Hi, I'm the guy who did that vid.
I have concluded several things over the years; Suzuki GSs ain't GSs without a clutch noise. Have you ever heard a bike with a dry clutch like some of the Ducatis? Sounds like they are about to explode. By their very nature the plates and tolerances need to be free enough to move easily.
For the higher performance GS bikes (like GSX1100/GS1150s) the back plate and spring have been known to fly off and destroy your engine. Here are the remains of one such explosion. You can see the clutch parts:
If you have any extra power goodies or you ride real hard, you might want to think about having those clutch springs replaced. Whilst you're at it, have the back plate replaced with a thicker one (I think APE or Falicon do this). Then have it welded up as above. The one in the post above looks like the thicker backing plate too. You can tell because there are no lips on the apertures for the springs.
This however, won't stop the noise. Those loose springs do not make a rattling noise like the one you hear with the oil filler cap taken off. Harmonics of the sound indicate something far bigger and more solid rocking about.
My theory has always been this; there is lateral movement of the other clutch basket along the shaft or at least along the big spacer and needle roller that it sits on. The bevelled primary drive gear is constantly pushing and pulling these components sideways - that's one reasons the racing boys use straight cut gears. Now on 2 valve GS engines there is not a lot you can do about this. Tighten the clutch hub up fully and that is pushing on the spacer not the hub. The outer hub can still move sideways somewhat. There is a teeny bit of a rubber bung that goes into the back side of the outer hub:
That shows a bad one and a new one. This goes against the spacer/washer behind the hub. I can only think it was there to alleviate a bit of "flapping". Make sure yours is in good shape - although I can't say the new one had much effect on my noise.
After that I guess that the big clutch spacer is just a little too wide for the outer clutch hub and it was made that way. Perhaps they could be shaved down to stop the movement but I am no engineer to know if that is even possible.
On the 4 valve engines, they included an additional spacer/shim/washer (whatever you want to call it) that comes in 3 different thicknesses. You perform a measurement and insert the correct size item to leave the correct size gap.
See my blog post:
Figuring Out the Clutch Shim
In fact this picture is somewhat wrong. The feeler gauge should NOT be showing in the centre but it gives you the idea. Look at the manual:
Doing this correctly really will make a difference to the noise level.
There is another problem that I discovered in one of my GSs. Take a look at this video and see if you have an inner hub with a steel insert that has come lose.
Essentially, you are always going to have some noise.
Open the filler cap again, start the engine, sit on the bike, pull in the clutch, engage first gear, hold the front brake and slowly release clutch until it's at the biting point. Hold it there. See, all the noise (well nearly all the noise) goes away. All the slack is gone.
Just ride with full throttle!
