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Slipping clutch

  • Thread starter Thread starter JTsGS650
  • Start date Start date
J

JTsGS650

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So my clutch started slipping on the way home from work on Thursday. The bike had been sitting for about five years prior to last December when I bought it and started cleaning it up. There's only about 6500 miles on it and the cable is adjusted as per the specs in my manual. Another thing is that the point at which the clutch grabs is near the end of the point of travel of the clutch lever. It grabs pretty well, it's just that by the time it does, the lever is almost all the way out. So from the searching I've done, it seems that I need to replace the clutch springs since they have most likely sagged over time. Can someone confirm this? I'm also on a budget, so I'm hoping that you guys won't tell me to go ahead and replace the 25 yo clutch...8-[
 
A real cheap and easy fix is to pull the clutch and have the steels bead blasted with some glass media. Clean them real good and then put it back together. When you do put some shims behind the springs to increase the spring pressure. A cheap and easy fix. Make sure your clutch cable is a little loose. It should have a little bit of play in and out before it starts pulling on the pressure plate. If you don't have any play then the cable will be holding the pressure plate back. Guessing you have a cable not sure on the 650's.
 
Well worst-case-scenario you can get clutch springs AND friction discs for about $60 at cyclepages.com. And it's an easy install. If you have ~2mm of play in the handle and aren't running some strange type of oil, that'd be your next step. I assume you have done an oil change?
 
Don't ride it with the clutch slipping.
Make sure the arm on the RH rack and pinion release has play in it. You should be able to grab it with your fingers and move it horizontally a few mm.
If the above is OK, take the clutch apart and mic out the springs and plates and also check the plates for warping. With that mileage I feel it may be a free play problem instead of a hard part issue.
 
It could easily be the springs, easy to swap them out. Don't even have to drain the oil, put it on the sidestand.

My bike has clutch plates 50% worn & works fine (although I have stronger springs than stock). You may also want to clean up the metal plates in case they have glazed. One of those green pot scourers should do it...

Dan :)
 
09440-19004 is the suzuki part # for your springs
the same ones as used in my 83 550 L

Clutch Spring free length per OEM manual is 36.5 MM or 1.44 Inches
 
I changed the oil+filter this weekend with Castrol GTX 10-40. Still slipping. The clutch has about 2-3mm of free play at the lever as per the manual. I'll check the arm when I go home tonight, but I'm pretty sure that it will have some free play as well.

It's kind of weird because I was flogging it pretty hard :) a week or so ago and it was fine. Thursday afternoon just cruising home from work and it starts slipping :(.
 
That's what happened with mine too. Probably glazed plates & weak springs.

Dan :)
 
Springs are not that expensive, $1.07 each at Bike Bandit. Do it while you have it apart.
Personally, I would take it apart, knock the glaze off the plates (both fiber and steel) and replace the springs. It would at least tell you where you are at.
To check the springs, you need a spring tension tool. Spring length will not tell you if the have weakened.
 
Replace the springs. Take out the fibers and check for spec. If you don't have access to a bead blaster try steel whool on the steel plates.
 
Before tearing into it inspect the clutch cable where it connects to the lever on the handlebar. You might have a frayed cable. This will feel like a sudden clutch slipping problem. The cable gets elastic right before it snaps completely.

Ask me how I know.:)
 
I noticed that you said you changed the oil with castrol GTX 10w-40.
I will tell you from experience if you do not use MC oil your clutch will slip.
 
Sean said:
I noticed that you said you changed the oil with castrol GTX 10w-40.
I will tell you from experience if you do not use MC oil your clutch will slip.
Click to expand...
I use rotella 10w40. No slip here.
 
courier11sec said:
I use rotella 10w40. No slip here.
Click to expand...

Is that Car oil?
I tried usind Pensoil 10w-40 and the clutch would hardly pull. Onece I chance the oil a couple of times and put MC oil back in the clutch worked properly. That is just my experience.
 
Oh no! Don't hijack this clutch thread and turn it into another oil thread! 8-[

You know what happens when we start talking about oil! :shock:

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

P.S. I use Castrol Syntech blend 20-50w.
 
Oil can contaminate a clutch, no doubt. But look for the sudden easy stuff first. I don't think the clutch springs are bad. I did my 650 clutch last month and the springs were perfectly in spec after 27 years. They measured 38 mm and the service limit is 36.4

I replaced them anyway because I had a new set in hand. I donated them to another forum member visiting my house so should he need springs he has them but it's unlikely that is the problem. Oil contamination would be the third thing to check, right after the cable ends and then measuring the plates
Spec on the fiber plates are 3.0 mm new, down to 2.7 mm each, or if any single plate comes up real short like 2.5. The total thickness is important so if you loose .3 mm per plate and one happens to be .5 under then the rest will suffer.

I installed a barnet kevlar clutch for 112.00 delivered. I'm real happy with it so far.
 
Last edited:
I use Castrol GTX 10w 40 with no problems. There are no friction modifiers in it.

Dan :)
 
The solution...

The solution...

Well thank you all for your responses. All very good advice. However, I'm embarrassed to say that I went home last night and checked the clutch cable and both the piviot arm side and the lever side were in need of adjustment :oops: .

The clutch engages in the middle of the lever travel now and no more slipping. For some reason I keep getting lucky with this bike. However, now I wonder if the cable suddenly needing adjustment is a sign of it starting to go...
 
Clutch adventures

Clutch adventures

I know you've got her fixed now, but here's a tip for you if you ever do go in there again. Make sure you have the proper side gasket in hand before you split your cases to get at the clutch. I ordered one in advance off ebay, then opened the cases to replace my springs. The old gasket had been on there 26 years and it came off with great difficulty and in many pieces. Soon the ebay clutch side gasket arrived and it was the wrong size. Now the bike sits for another 10 days while I order from a competent dealer. My clutch was slipping with proper adjustment and when I replaced the springs it worked perfectly. Spent a lot more for the gasket than for the springs! Also, I noticed the Suz springs I got from the dealer were noticeably thicker than the OEMs in my 81 650G. And the pull at the lever was a little harder, but not obnoxiously so. Looks like there was a factory upgrade or uprate some time during the last quarter century (ha, ha!)
 
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