planned to get most of the jobs done this afternoon, but fell at the first hurdle.
I'll go back to the garage in the morning, with a fresh eye & see if I've missed anything. I'll have another look at the worm drive to check it's moving freely & maybe try the old one again. Maybe the plates just need some use to bed in & wear down a little, but it stalls when you try to change gear, so isn't rideable as it is.
Any suggestions before I fetch my hammer?