Working on the clutch today......

[egleaves]

I have my tranny open and the clutch basket out to do an inspection and cleaning. I'm trying to fix a high RPM slip that has been bugging me for a while.

I just wanted to check with whoever is out there today to see if anyone has any tips or advice about things to do and look for while I have her open for surgery. I'm know to be careful when reinstalling the springs. The steel plates look to have some surface rust showing the pattern of the fiber plates. I plan to sand the steel plates clean with 80 grit and clean up the fibers with a 120 grit. I don't have a mic, so I have no idea if they're in spec or not although they look like they have some meat on them still. I know that doesn't necessarily mean they're good, but it's the best I have to go on for now. I'll check back after a little while to see if anyone has something to add. Thanks all!

[mason79]

http://www.xs11.com/tips/maintenance/maint31.shtml

http://www.xs11.com/tips/maintenance/maint24.shtml

http://www.xs11.com/tips/maintenance/maint27.shtml

[mro]

Check out this tech tip by TC

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...&threadid=9481

I've done this to all my runners XSept the hot rod which has heavy duty frictions and springs.


mro

[egleaves]

@mason- thanks, i had read two of those tech tips, but apparently missed the third.

@mro- I had not found that thread, thank you. That covers the procedure well.

Is there any reason to keep the plates in the current order? Is there any benefit to mixing them up and/or flipping them over?

[mason79]

what are you going to do? orders of plates are not important other than alternating between friction and steels and possible additonal steel,

the direction of the steels are facing may be important depending on the condition of your boss

[egleaves]

I just finished cleaning and sanding them, I noticed that the steel plates have a slightly rounded edge on one face and a sharper edge on the other. I remember in one of the tech tips someone flipped these over, but I really didn't understand why.

The boss looks to be in good condition. I guess I was just wondering if rearranging the plates (alternating friction and steel, of course) would help alleviate any wear patterns, or the like. So far I've kept them in the exact order in which they came out of the basket, just in case it was important to put them back the same way.

I'm getting the impression that it doesn't matter either way, so I suppose I'll just put them back as they are.

[mason79]

measure the springs and plates replace or add a steel if they are thin or off spec, what new parts are you adding??

[egleaves]

I guess I should have mentioned it from the start, but none.

I installed new HD springs a few months ago and it helped quite a bit; now I'm just trying to maximize the life of my current clutch pack before dropping the money on a new one.

[mason79]

so your a verteran on this, have fun!

[trbig]

If the clutch is slipping and you put new springs in recently, as stated a couple times here... install another steel plate in there and it will firm everything up. I personally wouldn't have sanded anything... that's just taking even more material away.

Tod

[egleaves]

It's done, and holy ass crackers.....it grabs hard now!

I went out for a test ride on a nice stretch of road where it usually safe to run the spedo up a bit.....so I did. I wound it out to about 6K (around 85-90 I think) and let off before a gentle uphill curve in the road. It's a good thing I did, because when I came around the corner there was a sheriff sitting there with someone else stopped! He must have heard me coming because when I saw him he had taken two steps out into the right lane and threw his arms up in the air as if to say "WTF are you doing?!". I promptly slowed down to the 45 MPH speed limit, bowed my head, and waved apologetically as I went by. He must have been too busy with that cage he stopped to get in his car and come after me!

I think I'll save up some karma before I try anything like that around there again!

To top it all off, almost halfway to my test ride destination, my clutch cable snapped right at the lever. I managed to get where I was going with only stalling about four times. I had to pull the cable out of the housing and wrap it around a tool from my kit to make a manual clutch pull. I got it home, with SWMBO on the back for the return ride, and now I guess I'm in the market for a new clutch cable.

[egleaves]

I'm planning on sending an e-mail to MikesXS tomorrow asking if their clutch cable for a 650 will fit my 1100. Anybody know off hand if the two cables are the same?

[TopCatGr58]

Eric,

DON'T bother sending any emails to MikesXS about parts for the XS11...they will say that they are ONLY for 650's and DON'T CARE whether they will fit 11's or not, they surprisingly do NOT want OUR business.

I believe some others who have a 650 as well as an 11 have stated that the clutch cable will NOT fit, not the same required lengths in the ends, something like that!

You can get cables from several sources, Partsnmore, BikeBandit, Ebay, etc.!

Your cable breaking could have been part of your slipping problem, due to the cable possibly binding and not releasing fully when you let go of the lever, and the rust/corrosion finally wore it down and caused it to stretch and pull out of the fitting end!?

SO...for others, it's recommended that folks check out their cables FIRST, ensure that they are moving smoothly and not sticking/binding! Then do the adjustment at the engine side cover, as well as at the lever. And THEN after all of that is done, and ruled out, then feel free to tear into the engine!
T.C.

[egleaves]

TC, thanks for the warning about Mikes. That's a shame because I was also going to order some pods from them while I was at it. I have a local shop checking on price and availability for me on Monday, but I'm shopping around to see how much I should be paying. I'm guessing between $15 and $20? I'll check the other sources you mentioned for some reference. Thanks again.

[TopCatGr58]

Don't get me wrong, MikesXS will sell their parts to anybody who orders them, it's just that they don't state specific crossover references, so UNLESS you know that the part will fit your bike, then it's on you if it doesn't !

Their pods are good, and even say XS on them, but there was a recent post about APE Racing Pods, also good quality stuff! Yes, would be nice to combine parts for shipping expense.
T.C.