TOPIC:

Before I got laid up, the last month or so I was riding the clutch started slipping when cold. Worked fine after 10 minutes of riding so I of course checked the adjustment and all was well. That 10 minutes got longer till it started slipping at any point if I came aboard the throttle too hard in the tall gears. I am assuming I need a new clutch, springs or both.

Should I just replace it all? I have the time over the winter and it doesn't look too complicated.

Are the parts easy to get or is it going to be one of those treasure hunts we love so much?

Any tips before I start taking things apart?

I think it would be a good time to take the oil pan off, check the sump and replace it with the pan off the 81? What do you think?

Anything else I should be doing under there while I am at it?

I am going to replace some of the hinky wiring as well. It's a ghetto in there. When the PO put the harley coils on he made a mess of the wiring with the relay he put in.

In my humble opinion, clutches don't get better or worse with a change of temperature. The lubricity of the oil will definately have an effect. So the first question that needs to be asked is what oil are you using and how old is it. Is the oil JASO MA certified because that's the standard for momtorcycles to meet the requirements of an oil running in an engine which also services the transmission. There are many oil modifiers blended in with oil which will adversing affect the shifting and the grip of the clutch. Really important that you respect the JASO MA standard. One of the few aautomobile oils (actually for diesel engines) that meets this standard is Shell Rotella T6 in a 5W40 weight. There's a lot of guys using this oil because the cost is very reasonable and the quality is supurb. A; word of caution if you do decide to use the Rotella T is that not all of the Rotella product line is rated to the JASO MA standard only a few and only in certain weights.

If you do decide to pull the clutch and inspect the plates you might as well pull the oil pan and check the oil pick up screen. Most of the guys here that have pulled the oil pan and checked the screen have found partial blockages. Well worth the effort if for nothing else than a piece of mind.\if you do pull the oil pan, you can also have a look at the primary and secondary drive chains. They're right there as well. Also a good time to clean the crud off of the oil level indicator.
That's my 2 cents. Should keep you busy for at least a day.
Cheers

Thanks for your reply Kawboy.

I am using the Rotella T 15w40. It has JASO MA on the last line in its approved uses. This oil has about 2000 kms on it. In terms of time it was about a month old. Its my second oil change with this oil since I got this engine.

My clutch had been getting progressively worse before I put it away. It started off only when it was cold but by the last few rides it was slipping in 3rd with hard acceleration after any amount of riding.

I will definitely check all of those things you suggested. A ounce of prevention and all that.

The motor has roughly 28,000 miles on it. I am assuming the clutch is original.

Ledkz1300 wrote: Thanks for your reply Kawboy.

I am using the Rotella T 15w40. It has JASO MA on the last line in its approved uses. This oil has about 2000 kms on it. In terms of time it was about a month old. Its my second oil change with this oil since I got this engine.

My clutch had been getting progressively worse before I put it away. It started off only when it was cold but by the last few rides it was slipping in 3rd with hard acceleration after any amount of riding.

I will definitely check all of those things you suggested. A ounce of prevention and all that.

The motor has roughly 28,000 miles on it. I am assuming the clutch is original.

One of the first things I did on my resto was replace the clutch and it's not that hard Ledz. The parts are readily available (springs part# 92081-1149 and clutch friction plate sets part # 13088-1004) Gecko and EBC do them and if you can't find a supplier in Canada these guys are UK based and have an outlet here in Australia. This is the Aussie site WEMOTO Bike Parts

First tip is if you have an A4 or A5 then there are less friction plates (9 to 7) and there are more steel plates (8 to 12). Your steel plates will be fine hopefully. Make sure you place the plates in the correct order and orientation (It's described in the manual). Also, remember to soak your new friction plates in oil for 24 hrs before installation, this will make sure your clutch will last much longer. To my knowledge the rubber dampers are the hard thing to find but you don't have to change them unless damaged. Everything else is covered in the manual.

Merry Xmas

Yaegunp wrote:

Ledkz1300 wrote: Thanks for your reply Kawboy.

I am using the Rotella T 15w40. It has JASO MA on the last line in its approved uses. This oil has about 2000 kms on it. In terms of time it was about a month old. Its my second oil change with this oil since I got this engine.

My clutch had been getting progressively worse before I put it away. It started off only when it was cold but by the last few rides it was slipping in 3rd with hard acceleration after any amount of riding.

I will definitely check all of those things you suggested. A ounce of prevention and all that.

The motor has roughly 28,000 miles on it. I am assuming the clutch is original.

One of the first things I did on my resto was replace the clutch and it's not that hard Ledz. The parts are readily available (springs part# 92081-1149 and clutch friction plate sets part # 13088-1004) Gecko and EBC do them and if you can't find a supplier in Canada these guys are UK based and have an outlet here in Australia. This is the Aussie site WEMOTO Bike Parts

First tip is if you have an A4 or A5 then there are less friction plates (9 to 7) and there are more steel plates (8 to 12). Your steel plates will be fine hopefully. Make sure you place the plates in the correct order and orientation (It's described in the manual). Also, remember to soak your new friction plates in oil for 24 hrs before installation, this will make sure your clutch will last much longer. To my knowledge the rubber dampers are the hard thing to find but you don't have to change them unless damaged. Everything else is covered in the manual.

Merry Xmas

Kudos to you Yaegunp for raising the inspection of the dampers. I for one would have missed that. I've never seen a clutch spline driven through rubber dampers and they're burried under the spline. If you didn't read the manual on this job, you would have missed them. I for one normally wouldn't have referred to the manual for this job. For me changing clutches is like doing an oil change. Close my eyes, grab my tools and just do it. Just goes to prove the the value of the common reference material.
Thanks Yaegunp

That's great guys, thanks.

Is the gasket as easy to find?