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Replacing Bike Clutch
maccmike - 6/10/12 at 05:55 PM

Think Il do mine in the near future,
When it gets warm the biting point is higher, so adjusted but now its not the best change until its warm, but can live with that for now.
My question is;
Is it best practice to change the plates and steel rings or just plates?
Ps I will rebleed system next week to ensure its not just something simple like that


number-1 - 6/10/12 at 06:14 PM

Personally i change both. They normally come as a kit. Just make sure you soak anything new in oil

N1


ReMan - 6/10/12 at 06:15 PM

Unless you've burnt your clutch out and its slipping then the steels should be fine


coozer - 6/10/12 at 06:16 PM

And as long as your using the correct grade of oil...


maccmike - 6/10/12 at 06:30 PM

Some kits, expensive kits at that, make a note of not coming with the discs, only one does come complete - with even the springs, £160!!
The oil is changed reg and is bike specific.
I cant make it slip on purpose but it has slipped, althouh that could have been a moment of wheel spin.
Maybe with the biting point changing when warm, Im waiting for it to slip and its now just my imagination.
Can overfilling cause any slip?


Andy B - 7/10/12 at 08:20 AM

Thought I would let you know our findings which may help with future decisions
1 replace frictions before clutch starts slipping - It will save you the cost of replacing the steels
2 use oem plates with heavy duty clutch springs, the aftermarket kits are generally inferior, last half the time and have a propensity for cracking up, they also tend to be more oil reactive
3 when selecting uprated clutch springs only use Barnett, ebx are made of chocolate and after half a days thrashing collapse
4 always soak the plates in the same engine oil you use overnight before installing
5 At the risk of upsetting someone - avoid silkolene oil like the plague, I don't care what they say about their grades, every time we come across it there are clutch issues
6 remember to readjust the clutch fairly soon after the first shake down as they settle down a fair bit and may use up mall the free play resulting in premature wear

That's aboutbit really
Hope that helped
Andy


Slimy38 - 7/10/12 at 08:42 AM

I have EBC springs on my bike and not had any issues, although obviously the loading characteristics are massively different.

I did read on the internet about 'stacking' the plates correctly, something about compensating for slight variations in plate and steel thicknesses so there wasn't a 'high spot' in the stack. Whilst I didn't really understand what was going on, when I did replace my clutch plates I made sure that the steels stayed in the same order and orientation. I don't know whether it made a difference, but for the sake of a tiny bit more effort I thought it made sense.

I agree with the adjustment, I think I had to adjust mine a few times over the next week or so until they settled down.


maccmike - 7/10/12 at 11:02 AM

That is some great info gents, thank you.
Iv clocked oem friction plates already, think Il have them now. Will go for Barnett springs too and although Iv not used Silkolene, I will avoid it.