yz250f clutch -- toast

[MotoMojo]

I need some help. After about 6 rides and one harescramble, my clutch is gone. I don't think I overly abuse it, but I do ride this bike like my old 125. Is this normal for the clutch to wear out so fast? Is Yamaha known to make bad clutch plates? Any suggestions about a good aftermarket parts (heavy springs/steel plates)?
I did a search and can't find any other threads about this.
Thanks.

 

[wheelie4strokeB]

When I first got my WR250 I had some trouble with my cluth. I was breaking it in and everything was working fine then I released the clutch lever while shifting and heard a loud SCREECH sound. After that my clutch wouldn't disinguage. I'd mess with the cable adjustments and still nothing worked. I took it back to the dealer and it made that SCREECH sound again and started working. They said they would note it and if I had clutch failure in the near future that they would take care of it. That was 2 Harescrambles ago and about 270 miles of practice in the woods. As far as after market parts go I don't have a clue. Sorry I couldn't help.

 

[MotoMojo]

Thanks anyway.
Anyone else?

 

[lawman]

i think it's you. who told you to buy that stupid bike, anyway?

 

[vern#19]

clutchs

I just replaced mine with 5 monthes of abuse, not too bad but not too good either my CR 125 or 250 lasted 3 monthes and 7 monthes.
My sons 250f needs one now at 3 monthes . so they are pretty average.
I beleive my cutches would have lasted much longer had I heeded Richs advice and not used a high dollar sinthetic (Motoul,Silkolene) I now use Mobil one well see I that helps.

 

[F-Bomb Pilot115]

The clutch on these bikes is for starting and stopping only. If you ride it right you dont have to abuse the clutch like you've been doing. If your doing alot of woods riding you should have bought a WR, short of that try a weighted flywheel :scream:

 

[mxbundy]

YZ-250F clutch

Mine still works but I get a lot of chatter. Any time I try a motocross start I get chatter. What causes this and how do I stop it? I`m using the Yamalube 4R so I dont think it is the oil. But I have about 25 to 30 hours including a GNCC and the Alligator enduro on it with no slipping.
Thanks
mxbundy

 

[osheen]

Me too.......

Yeah, my cluch is grabby too when doing starts. It has no modulation. It's all or nothing. I put new plates, steel and fiber, in it and it only lasted a couple rides now it's back to grabby. I'm using plain ol' petroleum oil. By the way, Yamaha has updated the plates. It used to have a "glossy" steel plate as the first plate. Yamaha bagged that and supercedes it to the same as the others. Also, the first and last fiber plates were different than the inners. Now they supercede for all plates to be the same as the first and last. In any case it still sucks. What is really bad is my 79 KX250 clutch even feels better. I've been waiting for someone else to complain.

 

[Boit]

I hope you changed your oil often. 4-strokes seem to much harder on clutch plates than 2-strokes. Probably, this depends more on the rider than the bike. If you tend to slip the clutch accelerating out of corners...change your oil more often. At any rate, contaminated oil is pumped up to the cams and accelerates wear when clutch particles are present in the oil. As far as clutch chatter goes, I received some excellent advice from a fellow thumpertalk guy who said to pull in the clutch lever for several seconds before using the clutch. This allows oil to get between the plates and decreases the grabbiness. It works. When you start your engine on the starting line...pull in the lever while you wait for the board to go sideways. There should be no grabbiness when you feather it off the line.

What I meant about 4-strokes being harder on clutch plates is that if you use your clutch like a 2-stroke...the clutch seems to go away quicker.

 

[zcookie49]

clutch toast

I havent had any problems with my clutch that I have noticed, Knock on wood. i have done oil changes and are using Yamalube 4 for oil....One thing though, ( I came from a 2 stroke 125), I had to alter my riding style somewhat in that on a MX track, when I come to a berm, I down shift before, and take the same gear out, usually 2nd. thus I dont pull the clutch in like i would when on the 125 and let it out half way thru the berm..My buddy is orign owner of a 99 yz400 and he has no problems with his clutch either and hasnt replaced it either. So I am sticking to twice a month oil changes, at the minimalist, decent oil, and moderating the clutch usage, shifting on the straights is more controllable and I will probably heed the advice of the last post and pull the clutch in and hold it, to circulate the oil, that makes sense since the oil is used universaly throughout the bike. which leads to the idea of changing the oil more frequently since there is higher change of debris to be circulating... Just my opinion...

 

[MotoMojo]

Thanks for all the advice.
Sounds like I am not alone.

Lawman -- it is me, and this is all your fault anyway.

I used yamalube 4 for the first three oil changes (after each ride), then when the filter started looking cleaner (less metal shavings) I switched to Mobil 1 15w50 (SUnruh and Rich's fault) :)

F-bomb -- you're probably right. Won't steel plates give some minor flywheel effect? Anyone have recommendations about a particular brand of clutch plates that worked well?

 

[J.B.426]

Thanks Boit,
You beat me to it, I was just gonna pop in and offer the advice to hold the clutch lever in. You can also rev the bike slightly with the lever pulled in to help circulate the oil.

 

[mxbundy]

Yeah i`ve tried the pull in the clutch to lube the plates thing, but it doesn`t seem to help. I don`t abuse my clutch by any means, my 400f went three years on the same plates. This really has me stumped. I wonder if a after market basket would help?

later
mxbundy

 

[spanky250]

Originally posted by lawman
i think it's you. who told you to buy that stupid bike, anyway?

Who told you to post that stupid remark?:scream:

 

[yz250-effer]

It is probably no doubt..

that the 250F clutch cannot take as much abuse as the yz125 clutch due to the low end torque. I use castrol after the break in and after 6 mos., no problems.Of course, this is just my opinion.

I think the trick is NOT to use the clutch as much as possible. IMO, you not only go faster, but make your clutch last longer. The power deliver is a natural clutch if you have it in the right gear. The only time I clutch is on a corner that I can't take in 2nd because there is a jump after it that I have to do in 3rd - then I fan it just a bit.

If my clutch goes soon, I will be re-visiting this post soon!

 

[Boit]

Often times, the basket tangs get grooves worn into the sides where the plate fingers slide. Once the grooves are severe enough(which isn't much at all), these grooves tend to pull the plates into them and you get that grabby problem. As far as I know, there are only two options at this time. You can file the grooves down to flush, or go to an aftermarket basket. Stormin' Norman has an interesting basket design with replaceable tang sleeves. Once the grooves appear, you simply replace the sleeves. Hinson, Performance Engineering, and Vortex are also other sources of baskets.

 

[lawman]

hey spanky, take it easy. check my address against motomojo's--we are riding buddies & ex-next-door neighbors. it was just a joke, & the joke was on me. i bought a yz250f & knew that m.m. would love it, so i called & recommended that he buy 1. see? it was hardly worth raising your blood pressure about.

ps to m.m.: sorry, i was out the weekend doing a race. will be around all week, so just buzz me & i'll get you your parts. didja race yesterday? howdja do?

 

[MotoMojo]

A bit of clarification. I am Lawman's EX-next door neighbor. I couldn't stand all the noise late at night, as he feverishly worked on his high maintanence bikes.:)

In the harescramble yesterday, I took everyone's advice about staying off the clutch/shifting without it. The clutch was much better.

I dropped eight places -- but the clutch was much better.:think

 

[lawman]

the noise from me working on MY hi-maintenance bikes? ya wanna borrow some clutch plates? actually, folks, the reason motomojo moved away from my street is that he was tired of being humiliated by the pristine, lush, well-maintained state of my lawn & gardens, compared with his own scraggledy, overgrown yard. he just couldn't take the pressure; the competition got to him, & began to affect his health, & he was forced to move. and that's the way it happened.

 

[MotoMojo]

The mind reels at the magnificent depth and breadth of your delusions.
You have clearly inhaled too much of my dust, clogging the capillaries in your brain.
Seek medical attention immediately!

I am, of course, available for consultation this Sunday.

 

[dbk_56]

Sorry:( :( I recently had to replace the plates in my CR80. My dad rides 610 and the guy we bought it from put washers on top of the spring and it tightend clutch pull,but it made the clutch slip less. Thats all I can think of?nothing on the fibers though

 

[lawman]

delusions? clogged cranial capillaries? seek medical attention? is there a doctor in the house?!

sorry, doc, i'll be racing in alabammy this sunday. however, if i am not too banged up, i am planning on meeting a crew at 1 of the club's tracks on monday. interested?

 

[Shaw520]

A lawyer and a shrink, going at it, ya gotta love this;
So Mojo,..... what's the real reason you moved away?
hehehe:D

 

[MotoMojo]

A Confession

The real reason I moved -- my wife.
She would not allow me to be around such a poor role model as Lawman.
1. I used to be model husband and father.
2. I now have thousands of dollars of dirt bikes/gear/tools.
3. I no longer own a pair of trousers or a dress shirt that does not have a grease stain on it.
4. I now put pre-mix in the lawn mower because it makes a "good" smell.
5. When I told my wife how cool it was that Lawman had antifreeze stains on his beautiful mexican tile kitchen floor -- she had had enough.

So the truth is, although Lawman is pretty cool, my wife looks better in a dress.*


*many local riders have in fact ridden with Lawman while he was clad in a full "Dorothy" drag

 

[lawman]

too bad for your wife, b/c what's the 1st thing you did, even while still moving? that's right--you bought another dirt bike! bwahahahaha! another 1 bites the dust!