[drmichelin]

Hello All,

Im sort of new to this moto thing and love every minute I spend on my 'o5 S4R. She's already earned 14,500 Miami miles. Anyways, I consider myself mildly mechanically inclined and think Im approaching the end of my clutch's life. I usually work on my own car when it comes to changing tie rods, brakes, bleeding, shocks, oil etc., but on my Sophia ?

Is it worth attempting myself? What parts will be needed? How much dama$e am I looking at? Carbon, sintered, alu?

Most importantly, do I want to do it myself... Am I nuts?

Help Please. ???

 

[ducpainter]

You're not nuts. It's a fairly simple job.
I would avoid sintered or carbon plates as I'm told by mt Duc tech buddy they don't like city traffic. He also doesn't seem too impressed with Barnett plates for the dry clutch. No FHE here.

Price a stock clutch pack from the dealer and price the alternatives and make an educated decision.

 

[greenmonster]

You need an air impact wrench to loosen the clutch big bolt and a a tool for
holding the basket while tightening it. At least much easier w these.
Other than that, fairly easy job. You can do it!

 

[ducpainter]

You need an air impact wrench to loosen the clutch big bolt and a a tool for
holding the basket while tightening it. At least much easier w these.
Other than that, fairly easy job. You can do it!

I thought he was just replacing plates?

 

[greenmonster]

Im approaching the end of my clutch's life.
What parts will be needed?

Maybe he only needs to replace plates, a bit hard to tell from his description.
If so, even easier job! [thumbsup]

 

[riffraff]

You're not nuts. It's a fairly simple job.
I would avoid sintered or carbon plates as I'm told by mt Duc tech buddy they don't like city traffic. He also doesn't seem too impressed with Barnett plates for the dry clutch. No FHE here.

What about for a wet clutch, or do I even have a choice?

 

[GregP]

I used Barnett Plates on my 620 and heavy springs and it was a bit sticky when cold. Even with clutch fully pulled in the bike pulled. Finding neutral was near impossible. Might have been my lack of a torque wrench but have heard the same from others.

To change a wet clutch you have to remove the entire side case. Once off it's a breeze to change. Just get a good coat of the sealer back on the case or she'll leak. A little scary but I got a good seal. The bike is gone so I don't have any long term reports. Was fine for the 4k I rode it after the change.

Changing plates is an easy wrench. Just get a torque wrench. I'm changing springs this weekend and the direstions say a turn past finger tight and/or 5 foot pounds with a torque wrench.

I think I would just use OEM plates next time.

 

[Mac900]

I installed the Barnett "Reds" on my 900 earlier this year. They've been fine. They were a tiny bit sticky at first and gave off a "whistle" type noise when I'd accelerate away from a stop. That noise has almost disappeared completey now (approx. 800 miles later). Make sure to save all of your old metal discs. Toss the friction plates. Save the metals. I think the new "spring" metal disc was the root of the noise I was hearing. Only a suspicion though and nothing I can verify.

 

[tex-mex]

Replacing the plates is a 20 minute job, easy. There are two spacers that are a different thickness than the rest and go in the basket first. Other than that it's very simple. Don't replace the basket unless it's all chewed up. Replace the springs and spring caps, they're cheap.

 

[drmichelin]

Wow, thanks for all the imput [thumbsup] [clap]

 

[Mark1305]

I'll throw the wet blanket- if the clutch still works, don't "fix" it. If you aren't slipping or grabbing uncontrollably, its still good. I'm the 3rd owner of my 95 M900 with 21K+ miles on it. The original clutch has been hanging right at the minimum service limit for thickness since I bought it. 10K of those miles are mine, and about 3K of them are on the track where I really abuse the clutch because I use it for 80% of upshifts and feather it on downshifts (poor mans slipper clutch). In all the abusive miles I've logged, I haven't measured any additional clutch wear.

On my track bike which had a totally destroyed clutch - hub, frictions, and steels - I just installed a Barnett aluminum basket and RQ clutch pack (Al frictions). I figure it will take me more years than I have left in my body to wear that clutch out. Oh yeah, it's smooth, too.