GS1100e clutch plates sticking together

[fast eddie 52]

Sons bike doesn't get ridden much, clutch wouldn't disengage(as in pulling in the clutch lever), I could wheelie with the lever pulled. Ok, plates stuck bad, wouldn't release. Teardown revealed plates stuck, had to separate with putty knife. Got a new friction set, roughed up the steels which were in ok shape, and reinstalled, oiling up all the plates as I went. Done this many times, so not a novice. Clutch worked great, a month later, it's stuck again! Do synthetic oils sometimes cause friction plates to adhere? Brand new OEM lookin' plates...

[Rich82GS750TZ]

What Oil are you using: Is it JASO MA cert? This is needed for motorcycles with a wet clutch. Other oils may have additives that make it unsuitable for a wet clutch. Many of us are using Shell Rotella Deisel Oil.

[rphillips]

Beings as you took it apart and the plates were stuck that bad, couldn't be anything mechanical, something in the oil seems to be the only thing left.

[bwringer]

It's not the synthetic, either. Lots of us are using synthetics in our olde motor bikes.

If you're not using a JASO MA/MA2 oil, or if there are any friction modifiers or mouse milk additives in the oil, it can cause issues. Usually this manifests as slipping, though; for example, 10W-40 or 20W-50 oil, even if it isn't JASO MA/MA2, works fine. But if you try using 5W-30 or 10W-30, they have friction modifiers that can cause all kinds of problems and slipping.

Another possibility is aftermarket clutch springs that are way too strong. It's pretty common for aftermarket springs to be installed when the originals sag a bit, but these are far too strong and can cause this sort of thing. Fresh OEM springs will give you a much lighter clutch pull, won't cause sticking, and won't slip even on modified engines. At most, you can use two or three aftermarket springs to get a firmer bite if you like.

And of course maladjustment of the cable and/or release mechanism can be an issue as well. We'll presume you've covered that already, but it's worth mentioning.

[fast eddie 52]

He was using some high dollar Ducati recommended oil that his friend recommended. He said he was able to get it to break free and changed the oil using Rotella, and it seems to be working so far. I told him to ride it more and not let it sit for long. His gonna change the oil a couple times "to get the bad stuff out". We'll see...thanks for the input, I'll update if there's any more to report!

[rphillips]

Good, I'd think that should fix it. I put some Slick 50 additive in my 1100E once and it took a couple or three oil changes to get it back to normal. Mine wasn't stuck but but slipping bad. After cleaned out good, all back to normal