Riding the clutch will cause more wear on the plates, It's simple physics, and directly related to how much and for how long you do it..

I doubt that you fried the clutch. As for adjustment it doesn't matter if you have one nickles worth of play or several nickles worth as long as you have some play in the clutch. If you don't have any play then adjustment could be your problem. No slack in the cable means that the clutch is partially engaged.

Since you only have 1500 miles on the bike I assume that you recently did an oil change. What kind of oil did you use?

I don't know what oul, as the Star dealer did it.
I'm going to go look at the clutch adjustment and cross my fingers.
thanks.

Hooray! I adjusted the clutch (there was no play) and now it is fine! Been twenty years since I've had a bike, checking the freeplay never entered my mind. Whew!
Yeah, the video is amazing. I have so much more control ast low speed now that it is amazing. Heck, I can turn around on my narrow stret with no shoulders! I can go back to practicing again now. It is lots of fun, but I (obviously) have a hard time controlling the speed with the foot brake. my instinct is to give it gas and/or slip the clutch in or out. I need to adjust the clutch out to the friction zone, adjust the gas to the right speed, and just practice using the foot brake to control the speed. If I don't retrain my hands soon I'm going to try that! Stupid hands have a mind of their own!
Oh, and I wear a helmet... but wouldn't want to make everybody. I hate laws that protect me from me. If I don't want to wear a helmet, wear seatbelts, or wear a condo*... my choice.

Okay... To check whether you're in the friction zone or not, goose the throttle a little, when you think you have the clutch in the zone. If you are, you should be right on the border between the bike catching and the throttle having no effect. Go to the point to JUST where the throttle begins to put power to the rear wheel, and you'll be where you need to be. You'll be able to finesse that border zone, and as you get better at it, you'll need to drag the rear brake less and less. (It'll save you money on brake pads, too.) Good luck and happy practice!

glad it was simple, you can see more of those videos on u-tube, they are great, gives all the quick techniques..