Clutch Backing

sidreilley · Dec 14, 2009

When disassembling the clutch pack on my 69, I found a part that no one mentions in discussions of the clutch. Behind the discs was a steel plate, about .148" thick, that appeared to be attached to the bottom of the clutch basket by two tiny roll pins Too tiny to hold it in place apparently, as it was wobbling around and I coaxed it out with a magnet. I can see the holes in the basket for the roll pins but hesitate to simply tap it back in place for fear that it will come loose again soon and cause some mischief with the clutch. Is there some "fix" or modification for this tenuously mounted piece? :? The parts book refers to a clutch backing plate, but I'm wondering if this isn't a design feature that was corrected/re-engineered in later engines. Thanks.

littlefield · Dec 14, 2009

Mine has the same arrangement and wobbled. At some point they changed to through bolting. I was going to convert mine to bolted in but the clutch basket is so hard you'd need a carbide bit and a rigid drilling/milling machine to drill the hole. Ended up setting solid by careful assembly, chamfering all the holes, stoning the plate, etc.

BillT · Dec 14, 2009

sidreilley said:
When disassembling the clutch pack on my 69, I found a part that no one mentions in discussions of the clutch. Behind the discs was a steel plate, about .148" thick, that appeared to be attached to the bottom of the clutch basket by two tiny roll pins Too tiny to hold it in place apparently, as it was wobbling around and I coaxed it out with a magnet. I can see the holes in the basket for the roll pins but hesitate to simply tap it back in place for fear that it will come loose again soon and cause some mischief with the clutch. Is there some "fix" or modification for this tenuously mounted piece? :? The parts book refers to a clutch backing plate, but I'm wondering if this isn't a design feature that was corrected/re-engineered in later engines. Thanks.

Early Commandos had the back plate located in the basket with two hardened roll pins. This was changed, I think with the 850, to three rivets holding the back plate in place. My 850 still has the two holes in the plate where the earlier roll pins would have gone. The roll pins simply hold the back plate in place - there's nowhere for the plate to go, even if the roll pins shear off.

Clutch Backing

sidreilley

littlefield

BillT

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