Clutch basket central hub spring torque

[Shuggie7]

Has anybody had a similar problem after reasembling a clutch basket on a GS1000EN. After reinstalling the main basket, origional clutch plates in order, new springs and washers, i am having problems with the clutch binding. I`m maybe being too cautious tightening all of the springs in sequence as last time i managed to strip the thread on one of the bolts, resulting in a trip to the machine shop I used a torque wrench last time which was obviously a big mistake and this time i have tightened all the springs evenly by hand, until all feel tight enough. The full travel of a bolt seems to be 10 clockwise turns without a spring attached. I have reached 6 turns which seems ok, but am not sure how far to go without damaging any of the threads again. The clutch action and lever feel ok, but the bike is being dragged down in 1st gear. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Shuggie

[hampshirehog]

Hello mate and welcome to the wheeltappers and shunters.

The torque on those bolts is nothing - about 1kg-m I'd guess. So, as you've discovered, toss away the torque wrench and just do them up tight with a spanner.

I suppose the plates were oiled properly (if they were new)? Plus have you got the top hat lined up properly with the bearing and thrust washer fitted?

BTW. Nice bike but she looks as if she's running weak by the colour of your headers. That is a Motad isn't it? Have the carbs been set up properly for those pods?

[Agemax]

hi and welcome, also what oil you using and is the clutch adjusted properly on the cable?

[Shuggie7]

Hello, i`m using 10W40 oil and origional clutch plates which are in good condition. I dismantled the clutch origionally because of a rattle at low revs which needed a new main bearing. I thought i`d fit new springs, bolts and washers as they had worn a bit after a lot of mileage. When you say tighten the bolts up,, how tight?, hand tight?, how many turns as i don`t want to overtighten and strip the threads all over again. Seems like a lot of folk have a similar problem with their clutch basket rattling at low revs. My bike has a new Motad 4:1 exhaust and MK filters and runs fine, not to weak as i usually go by plug colour,, if anything maybe a bit too rich. Has anybody else ever overtightened these bolts? cheers

[BigVoxjammer]

Hi, sorry to intrude. Is 3 months too long to comment or ask a question (ie is this thread too old?)? I am curious what is meant by a rattle at low rpm's. Is 4000 low? I have a chatter that rattles away between 3500-4500 rpm's, then it either just blends with the engine noise or it goes away (can't tell). It doesn't do it at idle and not until 3500rpm's. Clutch cable seems fine, clutch seems fine, and the noise happens regardless of whether the lever is pulled in or not. I'll be replacing the 30 year old springs soon so I can look inside to see if the hub's loose. My buddy says it's just incidental metal on metal noise from some loose piece somewhere up front, but I can't see it and he says everything's fine. Well, I don't like the noise happening right before I twist it. Thoughts? BTW it's a 79 GS750 E. Thanks.

[matt1100]

The rattler springs are behind the clutch basket, not the clutch springs that sleeve the bolts that hold the plates in

[nutsandbolts]

The rattler springs are behind the clutch basket, not the clutch springs that sleeve the bolts that hold the plates in

Hey all,
basket rattle comes from these generally- see picture.

There is a couple good discussions on this;

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff/images/clutch_odds-n-ends.html

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=160396

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=172330

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=185735

And this;

http://www.theflyingbanana.com/clutchhub.htm

I'm in the midst of this myself. I'm guessing the plates weren't oil soaked before placement? One of the guys on the forum mentioned the steels and fibers are press punched which means there is a sharp edge and a rounded edge. The rounded edge should point in to the engine. That could be causing the catching?
food for thought.

[nutsandbolts]

....this time i have tightened all the springs evenly by hand, until all feel tight enough. .... I have reached 6 turns which seems ok, but am not sure how far to go without damaging any of the threads again. The clutch action and lever feel ok, but the bike is being dragged down in 1st gear. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Shuggie

I noticed when I took mine apart that the top of the washers were 8 mm deep from the outside plate. I put them back in that way and was able to do it all by hand tightening. Clutch worked fine before removal but I was eliminating the rattle as well.
Good luck.