Chris - in case it's of help, I got my lever taps from Classic Motorcycle Spares and the elbow  clears the top fin of the cylinder head by about 5-6mm.

I haven't seen any evidence of that on my 1968 A65, but that's maybe because it's done only 11k miles since new. The previous owner was a mechanic, so I'm assuming he tightened the head down to the correct torque.

Thanks for providing the sheet, as it shows the factory's specification!

Yes, I did much the same as Bess.

If you could get the springs fitted without some form of lever, then they wouldn't be under enough tension and the stands might easily come down and hit the ground while you're riding. Both stands ought to retract with a pleasing "clang" and stay there.

Thanks, Bess and no, I hadn't seen that before.

All three clutch spring nuts are adjusted to round about the same degree shown in the illustration, and the plates are as near alignment as I can make them by line of sight.

I still don't know whether part of the ball should protrude from the end of the plunger but, if it should, then that's likely to be the cause of the crunching, as it's sitting well inside the recess and must therefore reduce the effectiveness of the pushrod on the pressure plate. As Julian says, new parts are comparatively inexpensive, so I'll replace what I've got.

Thanks again.

I'm having trouble getting the clutch plates on my A65 Lightning to separate sufficiently, and should be glad of suggestions how to overcome this.

Part-cause might be the plunger, clutch operating lever (part 68-3065). Never having taken it out before, I don't know where the ball (part 65-2593) should sit, so I attach a photograph of the business end, from which it seems the ball might have worn so much that it has lodged deep inside instead of projecting further out like an egg in an egg-cup. My non-engineering thought is that, if the ball sat proud of the plunger's end, the effect might be to lengthen the push rod that little more so as to free the plates better but, against that, the pressure plate might then make contact with the chaincase. Where should the ball sit?

Though at its limit on the adjuster, the cable is in good condition and the slack is kept to a minimum. The push rod is 11¼" long and shows no sign of wear at either end, and the screw on the pressure plate has been adjusted to give the right amount of clearance between plate and push rod. The plates themselves have been cleaned in petrol (they were pretty grimy), they're perfectly flat and have no rough edges or anything else to impede movement; neither has the clutch housing - yet, with all this, I still get a horrid crunching noise whenever engaging first gear from neutral. All other gear changes while in motion are fine.

All helpful advice will be much appreciated as, apart from the plunger, I've run out of ideas!

I never cease to be amazed at the depth and breadth of knowledge within the Club so, once again, thank you all for your comments. They're extremely helpful to the likes of one who has had a gap-41 years between riding A65s, and clearly an awful lot has happened in that time!

The tip about checking valve clearances rather than digging deeper is appreciated, Arthur. Something else that, with no mechanical background, I wouldn't have thought about.

My thanks to you both for your helpful comments! Other than flushing the tank through with cleaning products to rid it of decades of rust and other muck, I haven't lined it against the effects of ethanol, so will take your advice and stick to the branded fuels.