I have an M20 that I am rebuilding and just took the clutch off and the rod is in 2 seperate pieces. It does not look broken but all pictures I have found show a single rod. Also does anyone know the rod length.

Hello barrett,

The rod lenght is 32.3 mm. I had also a two piece rod, and I did replace it



John

email (option): john.kater@chello.nl

It's quite in order to use two pieces if you haven't got a correct one. But better to add a ball bearing of the same diam in the middle then harden and temper all four ends after the length has been adjusted accordingly. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I recently had to remove a main shaft in a Triumph TRW gearbox because someone had cut the rod and put a ball in the middle. The ends of the rod had splayed out so they wouldn't come out of the shaft. It had all seized solid.
I don't know what the M20 shaft is like but the TRW has a larger hole in the middle of the shaft than at the ends. One end has a bush in it, I couldn't see one the other end. So any ball in the middle was forcing the shafts into the side of the hole.
If you cut the rod, you need to harden the ends to stop this happening as Ron said. I would use 1 rod if you can get one.

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

The one piece rod is the correct set up...A standard length of silver steel is 13" long so will make all BSA pushrods irrespective of model or clutch type.
I generally make the rod to suit the individual bike.
Personally I would also avoid the '2 piece' method, either with or without a loose ball for the reasons detailed by Horror.
It is often the case that pushrods are 'over tempered'(too soft) leading to distortion of the ends over time.. It is easily done if you are not totally familiar with tempering colours and methods...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

A bodge from the hinterlands....

Not discounting the very real concerns expressed in the previous comments; however I find that using a 1/4" roller instead of a ball works very well, and will help overcome the issues identified.

If you have a single piece rod of the correct length and material, by all means use it, otherwise, a "stack" of rods and rollers to achieve the correct length is in my experience, quite servicable. Here in the hinterlands of Tejas, new pieces of proper silver rod were not always easily obtainable "back in the day"; the treasured bits of blued, worn, and distorted clutch pushrod, would be dressed and reused, albeit growing shorter over time...!

Since my riding now is mostly not under conditions requiring continous clutch use, (such as stop and go traffic) perhaps I am just "getting away" with using this dodge as a poor solution...but I have not experienced an issue in using such a configuration, which I have applied to different machines over the years.

JDE

email (option): teladelujo@msn.com

Nope, I too have found a use for old clutch roller other than sending your bum earthward when you find a couple on the floor

email (option): wariron@tpg.com.au