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1982 GS850L- Cluthc is Out!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Houndawg76
  • Start date Start date
H

Houndawg76

Guest
So tonite I was heading home, and taking off from a stop and the clutch crapped out. I've been looking to see what's out there, and I see clutches listed for sale where it's just the cork plates with steel plates. Can I reuse the steel plates if I clean them up or should but a kit with both sets of plates? I am also going to get new springs. Thanks in advance......
 
Cork?!? That can't be right. Fiberglass, or metal fibers, or something. Surely not the stuff on my bulletin board? :confused: :confused:
 
First. It is possible to go back and edit you posts to correct something that you meant to say but typed wrong.

Opinions:
On the clutch plates: The drive, or Friction plates have a material on them that resembles cork, maybe actually is cork, idk. These should be replaced as a set if they are beyond their service limit or have become glazed and are sticking to the steel driven plates. When I recently replace my friction plates, I found OEM plates on ebay for much cheaper that any of the parts dealers had them. The steel plates can be dressed up with a scotchbrite pad, don't get aggressive, just scuff em up and re-use as long as they lay flat and are within the service limit. Service Manuals have these service limits.

These steel plates are stamped steel, so have a rounded edge and a square edge from the stamping. It's hard to find a consensus for installing these, flat side in, or out. I think it may be more important that they're all facing the same way. Soak your new friction plates in engine oil for a while (hours?) before reinstalling. I also replaced all 6 springs with OEM, even though they measured within the limits. They are cheap. And I think it helped.

Make sure you're using a 10-40 oil that is MA or MA2 rated. Others will suggest Rotella something or other, but most will agree that plain automotive oil is no good for wet clutches. Something about the zinc content. There's a whole lot of oil threads in the archives. I don't want to start a debate here.

You'll also want to check the clutch basket slots where the friction plate claws ride for excessive grooving. If found, those should be addressed to ensure smooth movement of the plates in and out with activation of the lever.

Again, just my opinions.
 
If the metal plates haven't been overheated (they'll be blue or black) and they are flat (lay them on a flat surface), you can re-use them.
Having said that, I have also re-used metals that were a little discolored when I was short on cash or time. I took a sheet of fine sand paper, laid I'd on a flat surface, and lightly moved the metals over it in a circular motion. However, it's prob best to replace them.
 
I didn't think of looking on Ebay, I'll give them a try. This occurred last night so I haven't had a chance to take it apart and check it out. As for the type of oil, I've been using Rotella 15-40 in it and haven't noticed any problems with it so far.
 
Clutch crapped out. Just quit pulling? started slipping really bad? Had it been slipping then got worse? Did it make a lot of racket when it "crapped"? Seems odd everything was fine then just crapped out, unless something came loose. Good chance something other than the plates. Just my opinion.
 
Yeah, rphillips it just quit. I stopped at a stop sign, I put it in first and let out the clutch and nothing. There was no pop or bang. I could feel the bike wanting to roll but basically nothing. I got it apart yesterday and checked things out. From what I can tell, there was no chunks of metal in the case, and when I took the clutches out and spun the side that attached to the transmission (I had it in 2nd gear) I didn't hear any clunking and seems to be solid. The steel plates looked really good, and on the other plates there's still clutch material on them, but I'm not sure if they're worn out or not. I'll take a picture of them and put it in here.
 
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Sounding like the clutch may be okay.
I see it is a GL. Maybe a drive shaft issue? Although you would have heard some cruching/racket from the rear end.
 
Isn't 82 the bad year for final drive gears?
How free is the back wheel with the bike in gear?
 
Brendan W said:
Isn't 82 the bad year for final drive gears?
How free is the back wheel with the bike in gear?
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that's the problem. I have the same bike, and mine were the bad ones. I caught it before the gears wore all the way out, but they were almost there.
 
Never heard of a bike clutch just quit pulling, with no warning. Sounds like something just broke. With bike on center stand, put it in 5th gear & see if you can hold the clutch hub still while turning the rear wheel. If splines, gears, or maybe u-joint, it should make a lot of racket. Anyone ever hear of a driveshaft breaking on a GS-G? Could explain not pulling & no racket.
 
rphillips said:
Never heard of a bike clutch just quit pulling, with no warning. Sounds like something just broke. With bike on center stand, put it in 5th gear & see if you can hold the clutch hub still while turning the rear wheel. If splines, gears, or maybe u-joint, it should make a lot of racket. Anyone ever hear of a driveshaft breaking on a GS-G? Could explain not pulling & no racket.
Click to expand...

Have a look at the first post in the thread linked below.
 
I's writing when he was posting that thread, very interesting. Problems very similar. I've never had a hub go bad, I've only had 4 shaft drive bikes, & no problems with them. I would have thought it would make a noticeable racket & vibration when the splines started jumping over each other, but from the Admiral Beez's post, I guess they don't. This ain't the first time I've been broadcasting when I should have been tuning in. Good stuff to learn.
 
If I'm not mistaken there was only one bad year on the 850s at least, and the gear had a golden colour as opposed to the black or grey.
 
Yep, these clutches don't "let go" like that.

I'd suspect the driven spline in the rear wheel is bad (most likely option), the driveshaft flange bolts have vanished, or the secondary drive on the back of the engine has gone blooey.


Brendan W said:
If I'm not mistaken there was only one bad year on the 850s at least, and the gear had a golden colour as opposed to the black or grey.
Click to expand...

All, or at least most, 81 - 84 GS shafties had the soft driven splines. The only one in '84 was the GK.

The reason I say "most" is that Suzuki always used up its parts bins, so it's fairly common for early production examples to have prior year parts. It would not be shocking to find an example of an early production 1981 model wearing a black 1980 driven spline. The earlier spline units are also common replacements; my 1983 GS850G stripped its spline long ago at about 24,000 miles and is wearing a 1980 driven spline.

The "soft" part number was 64680-45112, superceded to 64680-45113 which was still in production use at least through 2019 on the 805cc M50 and C50 Boulevards (I think it's still in use on the 2020 models too).

The soft units are gold, the earlier units are black, and the later units are silver. It can be difficult to tell the difference between the gold and silver splines in photos without comparing the parts directly in person. A driven spline showing any significant wear should be replaced. Once wear starts, they will fail very quickly. You have to remove and clean the spline unit to get a good look at the teeth.
 
Last edited:
Looks like Brendan and bwringer nailed this one. I removed the back wheel and it looks like the splines on the wheel are stripped out. There's still some of the splines are left on the wheel, but they're only about 1/4 inch wide. The splines on the drive side look ok. I tried to paste a picture in this posting, but for some reason I couldn't get it to upload to the website. The splines have a gold finish to it (kinda looks like a cadmium plating). My next question is who or where is a place to get a good replacement for this?
 
Last edited:
"Yikeeees" Ebay Suzuki part # 64680-45113...NEW..... $158.00. Good luck
 
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