MZ ES250 removing clutch cover help

[fatnslow]

I need to remove the clutch cover on my ES250/2.
It all looks straight forward appt from removing and then replacing the clutch nut under the circular cover. As the sprk plug is not central, I can't use a normal locking tool.
Any tips?

[parrbd]

Put it in top gear and hold the back brake on.

[Puffs]

parrbd's suggestion is an old stand-by, but it can be a bit awkward because of the gear ratio, and can load parts rather heavily (what if the clutch slips?).

As I understand your issue is how to remove a nut from the crankshaft, maybe you can try using the inertia of that: put a spanner on the nut & just hit it (with a small hammer) in the correct direction. I do not know this bike, but watch out: these kind of nuts can be either LH or RH thread. Look carefully.

No doubt that nut has to be fastened at some stage to a specified torque, best look in a manual (on both that number & how to do that).

[fatnslow]

Thank for your replies.
In the end I put the piston close to tdc and fed some nylon rope down the spark plug hole. That did the trick.

[Puffs]

Thanks for the update & good that worked for you!

Just for reference: when blocking piston movement for something like this, forces are lowest (at the same torque) when the piston is half-way between TDC & BDC. Near TDC (or BDC) the force required to hold that same torque can be very high.

[fatnslow]

Thanks Puffs, good info.
My only concern using the rope was that it may snag in the transfer/exhaust ports, but all is ok.