Yes Luke,
I have had it going with these plates. When I replaced the plates I noticed the pins on the plate at the back were very worn. When I put the new plates in the bike still didn't want to pull very hard, so I ordered the new plate with the pins and fitted that this morning. Sorry should have told the whole story at the start.
Took some photos, so here goes.
The actuator connected to the gear lever is the slide type arrangement. It moves up when you select drive (shown in the up position). The spring seems to want to sit in the middle, but I moved it to the side to see if that was the problem.
View from the back side. I think that actuator works against the little bearing on the right hand side. This converts to movement of the motor side plate that engages / disengages the clutch (I think).
View from the outside.
The only thing I can think of is that I have tried to screw the side cover on when the bearing was in the wrong position and bent the arm it runs on.
What do you guys reckon ? I have had it back together before and had no dramas. That's why I can't work it out
Just looking at the marks on the kick start housing maybe my bent arm theory is right