Tweet
Barnett Clutch Problems
David R. NortonFrom all that has been posted regarding Barnett clutches, it seems that there are a lot of problems with them. Are these the standard clutches, Kevlar clutches, or other? Also, what specifically are the problems?The problems I've had with Barnett clutches go all the way back into the 1950s with Triumph motorcycles and continue still!
Problem? The clutch plates aren't flat. There's only a limited amount of travel in a motorcycle clutch throwout mechanism and if the plates are warped some of that travel is spent in moving past the warpage. Result is the clutch just can't be adjusted properly, it either drags (won't fully release) or slips (won't engage fully).
If you have these problems with a Barnett clutch, just remove the plates, stack all the friction plates (in a multi-plate clutch) in a pile and see that they don't sit flat against each other. Now do the same with the steel plates, same problem. Now compare with the factory plates, they will sit flat. A single plate clutch can be checked by sitting it on a flat surface, the last Barnett I pulled out of a Triumph Trident and trashed had about a .020" dish in it, the Trident allowed only .040" of clutch throwout movement! With a factory clutch all the problems vanished.