Hello

I am working on my 77 dt250. The clutch pull has gotten awfully difficult to pull. I installed a new cable and the cable moves smooth. When I move the actuator arm the cable connects to, it moves smooth up until it starts to engage the clutch or hit the rod that engages the clutch. Any ideas? 
 Since I got this bike the clutch was a little stiff and never seamed to engage or disengage smooth. After a few hr ride the other day it got real stiff. 

Looks like any lower adjustment is on the pressure plate by "77 so you say new cable it good. If nothing obvious in the mechanism externally you'll have to "go In" to the right side cover. Talking the cable arm though there should be an optimum mark for best lift cast there somewhere by the arm/cable thingy. if the arm needs moving back if your cable adjustment will allow then moving that arm back is dome by the pressure plate adjuster. Bit unusual problem though so i'm just guessing seeing the cable is new & free. Could lube the cable as well--but!!.
www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/1977/dt250d/clutch

Thanks for the input. I have new gaskets on order. In the mean time I will open it up in the next day or two. It could also be that the rod is all gummed up. The bike only has 5800 miles on it and the kid I got it from didn't know jack about maintenance. When I looked at it, the front axle bolt wasn't even tight and the kid had been riding it that way for a few hundred miles. . . 

Be interesting what you find if anything. In theory there's no way the clutch pushrod could be gummed up. But there's always something new going on with bikes so i'm never surprised anymore haha.