Clutch Question??

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MarshalNorton

MarshalNorton

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Clutch started grabbing hot Sat in about 75 degree weather.
I was sitting in traffic for about 10 min. and it started to pull the bike forward slowly.
I was able to stall it with the front brake applied.
Difficult to find neutral hot while running.
As soon as I got out of traffic and the whole affair had some air circulation it went back to shifting smoothly.
Only seems to do it when I'm sitting for a prolonged time.
Is a clutch adjustment in order or is the diaphram starting to fatigue? :shock:
Thanks,
Marshal
 
MarshalNorton said:
Clutch started grabbing hot Sat in about 75 degree weather.
I was sitting in traffic for about 10 min. and it started to pull the bike forward slowly.
I was able to stall it with the front brake applied.
Difficult to find neutral hot while running.
As soon as I got out of traffic and the whole affair had some air circulation it went back to shifting smoothly.
Only seems to do it when I'm sitting for a prolonged time.
Is a clutch adjustment in order or is the diaphram starting to fatigue? :shock:
Thanks,
Marshal
Click to expand...

Not going to be the diaphragm.

Belt drive or chain?

You were sitting for 10 min with the clutch in?
 
SwooshDave,
thanks for responding.
Orig. primary chain drive, and I was doing the crawl till
i could no longer get it inti neutral.
Just holding the clutch in till it started grabbing then applied the front brake so
I didn't rear end the BMW in front of me.
Marshal
 
Swoosh Dave,
works well cold to warm.
It only acts up hot.
I can't get the clutch adjustment nut loose.
I have to figure how to get it loose?
Marshal
 
I couldn’t get mine off either. I went to Rabers and a 30+ year mechanic (named Lucky) said “Put a wrench on it and hit it with a hammer. Can’t hurt anything.” It worked.
 
Did you have to pull the primary cover to get the wrench on it or could it be done through the adjuster opening in cover?
Marshal
 
You should be able to get the wrench on through the adjustment port in the Primary cover. If that does not fix the issue, you may take a look at flushing out the clutch. You would have to pull the diaphragm and and the clean the plates of old oil and debris. The heat may be enough to swell the plates and cause any sludge in the clutch to cause it to drag.
 
Also I really do not think that it would be the diaphragm falling, since it is naturally under tension, it would fail were it would slip more not start getting grabbier, and it would probably do it all the time.
 
If you have fiberous clutch plate rather than bronze then they are most likely contaminated. All the greatest cleaners in the world will not get all the oil out once saturated. A fresh set of Barnett clutch plate will be your solution. At $30 to $50 it is a real bargain compared to the functionallity you will gain.
I have no experience with cleaning bronze plates but I know they are heavier and can groove up a stock clutch center.
Also, if you have a 4 plate unit, now would be a good to time to go the a five plate clutch. The thicknesses are different on the five plates and You will need an extra drive plate which are the same thickness.
 
thanks for the help everyone.
I think I will need to replace the clutch plates.
As far as I know they are orig. and I have never cleaned them.
At $ 50.00 for a new set it doesn't pay time wise to play w/ cleaning the old plates.
Does using the bronze plates mean I'm eventually going to have to replace my clutch basket due to grooving?
Marshal
 
MarshalNorton said:
Does using the bronze plates mean I'm eventually going to have to replace my clutch basket due to grooving?
Marshal
Click to expand...
Not the basket, just the center. It is possible and common. You'll have to wait and see what you got in there.
Some people like the bronze plates and have replaced their clutch centers with a hardened unit. With the fiber plates, the stock center is fine.
You may want to start another topic once you know that you have sintered bronze plates to decide if you want to keep them or move into the new. In the mean time keep an eye out on Ebay for a decent clutch center just in case. I think a used one at Old Britts is $75 but make sure you call them to verify the condition. Not they would sell junk but I got some questionable pushrods before.
 
MarshalNorton

Sorry, I didn't see your post. You should be able to get a socket on it, however, I had the cover off so I used a box wrench. One rap and it moved. You can't get the nut ON too tight because it spins the clutch, so It will come OFF once you overcome the Stickshon (spelling?) with reasonable force.
 
Sometimes the nut doesn't quite line up with the inspection hole so the whole primary cover may need to come off. I replaced my fiber plates with the 850 bronze plates years ago (when the 850s first came out). You will need to go to the hardened 850 center to prevent the notching and the 850 outer plate when doing this as I remember. The bronze plates have been good to me although I do have to clean them every few years or so but there is usually some other excuse to have the primary cover off. I'll be doing that this weekend as a coincidence. My primary chain needs replacing after 35000 miles. I noticed a couple of the rollers (outer portion) fell apart last summer.
 
Pvisseriii,Diablouph,Batrider,
thanks for the responses. Now I have a better understanding what's
going on in my primary.
The inspection hole is indeed a little off set.
I think I'm going to pull the primary cover and knock that nut
loose and adjust.
I may get the clutch tool first and check the plates as well
Then I can decide fiber or sintered bronze.
Is the center piece that gets knackered up w/ bronze plates part of the trans main shaft
or is it replaceable separately?
Thanks,
Marshal
 
MarshalNorton said:
Is the center piece that gets knackered up w/ bronze plates part of the trans main shaft
or is it replaceable separately?
Thanks,
Marshal
Click to expand...
It is part of the clutch basket. Pull the basket, snap ring in the back. Punch it out, press a new one in. Piece of cake. Clutch hub nut to 40ft lb with a little locktite. Not 70 like the book says. Too tight and the circlip behind the clutch locating washer could be sheared. But that's later.
 
Marshal Norton: I'm pretty sure I still have a second clutch tool in my British tools. It is a "Chicken of the Sea" tuna can with the correct bolt and nuts. I made this from an old Norton News article before I got the real tool but it works fine. Will try to find it in the morning and bring it to work with me so you can pick it up before the weekend.

Russ
 
An impact driver does the trick...If I am worried about "damage" caused by an air impact I use my old hammer type manual impact....If that doesn't get it off....Get out the plasma cutter MUHAHAHAHA :mrgreen:
 
Dave,
I was considering heavely using the impact gun on the nut.
It works on lugs so it's gonna move this nut hopefully w/o everything else turning
along with it.
Marshal
 
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