GS1000 clutch rattle

[Guest]

My 1K has the infamous GS clutch rattle. It only does it at idle, and only when the idle speed is a little low, like when the bike is still warming up. So I haven't worried about it too much. But I pulled the cover recently to strip and polish it, and decided to take a look at the clutch.

Turned out the hub nut was loose. The lock washer was holding it in place but the nut was only finger tight. I unscrewed it by hand, no tools required. And it looks like it's not the first time it's come loose.

So I fitted a new lockwasher, torqued the nut to spec (50 ft-lbs), and bent a tab over. I'm not real confident it's going to stay tight very long though. Was wondering what you 1K owners do about it. Should I have used some locktite or torqued the nut down harder (over spec)?

Debby
79 GS1000N

[Guest]

Check the springs on the rear of the clutch hub and see if they are snug. If not send it to Ape for a good clutch hub mod.

[devillox]

Same bike, same problem... I used Loctite and switched to Rotella. It seemed the rattle was gone the few days that it was still warm here. Nothing concrete though, as it hasn't been run extensively.

[Carter Turk]

If you can, get the APE nut for $15. The nut is stronger than stock and not prone to stretching. I queried about this at Dragbike.com and most said they reuse the nut with no problems.

The clutch spring bolts however should only be used once if possible. I found this out last year when I stretched three of the six and snapped a fourth.

I thinks SquareDancerLynn clued me in here at this site.

Now that I think about it though, maybe they're only available for the 1100/1150.

Anyone know if the nut is the same on 1000's and 1100/1150?