broken clutch plates?

stainlesscycle

stainlesscycle

Site Sponsor
found 2 broken friction plates when i went to investigate why my 200 wouldn't shift into 1st. i thought the scorpion was bad, but found pieces of clutch plate restricting movement. any idea what causes this? basket and hub looked fine/not grooved, and plates weren't worn below spec.
 
could just as well have been poor quality building material. the manufacturer may have gotten a bad batch of the stuff, and when fatigued, it broke. im curious, where would you get a new clutch from? not just the plates, but maybe the basket also? and is there cross over? i may or may not have to replace parts in my clutch, so knowing were to get them would be fantastic.
 
If I had to guess, I'd say its either from bad shock dampers, or more likely from the additional clearance between the plate tabs and fingers of the resurfaced baskets. Its easy to not think of the abuse this mechanical interface takes, that is until you own a dry clutch Ducati. Both wet and dry clutches function the same and are in a constant state of self destruction, but on the Ducati you are constantly reminded of the increasing wear and gap by the increasing rattle as it is not damped by the closed cover and oil bath. The larger the clearance, the more time the plates have to gain energy before they slam into the basket fingers. In ten years on three different GGs I never broke a clutch plate, but I never filed a basket either.
 
this wasn't on a filed basket..i'm thinking it was just worn friction plate fingers - i've been experimenting with stack height and have been slowly adding cr250 frictions into my stack (since i have a bunch, and they're dirt cheap).

i have a few dry clutch ducs, and know the destruction.. on a totally different tangent, the duc quiet clutch mod is very effective at eliminating the destructive clunk/clunk/clunk of the basket when in neutral. you still get the jingle/jangle when you pull the clutch in.. i have gotten many years outta baskets and clutches that i used to replace every 6-10k miles. i haven't replaced a clutch since i switched over to the mod.....
 
Probably the same cause then just from wear at a different point.

A bit off topic, but are you refering to the quiet clutch mod that adds the friction plate under the stack to force the pack together with the basket? I never tried it but like you some have had good results. On the flip side some also feel the axial force introduced to the mainshaft bearing may cause problems. I'm going to get a Barnett basket with the stainless inserts, from what I hear they hold up real well.

dank, yes Honda CR250 plates fit, but the frictions are a bit thicker, so you have to consider the stack height.
 
im more lookin at steel plates, mine may be warped. what years CR? any? and thanks much!
 
GMP said:
A bit off topic, but are you refering to the quiet clutch mod that adds the friction plate under the stack to force the pack together with the basket? I never tried it but like you some have had good results. On the flip side some also feel the axial force introduced to the mainshaft bearing may cause problems. I'm going to get a Barnett basket with the stainless inserts, from what I hear they hold up real well.
Click to expand...

yeah, i know that bearing is not designed for axial load, i have not had an issue...but it has made basket wear almost non existent. i don't know if it's a trade off in the long run.. i have not heard of any bearing failures, to the best of my knowledge it's just conjecture. you're not loading that bearing much, you're basically just changing the runout to zero.
 
Your right, there have not been any documented failures, just speculation. Its probably fine, especially if you cut the added plate so that the preload on the pack is just enough and not too much. I should try and find a couple old frictions and play with it.
 
if you run open clutch cover, it makes the clutch almost silent.. until you pull the lever. i don't miss the clunk sound at all, i thought i would. i know if the jingle went away, i'd probably be disappointed...

imho it's a simple mod that is very effective. barnett kinda attempted the same thing with their concave 2 piece friction, but i hated that thing. that was a failure waiting to happen, and it could not be adjusted.. with an old friction plate/playing with stack height you can find neutral very easy at stop. if you go to tall on your stack, you definitely will have a load on mainshaft bearing. i haven't even been into my duc clutches in a few years, and can't even remember optimal stack height, that's how well the mod has worked for me.
 
just finished switching my gasgas to cr250 frictions and steels. i milled the inner hub thrust washer to 2mm thick (was 3mm). it works perfect, and i get a more progressive clutch feel (duh - new plates!), friction plates are 3mm thick gives me stronger fingers on frictions, and clutch replacement now only costs $44.99 - woohoo!

i could have milled thrust washer to 1.8mm to be exact, but i though .2mm thicker might give me a bit more pre-load on the springs so the plates lock up more solid.
 
Please keep us posted on your cr250 clutch pack! Hopefully it will work well and hold up well. Where would I go to have the inner thrust washer milled to 1.8 mm or 2mm, or possibly to purchase one already that thickness?
 
suzuki part #08211-22423 should work. it's $2.63 retail. it's 2.0mm thick. i may order a few and grind to 1.5/1.8 and see how they feel.
 
so here is what i found - ran a race today with the complete cr250 clutch. it works, and hooks up, but it drags a bit - i think it's due to the clutch inner hub expanding and tightening down on the steels. i think it was aflica that posted he shot peens his inner hub - which is what i am gonna try next - i've gotta make some more measurements to check. i also didn't have the regular trans fluid i use (mtl xl 75weight) and ran klotz flexdrive 30 which feels heavier. and that could have had something to do with it.

i also found that the aftermarket tmx shift lever sucks. i replaced it last time it got bent. 2nd time it's got bent and ends up hitting the stator cover - makes it very very difficult to upshift - i ended up doing a lap wth 2 choices (1st gear and neutral) that sucked.. or maybe it spun on the selector shaft - i gotta check..


also got to meet barry hawk today, who promptly lapped me :) he seemed like a nice guy :)
 
brocken clutch plates

I have been GG for 5 years. When I first got on one I was having the same problem breaking the inner 2 clutch plates. I have found that the best fix is to put in the fsr 450 clutch springs. (They are Green) Since my first Ec 250 as soon as I get a new bike I always put the green springs in and have not had a problem since. Hope I was some help. Jim Senecal
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Severe clutch problem EC 300 2019
2 3
Replies
52
Views
17K
Doc Brown
D
pscook
2011 EC300 Electric Start
Replies
5
Views
3K
pscook
pscook
Ed Ventura
Destroyed Clutch
Replies
7
Views
4K
Moto7man
M
stainlesscycle
how to fix MOST clutch problems + cr250r clutch conversion.
2 3 4
Replies
70
Views
82K
Doc Brown
D
Berkyboy
  • Sticky
GG Clutch basket photos
4 5 6
Replies
104
Views
112K
jgas
J
Back
Top