Clutch noise/clatter

[Tiddlesrx7]

Hi guys. I've a 97/98 EC250 that I have owned for a couple of years now. Its always had a bit of a noisy clutch rattle/clatter. But it seems to be getting louder. At idle its very noticeable but not so much when riding. If you pull the clutch lever in then the noise reduces massively. Can anyone advise on what this might be and if its normal wear and tear as the clutch ages. The clutch works fine.

 

[slodrew]

my 04 ec200 does the same thing..

 

[Zman]

Those are nice bikes an so so smooth with the counterbalancer! As old as that bike is, I wonder if the clutch cushions could be worn out?

 

[Gasser Nate]

All bikes rattle at idle in neutral and get better with the clutch pulled in to some degree. I personally think it is the gears in the box rattling around with no load on them and when you pull the clutch you are disconnecting the drive to the main shaft.
Or it is the clutch pack rattling against the basket and gets better when the plates are separated with oil dampening the vibes.
But you can get the clutch basket out easily through the small clutch cover on gassys so it is easy to inspect those dampening runners in the back of the basket. They might have gone hard with age.