Motorcycle Repair: Trouble shifting into 1st - 01 V-Star 1100, clutch discs, drive gears

Question
'01 V Star 1100 Classic - I recently purchased this bike and it is the first bike I've worked on myself. (I apologize for my ignorance and misuse of terms.) It has 28K miles. I changed oil and air filter first thing, I had a mechanic check and change all the fluids, inspect tires, change out plugs, and do a basics check. He didn't remove anything that would require a gasket replacement. In his words, "the previous mechanic was an idiot", who had left the terminal nuts (I think) on the plugs when he installed them.

I was on a ride about 100 miles later and noticed more noise than usual (it's a noisy bike). I could hear friction when using the gears to slow down. When squeezing in the clutch handle, the noise went away. I stopped using the gears to decelerate and only used the brakes. Soon after, the bike died at 60 mph, luckily it did not lock up. I pulled over and could get the bike to start (in neutral). When shifting into 1st, the bike lurches forward and dies, although I have the clutch handle squeezed all the way in. I replaced the clutch cable, and clutch release mech. appears to work fine. Problem still persists.

I opened up the clutch cover and found that the plates were installed one notch over (clockwise) from where the Clymer manual pictures & instructions show and that some of the double cutouts were at the top, some at the bottom instead of all double cutouts at the top and all the singles at the bottom. There are some scratches on the exterior of the clutch housing as well, it appears that it is making contact with the bottom of the housing. Also, previous mechanic did not crimp one of the ears back around the clutch nut. Perhaps this scraping was what I was hearing and squeezing the clutch handle adjusted clutch so that it did not scrape?

Clutch cover, primary drive gears and all parts that I can see appear free of wear or cracks. Clutch discs appear to be in very good shape/new although I have not measured thickness. I suspect this was replaced shortly before I bought the bike. Also there are no metal specs/slivers in the oil (saved it, still very clean). I am stuck at step 11A. because I don't have the proper size socket to remove the clutch nut.

If I don't find an obvious sign of damage I will remove the alternator cover next and look around.

What do you think the problem is? Could the incorrect assembly of the clutch cause the friction and eventually the shifting issue? Thanks for your help with this.

Chris

Answer
Chris its possible but the nut not being locked coud create another issue. If the nut backed off any it allows the basket to move outward on the shaft and allows the shaft to move inward in the transmission throwing the gear alignment off.Go ahead and pull off the basket and check for any weird damage or the thrust washer not in right and then put the cltch back togethor right. Make sure to bend up the washer tab to hold it in place. Make sure the fiber discs are'ntwarped or out of specs and that the metal drive discs are'nt burnt or discolored in they are replace the discs. You can go aftermarket and save a little money. Also these engines are a little noisey as I think the Virago was their predecesor and the starter system was horrible too. Put everything back togethor and see if the noise still persists. Hopefully you wont have to get into the flywheel and stator area.