Clutch Trouble

[Nighty]

Hey all,

 

In the last few rides a strange sound has developed.

The sound is comming from the right side and seems to be comming from behind the clutch cover.

 

At first i feared for a crank bearing, but since the sound only starts after a good warmup and will disappear from time to time on a good day of riding i figured it might be my water impeller.

 

We went to a construction site this saturday with nice steep hills and didnt go easy on the banshee.

there was a nice sand track aswell really long almost a indy car like track.

and after some hill shooting we lined up for a few laps of sand racing.

The banshee hauled ass for the first 2 laps it had to pull really hard in 5th gear.

in lap 3 on the straigt i shifted to 6th using the clutch but to my suprize i had NO clutch whatsoever.

only cable slack.

i shifted to 6th gear anyways and the shee instandly dropped like 4k in revs below and off the pipe.

I took it off the sand track and drove around alittle to cool things down.

after 10 minutes i had my clutch back.

 

tonight i found this on the bansheehq:

 

my stock clutch went out because of the huge top end power. it would slip at high speeds (5th and 6th gear) because the stock clutch/springs weren't strong enough to "harness" the power.

 

I do think my clutch is wearing out. it works great shooting the hills in second gear.

I noticed the great drop in rpm's earlier before while dragging on asphalt.

But the "no clutch issue" was for the first time ever! and i dont like it!

 

Any experience / resolutions / thoughts greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[spoin39]

It sounds like it may be getting too hot. I would check oil level, clutch fibers and adjustment. Don't forget to line up the marks on the case and clutch arm before you adjust the freeplay on the lever.

[Nighty]

Thanks spoin.

 

I checked oil level, the level is fine.

Its even overfilled a bit.

The oil does smell a little burned and its also what i smelled a few times

on saturday.

It might be spitting out some oil since its overfilled a bit.

Using castrol oil i think its the MTX type.

 

The last time i adjusted my clutch i was almost out of adjustment on the clutch

So it might be worn.

I'll check the service manual and check the thickness of the plates.

but before i dig in i'll order a water impeller aswell if i can find one not to spendy

[Nighty]

Did another testing run last night.

Hell yeah it's slipping.

 

And i dont think its possible to adjust the clutch tighter. is there?

 

if i try to adjust on the handle bars the clutch lever only gets more free play.

 

Will rip it appart this week to check the rattling noise and clutch plates.

 

i dont have a water impeler yet.

and am looking for a magnetic oil drain plug

 

Any other things to check while i'm in there?

 

The marks on the case are exactly lined up when i'm not touching the clutch lever

so to speak in the engaged position.

as soon as i touch the lever its almost totally disengaged.

 

Thanks.

[boonman]

You cannot adjust the clutch any tighter. he clutch lever/cable/lever arm all work to disengage the clutch. The clutch springs are what holds the clutch engaged. Too light a spring in the clutch wil make it slip. Once it heats up, things get really slippy. You could have snapped a stud off the clutch hub, and the springs aren't on there.... Or, the bolts could have loosened up. but I doubt that. SOunds like the fibers are shot....

[Blue Duece]

and on the impellor side of things if its a stock one look in your recovery bottle if you see little black stuff floating around, looks like some one poured pepper in your coolant thats a sure way to tell its shot, and on the aftermarket clutches most guys run 3 stock springs and 3 aftermarket, all 6 aftermarket springs and your left arm and wrist get pretty pumped.....

[boonman]

Most of the time, the black speckled bull shit in the colant is just the paint from inside the head and cylinders and what not. The only way to tell for sure is if it overheats consistently, or if you pull the water pump cover and have a peek. The drive gear could be shot as well. I just pulled a motor apart a week ago that had the clutch basket come apart and take out the water pump drive gear and the crank seal. I am not sure if the speckles would be a sign of the impellar going bad???? I may be wrong though???

[Nighty]

Thanks guys,

 

I have stock friction plates laying around.

I'll get a set of heavier springs.

any chance the metal plates are worn aswell?

[boonman]

Grab a micrometer, and check them. That is the only real way to tell. Unless they are blueish in color, which would indicate they have been distempered, and will ruin any new fibers that are put in....

[MotulMonsta]

Buy a complete aftermarket clutch plate kit. They come with plates. You usualy can't use the stock plates on an aftermarket kit as the puny stock shit is dwarfed.

 

You also might need to adjust the clutch internaly. But it sounds like something is binding. So I'd take the entire clutch out and inspect it all. then I'd monkey with the tranny to check to make shure all the gears engage and rotate freely and smoothly. You never know what's wrong until you look for it.

[chipdog]

is it hard to replace the clutch yourself

[Blue Duece]

Most of the time, the black speckled bull shit in the colant is just the paint from inside the head and cylinders and what not.  The only way to tell for sure is if it overheats consistently, or if you pull the water pump cover and have a peek.  The drive gear could be shot as well.  I just pulled a motor apart a week ago that had the clutch basket come apart and take out the water pump drive gear and the crank seal.    I am not sure if the speckles would be a sign of the impellar going bad????        I may be wrong though??? 

i saw that crap in the coolant and pulled the impellor and it was chewed up, plus you can feel the shit it feels like sand, the bike ran fine though and didnt seem to heat up, and i never saw any paint type crap in my recovery bottle, both bikes are twin 02's.....

[geaux 4 it]

No. It's easy to do.Buy barnett clutches and put a CR clutch perch on.It will be easier to pull also.

[Nighty]

I have circumferential play!!

 

atleast.. i think i have

 

Could somebody please have a look at a video clip i shot from the clutch housing?

It might take a while to load up but it would be greatly appreciated.

 

video clip can be found here:

 

Video of clutch housing freeplay.

 

Other than that all the other clutch components are in spec.

I shot some pictures of the clutch components aswell.

since i figured they might be burned. the friction plates are black and feel smooth.

the clutch plates (metal things) look blue and some of the rubber rings are extremly hard!! cant even bend some of the rubber rings without breaking.

 

The pictures are small and should load up fairly fast. please have a look.

 

clutch album

 

Sidenotes:

I'll pickup some harder/longer springs since mine where exactly 35mm

I might use 3 raptor springs those are 40mm

 

And i noticed raptor friction plates have a bit more friction and do fit the clutch housing. anybody ever tried this? i'm not going to try it, but was just wondering.

 

thanks guys!

[Nighty]

WHOHAAA NINJA FIGHTER