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1981 gs850 clutch slipping

  • Thread starter Thread starter snowmobilejon5000
  • Start date Start date
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snowmobilejon5000

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23000 miles and original clutch. Now that my tuning issues are fixed I have immense amounts of power and when I am above about 5000 rpms and I punch it, the bike revs to the sky then grabs and goes sometimes it is wheel spin but not all of the time. I checked the cable slack and it is adequate. Bike shifts smoothly just sometimes wont grab fully. How bad is it to change the clutch springs? I have a hanes manual that I live by I just want to make sure I don't need any special tools. I am planning on changing the springs and taking some sandpaper to the plates to scuff them up since everyone on here seems to say they last until 6 figure mileage.
 
You'll just need a standard socket set, torque wrench, and such. Might want to replace the bolts for the cover while you're there since those screws will strip out easily if you don't have the right screwdriver - need a JIS type of phillips.

Have you adjusted or replaced the cable first though? Might be all you need or would still be a good idea anyway.

Also might want to put the bike info in your signature file and look at the picture code since the picture isn't showing up. Here it is for everyone else:

pic1.jpg
 
Yea the cable is in perfect shape. And has the required slack as stated in the hanes manual. It slips then grabs under hard acceleration. I have a hammer screwdriver that works amazing for getting them out without stripping them :-) Best 9 bucks I ever spent.
 
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Sounds like you need to do some more adjusting but others might suggest better things. Course new springs aren't that expensive and it will give you a chance to check out the plates too.
 
snowmobilejon5000 said:
... sometimes it is wheel spin but not all of the time.
...
I have a hanes manual that I live by ...
Click to expand...
What kind of pavement are you running on that you can get wheel spin on an 850? :eek:


Do yourself a favor. Put your Haynes manual on the shelf. It's great for some of the pictures and an occasional difference in description, but the Clymer manual is qute a bit better, in my opinion, but the best is still the factory manual. You can get your own copy of a factory manual for your 850 from BassCliff's site. By the way, I do have all three versions, so I can make quick comparisons.

.
 
We have chip and seal roads around my house, no def not blacktop or the clutch would slip before the wheel spin. I live in the sticks. The Haynes got me through the rebuild so I consider it fine. It was the first time I have ever split a 4 stroke block and had to polish valves and shim valves. I have done numerous two stroke rebuilds due to excessive snowmobiling and sea-dooing but never a 4. When I bought the bike it had the original owners manual under the seat, wahoo. The pages are krinkly because it looks like it got wet once or twice but still is readable. I just recently changed the oil this morning and it is still slipping darn. Using 10w-40 motorcycle oil from wallysworld made for wet clutches.
 
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No special tools are needed other than an impact driver (or similar). Sometimes the clutch hub nut loosens in which case you will need some tools in order to tighten it.
 
Ok, so someone replaced one spring out of 6 because it was the only one without the Suzuki red tag on the spring so my new springs should help a lot because 5 of them are oem 30 year old springs. On another note, my pressure plates are smooth (black rings with tabs), shouldn't they be rough. The spacer pressure plates (silver shinny ones) are rough and dotted like they should be.
 
You should measure the thickness of the fiber plates. There is a specification in the service manual (minimum thickness) of 2.4mm, but in my experience they should measure above this thickness or you have a lot of wear. If you need some good used plates I think I have some in the garage.
 
They met specs and I put the new springs in after scuffing them and there is no slippage. The clutch is much stiffer now then before which is awesome. Problem solved and back on the road. wahoo!
 
I got the flu yesterday so I skipped work and went for a ride in the great weather. Rode 138 miles and it never missed a beat. Got home my pants were covered in oil from the drippage around left side of cyl 1. Doesn't bother me much since I normally never ride any more than a couple miles to work. Its a 30 year old bike what can you say. Our neighbor has an older ninja 600 and I can barely walk him on a drag. It is really fun because his bike was 3 grand and mine was 850 bucks ish after parts. The clutch is perfect now and no longer is a smooth shift if I dump it. It really jerks due to the 10 percent heavier duty springs I got from bike bandit. I love it. A true must if you don't mind the extra strength required to pull the lever. The scuffing of the plates probably helped also. Glad to be back on the road, this thread is closed :-)
 
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