Clutch slip

[nesster]

My '81 GS 1100 has a Barnett clutch installed (not my doing) and just recently it has started slipping under moderate to hard acceleration. Do I need to drain the oil from the engine before taking the side cover off and basket out? I understand I need to clean all the plates and that should fix the problem. Any help/ideas/tips appreciated. -nesster

[Guest]

You can lean the bike over against something on the left and remove the cover if you wanted. But it probably wouldn't hurt to do an oil change anyway. Also depending on how bad you slipped it depends on how much you will have to do. Your springs could just be soft but if it is a Barnett I doubt the springs are bad

[Steve]

"lean the bike over against something on the left" is no more involved than simply leaving it on the side stand.

While you have the clutch apart, measure the thickness of the plates, compare that with the specs in the manual.

I agree with hjfisk, the Barnett springs should not be a problem (related to clutch slipping), but it might also have stock springs with Barnett plates. Even if that is the case, stock springs are quite adequate for stock (or mildly-upgraded) engines, but they DO wear out, so consider purchasing new springs. A set of 6 is only about $20.

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