JAW
I have considered the Mini V Trident Rocket clutch and the only real reseemblence to the other is the plate ~
http://www.minimania.com/part/GCP204/Di ... ini-Cooper
But having said that I have read that the inspiration for the Triple clutch was inspired by the Mini unit~
The issue I have is that if you hung the same thing off a Cooper S engine it would disnintergrate (?)
And again the Mini unit had the similar idiosyncries as each other. Having owned both the bikes and the car, they either were flawless or simply gave irritating frustrating problems.
My previous T160 was flawless and I never had an issue ~
This bike was also faultless until a very small amount of oil seeped in via a flawed inner case seal mount seat ~
The concept on the face of it was/ is simple enough. But straight up and traditionally recognised that the clutch can be source of vibration and obviously sadly lacks in the weight department.
Any of us that have handled one of these puppies has to stunned ! ~ by the sheer weight.
One of my fellow triples here, is sold on 'Triples Rule' and their Alloy clutch components ~ but they are very expensive !
We shaved a shyte load off the pressure plate and the basket.
But while most lighten the shaft cover as can be seen above with Charlie’s unit, the weight is minimal and again any substantial weight reduction MAY cause flexing in operation. So best left to the true pros there!
BUT the machining we did is/ was based on a number of professional variances & photos. But again this is a very contentious issue in it self as too much weight loss in the wrong places and you will create a nightmare . Allowing flex and stress under heat !
First be very wary of removing too much or nay beef off the face of the basket ~ too much and there is an issue of significant pressure and clutch slip!
iF THIS HAPPENS then it is down to 'shortening' the basket pegs. This is a very delicate and precise operation and the pegs can be very easily destroyed, or broken!!
Charlie Barnes’ theory is the clutch plate ideal thickness is .292 but NO more than .32 ! Any wider.. The whole operation is bound to go down the tube!
Another issue is that one can have an ideal clutch operation and perfect feel and disengage at idle , but when the casings heat up ~ (all Alloy) the expansion causes the clutch is deteriorate . And as with mine neutral is very difficult to access, due to shifting setting and the alloy casings, I think !
The pull rod~ two choices ~ self centring or ‘top hat’ ~ I tried the self centring and had an issue with mysterious galling and foreign material !? Causing another problem and subsequently ~ another over haul ~
Now I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed ~ but I ask – “HOW hard can this be!?”
Apparently many a rider has been undone by what appears to be essentially a straight forward issue ~
But here we have a very heavy unit ~ 14 LBS I believe ~ and it is swinging around on two needle bearings. The clutch plate being supported on a splined dog at the rear ~ So balance would seem rather important ~ well to me.
If you flick back to page 4 you will see what happened when I fitted one of the new type plates . Now I ran this issue past the vendor of course he denied any issues previously!
But how can a clutch plate go convex ~ concave when the pressure plate and basket are perfectly parallel?
I sanded the thing parallel and the dimension still fell well within parameters ~ and refitted. The result was of course vastly improved ~
(The Sintered types as typical from Norman Hyde are in fact slightly concave! This apparently to gradually absorb the torque of the take up as the clutch is released. I was deterred from using the Hyde unit as they are very hard and will in fact wear the faces of the components !!)
Another Tripler I know in Brisbane , the builder of my Super carbs is struggling with one of his triples ~ His clutch is driving him insane.
He has designed his own version of the lift ramp and is making them ~ his will give that extra lift factor we agree would work even more effectively ~ We are yet to hear back from him~
He has written reams of technical letters and shared them with our Tripler’s group ~
Another of our group put the pull rod clean through the inspection cover when his broke ~ We agree it was too tight on the adjustment ~
Additionally it is important to make sure that when you have reassembled the clutch that the entire assembly to pulled fully home to the left before adjusting.
I found this out the hard way when I first had the Barnett plate seize up on me ~ When I pulled it tight the new needle bearing was seemingly not totally seated straight and prevented the housing and shaft pulling totally home! (One should hear a loud “Gawk” sound typically as the assembly pulls home to the left.)
A real rookie mistake and in fact when you adjust the lift ramp ~ and first go for a run the thing can drift back inwards and the chain wheel WILL contact the inner case ~ THIS IS NOT GOOD !
It was obvious that had actually happened when I initially stripped the engine for rebuild ~ When I inquired to my preferred spanner for reassembly, his comment was that the casing was okay ~ not perfect but okay ~ ( In hindsight if the casing had been replaced that tiny amount of oil would have not accessed the clutch and seized and this conversation would more than likely NOT be happening ~ and Yes I have discussed this with “Garry” !)
To be continued.. Maybe ~
