1992 GSX1100G clutch

[GS1000G Shopper]

I thought about using the old plates with some of the new ones- only 3 old ones were bad, but there is no telling how long they would last. BTW, they are all like 2.6mm+.

The disks have to be added 1 friction/1 steel. As of now, I have 20 frictions (17 with the 3 bad ones) and only 10 steels, so I can't add plates.

Plus, doing the math, if my plates average 2.5mm thick, this gives me an average deficit of .1mm per plate (range is 2.52 to 2.68). Multiplied x 10, this is 1.0mm. Since the minimum plate thickness is like 2.4x mm (the steels are right at 2 mm), even adding one friction plate would make it too thick.

This really turned out to be a lot more work than I ever though it would be. OEM plates will cost about $145 shipped, 2x as much as EBC, but I know they will be the right parts. I just hope Partzilla stands behind the parts they sold. According to their website, I think they will.

[almarconi]

It looks like the clutch on your bike is setup similar to the one in my RF900.

Consider the following points:

In the suzuki service manual there is a spec for the total thickness of the drive and driven plates when they are stacked up. Usually this measurement is taken with a 5kg load on the clutch pack. Just simply measuring the steels and frictions and adding them up is not going to give you the proper measurement.

What is the condition of the clutch release bearing? If it is worn then the clutch will not engage/disengage properly. Judging from the pictures of your clutch plates, something went bad wrong with the clutch. Bearing is less than $5 and should be replaced anyway.

Inspect the wave washer that rests underneath the clutch pack against the hub. Part 11 on the fiche. Is it within spec and installed in the proper direction.

If there is air in the clutch hydraulic system this will cause problems. Did you service the piston when you overhauled the bike?

[GS1000G Shopper]

I bought a new bearing when I bought the OEM spring. Both the clutch master & slave were honed and the master got new guts while the slave was just polished & resealed.

I don't have a wave washer under the first steel plate, and the GSX-G parts diagram and manual do not show one:


The friction disks are #9 and #10 (different number of pads on them per the shop manual), the steels are #11, the clutch spring is #15 and the release bearing #20.

The RF900 has some parts my GSX-G does not:


#11, 12, and 13 do not cross over, but #14-19 and 21-23 look to all be the same. I know the clutch springs interchange.

I'm really tired of fooling with it. I'm just going to spend the $ for the OEM parts and be done with it.

[almarconi]

In the suzuki service manual there is a spec for the total thickness of the drive and driven plates when they are stacked up. Usually this measurement is taken with a 5kg load on the clutch pack. Just simply measuring the steels and frictions and adding them up is not going to give you the proper measurement.

Is there a spec for this in your service manual. When you stack the friction plates with your steels and put the weight on top, how thick is your clutch pack?

[GS1000G Shopper]

Is there a spec for this in your service manual? When you stack the friction plates with your steels and put the weight on top, how thick is your clutch pack?

Yes, with 5 Kg (11#) of pressure, the spec is 46.3 mm, +/- .4 mm (45.9 to 46.7 mm).

Approximating this using my digital caliper, I got 45.97 mm with the EBC disks and 46.55 with the OEM ones (including the three missing some pads). That's a difference of about half a mm. The brand new EBC disks are barely within spec. I swapped out the three bad OEM disks and inserted three EBC disks and got 46.20. If I needed the bike right away, I think this would be the way to go, but as noted above, there's no telling how long the other old disks will last.

APE makes a coil spring conversion for $160 using some factory parts, the trick from what I can tell is to find a washer/washers that are 35 mm OD x 25.5mm ID and 10 mm thick. There is a conversion guide here that lists the needed parts. The author calls for a 10m ball bearing to act as a push rod spacer, and it appears the setup uses an 11th friction disk (11 friction / 10 steel).

[gmansyz]

Just try it with one or really two extra fibers. Yes, they can be put against each other. It is not perfect but it will give you an idea as to what the problem is. This should work and if you clutch STILL slips, then there is something else wrong and happening with it. And if you cannot get your money back, just get yourself two steel plates adn add then into the stack. Alternating and you should be fine. I think that the pressure plate is bottoming out on the inner hub so anythign you can do to make the stack thicker will work.
Hope this helps.
Greg

[GS1000G Shopper]

After doing some more reading, I went with the Barnett friction plates and K&G steel plates. There was a question about the OEM ones being in stock. The Barnett plates arrived this morning and measure (with the new steels) at 46.39 +/-. Looks like I may be going places.

The Barnett plates are Kevlar, and the first one I measured was 2.62mm, while the EBC ones were cork and were all thinner. These just look a lot better. Partzilla was awesome- they are refunding my return shipping costs.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to soak clutch disks I go...

[GS1000G Shopper]

I guess something is broken on this bike that until recently ran great- and I have the video to prove it.

I put the new Barnett friction plates and new steel plates in and reassembled it with one new OEM and one EBC spring. It's no better. You can basically put it in gear and let the clutch out- the motor bogs but it just sits there.

I have 10 friction plates and 10 steels. They are in the correct order per the shop manual/above diagram (engine side to clutch cover side):
steel-friction-steel-friction-steel-friction-steel-friction-steel-friction-steel-friction-steel-friction-steel-friction-steel-friction-steel-friction

These are followed by the pressure plate.

Both springs are in place and torqued down via the 50mm nut.

The pushrod end is in place with a new bearing and a washer.

The round piece the pushrod pushes against is in place and held with the large snap ring.

This is definitely the worst clutch job I've ever done, as well as the longest.

[dr_fosg8]

Could it possibly be something else in the driveline? Perhaps a stripped driven gear in differential?

[gmansyz]

Strippered out?

Yes, exactly what I was going to say. I also say to try and put ONE extra fiber in and see. And while you are in there, take the nut that holds the clutch inner off and see about removing the inner. I would suspect that this is stripped. It may be aluminum. Then, start checking the drive splines in the universal/driveshaft and then the rear unit where the driveshaft goes into the rear unit.
Otherwise, it would call for a total disassembly of everything to track down the problem as I don't think any of the transmission gears would be stripped.
Hope it helps.
Greg

[GS1000G Shopper]

I'm pleased to report the GSX-G is back among the living.

It looks like what happened was I must have overextended the slave cylinder piston while the clutch was apart, and it hung up- was not retracting. Once I removed it and reinstalled the clutch, I had a lot more room to work with so far as the snap ring goes. I bled the slave cylinder and all is well.

It's good to have 3 of the 4 bikes operational.

EDIT
Thanks for all the tips and advice.

[gmansyz]

Very interesting.
All the work for not being thorough and checking.
G

[GS1000G Shopper]

Yep, no one to kick but me.

[rphillips]

The older I get, the less I like change, for just this reason. Couldn't have this kind of problem with the old tried & true cable system & just think how much better the cable system would be now, if they had kept it & kept improving it. I know the lever is supposed to be easier to pull with a hydraulic system, but I now have 2 bandits & a Kaw ZRX, with the hydraulic systems, & there is very little, if any difference in their lever pressure & my GS 1100 E & CB 1100f cable systems pressure. Glad you got it back up & going, that's the main thing. Always thought I'd really like one of those 1100G's, reckon why they never went over any more than they did, didn't they just last a couple or three years?? See Ya,

[GS1000G Shopper]

Well it bit me again- I agree 100% with the cable clutch BTW. The GSX-G was sold here in the 1991-93 model years, and I think it went thru 1994 in Europe, where it is far more popular. When it runs, as it did for the first several times I rode it, it runs great.

After church this AM, I got on it and pressed the start button- nothing. Keep in mind it ran fine all the way to church, but I did notice the gear position indicator flickering on & off. Turns out that was a loose connector under the tank.

Went home, got my trailer & tools after a few push start attempts didn't work. Long story short, bypassed the solenoid (I knew the start switch was good since the headlight cut out) and got it running. The wife drove the truck & trailer and all was well for the first few miles- then the clutch started slipping again. Just like last time, it got worse & worse, so I stopped & loaded it on the trailer. UPDATE- the starter problem was a disconnected clutch safety switch wire.

I'm buying a new slave cylinder. It's laughable used slave cylinders on eBay are $80 when a new one (before discount) is only $90.

I can't figure out why this bike doesn't like me after all the work spent bringing it back to life, but I don't like it either right now, so we're even.