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Clutch slipping - i'm new and need help

  • Thread starter Thread starter moparjack3018
  • Start date Start date
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moparjack3018

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My clutch seems to slip at high RPM's, and after that almost all the time. I changed the oil (which was nasty as hell) and took it easy on it for a few miles and now it's slipping again, pretty bad too. i pulled the friction discs out and there is "some" material left on them, I described it to a guy and he said they were probably ok. Could it be the springs? Or the oil? How much material should be on the plates? i got the cables adjusted to the max on the engine and on the handle bar. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
what do you mean by max?? all the way in to the lever and the sprocket housing?? or are all the threads on the adjusters showing..fully out ??
 
ok...go down to the sprocket cover end and turn them about 3/4 way in and go about half way in on the handlebar lever. As you turn them so more and more thread shows you are LENGTHENING the cable..This makes the pressure plate grip with LESS pressure on the clutches..This is not what you want. As you turn the screws so lees thread is showingb you SHORTEN the cable thereby INCREASING the grip of the pressure plates on the clutches. Now you start to adjust from there. Do MOST of the major adjusting down below and use the levef adjustment for the finer tuning. AND look at your service manual as well if you have one. Under the clutch relaeas cover you will see a threaded rod with a JAM NUT on it. You can loosen that jam nut just a slight bit and turn that screw in a little at a time. thats yet another point to adjust the clutch from. use all three in combination to get your lever where you want it to be and to be sure the clutches are locking up properly. See the schematics at bikebandit.com as well for reference.
 
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Thank you! I will try that and see what happens. Thanks again!
 
More than likely you need to replace your frictions and clutch springs. Even an old low mileage bike can have fatigued clutch springs. Springs are less than $15.
Replace the parts, change the oil and adjust your cable, you should be good to go.
 
If I need to go that route, I know these words don't go together very well but where is the best/cheapest place to get them. I've checked ebay, and it seems most part #'s are not matching my bike and I don't know which one interchange if any. I also haven't seen any springs on ebay.
 
I got the OEM from the dealer for my two 750s for like 12 bucks per bike.. nothing expensive at all as far as spings go. havent bought clutches yet so i dont have any references for them. Its not hard to do the springs.. Just drain the oil, remove the clutch cover, replace the springs, replace the gasket with a new one and button it all up. refill the oil and do your adjustments. While your in there check the big nut in the center of the clutch basket and be sure its tight.. Bend up the tab on the lock ring, put a big socket on there and be sure its tight and rebend a lock tab back down.
 
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Well..why not put together a package for him?

All he needs is probably the friction plates and a set of springs.
 
Greetings and Salutations!!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. moparjack3018,

You can measure your clutch plates to see if they're in spec. There should be a manual for you on my little website, if you need one. It will explain a lot. :D

Anyway, I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.
big_hi.gif


If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....:)

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike! :D

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
before I made my 1100E road worthy back in '05 my bike had sat for 10 years without being run. I was experiencing clutch slip above 7000 rpm's in the higher gears. After a clutch teardown and inspection, all's i needed to do was replace the "laxed" clutch springs, and the large grooved bronze thrust washer. My original plates were all within spec. , but I had already purchased new drive plates so I just put them in anyways. It's very common for 25 year old clutch springs to become compressed and loose their original free height.
 
do you think I should just get a set of clutch springs and try it, and if that doesn't work get a set of friction plates? What kind of oil do you guyrs run? will that make a difference too?
 
moparjack3018 said:
do you think I should just get a set of clutch springs and try it, and if that doesn't work get a set of friction plates? What kind of oil do you guyrs run? will that make a difference too?
Click to expand...

That's what I would do. Lightly grease one side of the gasket so you can probably get it off neatly if you need to go back in any time soon.

Not to start an "oil war": what kind of oil are you using? The majority here seem to like Rotella T (diesel) oil, either natural (15W-40) or synthetic. Supposedly has stuff like zinc that's helpful to our gearboxes, and doesn't have anti-friction agents which can hurt clutch performance. As a bonus it's cheap and available at Wal-Mart ;) Whatever you use, look for the API spec and try to find one that DOES NOT say "energy saving" - most of the latest car oils will be.
 
ok. I ordered some springs last night, when I change them i will try the Rotella. Thanks for your help (all of you)!
 
moparjack3018 said:
What kind of oil do you guyrs run? will that make a difference too?
Click to expand...

I run whatever oil leaks out the slowest.

The famous "oil opinion war" just cracks me up. I don't understand why so many people loose sleep over what oil to run in their 25+ year old $1000 beater GS...

If you need to ask i've tried cheap Wal-Mart Castrol 10/40 car oil, all the way up to $9/qt. Golden Spectro 20-50 bling oil, and didn't notice one bit of engine behavior differences. My oil of compramise/preference is Kawasaki 10W40. It's reasonably priced, and spec'd for wet plate motorcycle engines, and it's available 15 min away from my house. I run this oil in ALL my bikes from street to dirt, (even in my Harley's primary clutch system ! )
 
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Road_Clam said:
"...I don't understand why so many people loose sleep over what oil to run in their 25+ year old $1000 beater GS... "
Click to expand...

Them's fighting words mister... She may be an old girl, but I love her and I will defend her! :D

P.S. Diesel rated...
 
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