The release arm (let's not call it a lever as that's confusing!), when the cover is fitted, should be aligned by the punch marks with no cable attached and pushed forward with your finger. Pushing it forward with you finger just takes up the slack that the release arm spring creates as it wants to pull the arm back. It is also a visual identifier that the clutch is at the last point at which it will be engaged; any further forward movement in the arm will start to disengage the clutch plates.

When you fit the cable, hold the release arm so it stays aligned by its punch marks (which you have already set in 1). That will then give you a good starting point to adjust the clutch free play as you know that the actuating mechanism is right on the point of engagement/disengagement.

Went bAck into the forest for the fourth time and still no joy. The time of work is killing my family and leaving my new bike in the middle of no where is terrible.
And to be honest im loosing faith.

Took out the new clutch and luckily it looks all new and healthy. Also in the right order. Damper spring facing out. However my service manual differs from peilates advice and says only the last plate punch marks should be in notch d.

Also": T3|T1|T1|T2|T2|T1|T1. The T1 plates notched tabs should fit into the right hand one of the two slots marked with triangles (the clutch housing should be rotated to get these slots at the top before you start"

The last sentence quoted to rotate the slots to the top. I could not do.
Be grateful for any help

Unfortunately I have not had an xt clutch apart but you should be able to rotate the basket with the spark plug out so there is no compression on the engine and flick the starter button to bring it round or stick the bike in top gear and rock the back wheel, its possible to move the basket other ways but if you lever it with something they are pretty fragile and you risk breaking something. hopefully Pleiades will be along with a better description as he seems to have more knowledge on this engine.
Best Regards,
Jim.

Pictures are sometimes worth a thousand words.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...psd9383d39.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8b5f4c17.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps2626c601.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...psac2a814a.jpg

Here is the current situation that I left my bike in. Checked new clutch plates etc were In the right order. Followed the advice of pleiades and adjusted the release arm lever, at the same time changed the oil filter.

The adjustment of the Release Arm lever made the rear wheel turn A little bit faster which was reassuring. But alas after hours of tampering the sun going down I had to get out the forest very disappointingly. I could still stop the rear wheel with the slightest touch of my foot while it was revving high in first gear.

Yeah thanks Kev. I bought the same manual of you a few weeks ago I referred to it all the time As well as the advice of jim and pleiades but no break through. I am seriously thinking i will have to give up on the nicest and most expensive item i have ever owned. Freaking out. No break threw and running out of time.

By the way on the final adjustment the clutch went really tight on both the Rear arm and the handlebar lever.

Just a thought - Why not do a test to see if the clutch is assembled correctly and will actually bite? The following test should highlight whether it is the clutch pack assembly itself, or the operating mechanism...

Remove the clutch cable completely and the let the release arm go slack (so it isn't doing anything). Stick the bike in first, make sure the back wheel is clear of the ground, start it (you'll obviously have to hold the clutch lever even though there's no cable attached as its in gear), and see if you have drive.

If you do: the clutch pack is assembled correctly and and the problem lies with the release arm/cable/lever adjustment and alignment.

If you don't: The cluch assembly is at fault and will need another look.

Do you have any photos of the clutch been assembled?

In my 33 years of working on bikes I have never seen or heard of a brand new clutch pack burn out as you describe. If there is no drive through the clutch pack it could be assembled incorrectly, if the spring tensions are incorrect the clutch pack is not pulled together tightly so causes a slip, is there free play in the clutch lever at the gear box end to release bearing which will cause the clutch pack to have no tension so slips. Are you sure that the outer clutch hub is lined up correctly with the inner hub grooves if not the clutch puck will have no tension? Is the clutch cable seized causing the clutch to slip.

These XT's do not suffer from clutch problems in their standard form.

You say the clutch is assembled correctly & the spring tensions are correct, if it is it would not slip.

That sounds like a great idea. So I unlink the clutch cable from the rear arm. Put the bike in first and then start the engine. If the cable and the release arm are not attached why do i need to use the handlebar lever.