Clutch Slippage! I Cant Find The Prob! Please Help!

[Sand_man]

omg, its been a month now! i cannot seem to get this thing to work correctly! my bike hates me!!! ive been workin on it for a month now! i got new clutch kit, installed that. but when i go at high revs the clutch slips like crazy! i really dont know what is up here, im using lighter springs, i think that could be the prob, but i really dont know. i ddint use the heavy duty springs the clutch kit came with. Are the springs i have now to weak? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
-Tony

 

[mxracer535]

I would try the heavy duty springs, the work a lot better than the stock ones did on my 05 yz125-less slipping

 

[BSWIFT]

Check the unsprung length of your clutch springs and determine if they are within spec. The heavy duty springs should solve your problem but may cause fatigue if you use the clutch alot. The springs are what put AND maintaing the pressure on the clutch pack. Weak or worn springs cannot keep a sufficient amount of pressure on the clutch pack, resulting in slipping. You should be able to change them out in 20 mins. without even changing the oil, but I recommend you change the oil due to the slippage that you have had. This will contaminate the oil.

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

I would look at the springs first too. Did the kit you installed include the metal plates too? We had an older KX that had alum drive plates.........they wear and will cause slippage too. Steel plates are almost bulletproof.

 

[Papakeith]

How about we check the basics first. Have you made sure that your clutch cable is correctly adjusted? If there is a little tension there it could cause the same issues.

 

[motometal]

Great advice from BSWIFT. I'll add a few thoughts to it...

if the kit did not include all of the plates, you may want to take the plates you didn't replace and check for flatness with glass or a flatplate, and a feeler gage. For example, on a street bike I have seen severely warped steel plates, can't recall seeing this on a dirtbike though. Warped plates is sort of a long shot but worth checking. Even new ones could be warped/bent from shipping damage.

If the metal (not the friction) plates are almunum, that's what wears out. If they are steel, the frictions wear out. When clutch becomes very worn, there are still two friction surfaces you aren't replacing with the kit...the inner basket and the outer pressure plate. If these two surfaces are worn, and your springs are weak it could cause slippage. What type of oil are you using?

 

[BSWIFT]

PK, I forgot the cable. Bike clutches wear tight. Meaning the cable will use up the freeplay in the clutch and not allow the pressure plate to properly do its job.

 

[motometal]

Good catch, that's one of those things that I don't even think about any more. :bang:

 

[Sand_man]

i have all my plates, ive narrowed it down to wrong ajustment i know for sure, but i cant get the ajustment corret. earlyer this morning i disengaged the clutch cable from the release arm (so there was no clutch) went down a hill, put it in 1st gear and...OMG WAS IT FAST!!! it ran exactly how it should! so i know that it has nothing to do with the springs or anything, it rode so good! of couse i did not go out of fist gear cuz i didnt want to mess it up, but after i felt that it was very powerful, like this thing flew! ive never had it ride that fast and powerful b4. i pressed the off switch and put the bike away. But here is what i dont get. The clutch release arm is suppost to be set between two case marks on the engine. i cant even get the cable to reach anywhere near that distance. when ive tried to ajust it anyway, it was eather semi-engaged, or it wouldnt engae at all, like when i first ajusted it, i held in the clutch and put it in gear, it stalled right away. then i ajausted it more, but then the clutch would be semi-engaged and it wouldnt start withought me giving it gas, then when i put it in gear, the revs idle went WAY down, and when i let out the clutch it went, but slipped at high revs. so i think the problem is eather i got the wrong cable and need a new one, or i need a new release arm? i know the plates are fine, the oil is fine, the springs are fine. ive checked over them all. so would that be my problem?

 

[Jack45]

On My 03 YZ 250 I can be seeting there with the clutch pulled in while starting and it is trying to leave! Seems to do it more warm.. Is this a clutch lever adjustment. If so how do you guys set them up?

 

[Papakeith]

I don't know about your bike, but on mine there are three places to adjust the clutch cable.

at the end of the cable where it connects to the actual arm that engages the clutch.
at the clutch perch
and about 3-5 inches down the cable from the perch, there should be an adjustment nut for the cable there.

 

[motometal]

you should have a bit of free travel in the lever/cable before you feel the resistance. On some bikes, the adjustment gets noticeably looser when the engine warms up.

Note: even if there is something wrong with your clutch and/or adjustment, it will tend to slip much less in the lower gears such as 1st gear.

 

[BSWIFT]

Was the clutch basket "fingers" notched? Once you have the proper freeplay in the lever/cable AND your bike wants to take off in gear/clutch in, then the next likely problem is a notched clutch basket. It is possible to fix this once without replacing the basket. If it has beed done previously, you're advised to replace the basket.

 

[snb73]

Sandman,

As said before, you should have freeplay in your clutch cable. If you are unable to get enough freeplay from adjusting your cable at the clutch lever adjuster,
#13 and #14:

http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/showschematic~dept_id~422699.asp

Then change the position of the push lever #27 on the shaft #21 to increase freeplay.

http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/showschematic~dept_id~422721.asp

Hope this helps, Steve.

Make sure the oil in your crankcase/clutch isn't labeled, "energy conserving". These oils have friction modifiers that will cause slipping.

 

[Sand_man]

ok, thanks