Clutch questions

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Rotors

If you are talking about small groves, that is just cosmetic, no warp or pulse, save you $ IMHO

[CatatonicBug]

If you are talking about small groves, that is just cosmetic, no warp or pulse, save you $ IMHO

+1. Slight grooves are fine, and normal.

[al_ngl]

I guess I probably need to order a crankcase cover gasket, right? I figured the springs would be accessible through the clutch adjustment hatch but I guess not. I did adjust the screw, which needed screwed in a lot. before hand I un-adjusted the handle end adjuster and ended up breaking it, so I need to buy one of those as well. I had the shop up here order the Vesrah springs because I figure they are $15 and probably could be replaced anyway. I got calipers at Lowes for $30, oil for ~$18 and filter for $5. If I need to replace the CC cover gasket that will be $25 + shipping from Bike bandit. Do I need to replace that, because nobody told me to on here? At least it seems cheaper and easier than friction plates.

[CatatonicBug]

The gasket can be replaced with RTV. My favorite is the stuff in a can called "The Right Stuff". It actually seals better than a plain gasket, you can torque it down immediately, is oil resistant when wet, and is MUCH easier to remove if you ever have to go back in there again. The only gaskets you actually need to replace with real gaskets are the Head gasket, float bowl gaskets, and the exhaust gaskets. ALL other gaskets can be replaced by RTV.

[al_ngl]

Okay I bought some of The Right Stuff like you said, and now I can’t get the crankcase cover off. I got the bolts completely out, and there was nothing. I can’t budge it. How do I go about getting it off?

[cywelchjr]

Okay I bought some of The Right Stuff like you said, and now I can’t get the crankcase cover off. I got the bolts completely out, and there was nothing. I can’t budge it. How do I go about getting it off?

Make absolutely sure that there are no bolts left in it, and then tap it with a rubber mallet or similar soft hammering object (I've used a block of wood in the past), not too hard, but often you need to break the seal between the cover and the gasket to get it open, especially if it's never been open.

[al_ngl]

I didn’t know you had to move the clutch lever left to get the cover off, that was most of my problem. I got it all off, and it looked to me like it had never been apart before. It had an original or at least OEM gasket, which took a good deal of effort to get off of the crankcase cover. The springs measured at just at or just under minimum spec. What is the blue stuff on the springs? Are the stock ones blue? I put the cover back on with just one bolt holding it to keep contaminants out of the CC. Should I put anti seize on the cover bolts when I put it all back together? I should be getting my springs on Friday and the clutch adjuster Monday.

[Dragon Tamer]

A SMALL amount of never seize never hurts on those bolts. Another thing to remember is that if you had the lower clutch lever off of the clutch housing make sure to check the three balls in the clutch activator and make sure that they are in the proper place.

When you get to putting it all back together and start tightening down the clutch bolts, do it slowly and a little at a time and make certain that the star plate is lining up properly and fitting into its pockets, if it is not lined up properly you can fracture the star plate.[/I]

[CatatonicBug]

When you put those bolts back in, the RTV will be filling in around the bolt threads. If you were using a regular gasket, you should use loctite on them, but using RTV makes it so the threads are automatically covered in goo. No need for loctite (or anti-sieze) on them.

Not sure why you felt you needed to remove the clutch lever to take the cover off. The lever is not connected to anything inside except the thowout mechanism, and that comes out with the cover. As mentioned, be careful with the 3 balls on the inside, as they can cause a problem if they are not in the right spot when re-assembling.

[al_ngl]

I didn’t have to remove the clutch lever, I had to twist it to push the cover off.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

I know it sounds like crap, but "car" oil since the mid 80's will cause your clutch to act like yours is. Over time it can start slipping under load in all the gears as well, has happend to me and a friend of mine, we didn't buy the two oils were that diff, they are, trust me. I would say lube cable, adj at clutch then on handle bar pull, change oil and filter to bike oil and get all out that you can. Ride for a while around town to shift often to flush out old oil and work in new. Leave in 1st gear at lights whith clutch pulled in for the first day you ride, that will help flush out old oil from clutch. If clucth improves I would change the oil and filter again after 500 to 600 miles, if it still slips your are to late and springs and plates are your answer.

If your springs are in spec. like you said and friction discs are ok, I would still do the oil change thing and you can clean the discs with a rag and scuff them "lightly" with 320 grit on a block. Put all of them back exactly as you take them out and a light coat of "motorcycle oil" first. I have a friend who put auto oil in his bike and the clutch was slipping in just 50 miles after! Sence you have new springs on the way, that will help also

[al_ngl]

Well, I finally got my springs and installed them today. It appears that the springs I pulled out were definitely aftermarket as the ″wire″ was thicker than the Vesrahs and the coils were wider, but they definitely weren’t nearly as stiff as the new ones. I got everything put back together, and adjusted the bottom clutch adjustment about half a turn out because the clutch was so stiff, and it only needed about half a turn out on the cable adjuster. I didn’t take apart the clutch or anything because I would have had to buy/rent a clutch holder and I was pretty sure the plates should be good.

Is the excess instant gasket going to get into my oil and cycle through the engine? I tried to apply it on the crankcase cover thin, but I don’t exactly have surgeon’s hands. It got squished out the top when I tightened it down, and I put my finger through the oil filler to feel the bottom side and it had squished out there too. As easily as the excess comes off on the outside, I’m afraid that it will come off on the inside and gum up my clutch, block my oil pump, or get into my bearings or rings and wreak havoc. Should I be concerned? My other idea would be to go ahead and run seafoam through the oil to hopefully break up the excess so I can drain it out the pan, but would that end up attacking the actual gasket part too? Sorry for all the questions, but I don’t want to ruin my engine or anything else.

I rode around town a little bit with the new springs, and the clutch definitely grabs much better and earlier (which is due in large part to the adjustment), so much in fact that I nearly killed it from being used to the clutch being so slow. There also seems to be a little bit more transmission noise now, but that is probably because the clutch is allowing more force to be exerted on the transmission.

It does feel good to have it put together and not have to dig into the clutch itself to deal with plates.

[cywelchjr]

The rtv won't bother anything. It would have to get through the oil pump screen a.nd the filter first.

[al_ngl]

Well I ended up playing it safe after thinking about it and not knowing if the oil pump had a screen or not. I took the old rtv off and made a new gasket by making beads of rtv and smearing them flat on the gasket surface. I then wiped the inside edge with a clean shop towel to minimize how much would squish out.

Thanks everyone, I definitely learned a good amount on this one.

[WMarshy]

...I didn’t take apart the clutch or anything because I would have had to buy/rent a clutch holder and I was pretty sure the plates should be good....

A clutch holder... ... what? Im not sure what a clutch holder is but what ever it is, its not needed to fully pull these clutches apart. Depending on how bad your clutch slip was and how long, your steels may be glazed a little. Not a big problem, and if the new springs fix everything then thats great, no need to do anything more than ride it. Generally, once your at the point where the springs are comming, your ten minutes away from having the entire clutch out...and usually people will take some 220 grit paper to the steels to clean the varnish/glaze off them and make sure the frictions are in spec... Hope your problem is solved! Ride safe.