Another clutch drag thread for newbie

[Guest]

So after buying a new clutch cable, making sure it has been adjusted properly and no pinches in the cable I'm still having a very tough time shifting into gears. I notice that it's worse when the bike is first started and still somewhat cold.
Shifting into 1st, 2nd is the hardest and as the bike warms up it gets better, but I'm still needing to shift the toe shifter up or down really hard. There is fresh oil and if I lift the bike the rear tire does not spin when the handle is pulled in all the way. I originally started with the stock cable with the adjustment in the middle. That cable was adjusted properly and I had the problem. The handlebars were changed and an aftermarket cable was installed and adjusted and still having the problems so it makes me think its not the cable or adjustment.
So I would like to open the clutch up and replace springs, plates ect. I've read through a lot of threads, but can't find a good detailed step by step thread for things to look at and how to replace these items.
Also, I've heard of people replacing only the clutch springs. Are these the springs they are referring to and how many are there?



Thanks, guys
Ned

[JTGS850GL]

Yes, those are the springs. There are 6 of them. If you decide to replace them then just pick up some OEM springs. They're not very expensive and will last another 30 years. While in there you may want to pull the clutch pack and check each plate (both steels and friction) to make sure that none of them are warped out of spec. You'll also want to check the clutch basket to make sure that it doesn't have any gauges from the clutch plates causing the clutch to hang up.

My GS1000G had a sticky clutch until I removed the plates and cleaned/lubed them up. Once I repacked the clutch it worked great again.

[Brendan W]

[QUOTE=claygs750e;2160735] There is fresh oil and if I lift the bike the rear tire does not spin when the handle is pulled in all the way.
/QUOTE]

By this do you mean that the back wheel, on the main stand, does not spin with the motor running and the clutch pulled in ? Is it in gear or neutral ?

[Steve]

It sounds like your clutch is not releasing, not that it won't catch.

It certainly won't hurt anything to replace the springs. It's about $20 for the pack of six springs and another $12 or so for the gasket.

While you are in there, take a good look at the grooves where the clutch disks ride. They should be perfectly smooth, not looking like this:



If you see notches like the ones highlighted in the yellow ovals, they need to be filed smooth or just replace the clutch basket. The fingers on the edge of the clutch disks are getting stuck in the notches, and are not able to spread apart when you pull the lever to release them.

.

[claygs750e]

That makes sense. If I do see these grooves is pretty much replacing the basket the only thing I can do? Also, Besides looking for warped disks, I hear people talking about filing tabs down? What are they referring to?

[huntb]

You say that your rear wheel doesn't spin when raised... Is it in gear when you did this? If so, your clutch probably isn't dragging

[fededevi]

I had a similar problem, my clutch discs were very thin up so I bought a new set of discs. When I fitted them on the clutch was not transferring power to the gearbox, what I did was just to add one of the old steel disc to the pile, maybe the thickness was a little bit different on the replacement. After that it was working great. I also changed the clutch springs with stronger "Heavy duty" ones, it is a little bit harder to pull the clutch but I had much less slippage.

[claygs750e]

So I bought some new springs that I will install, but after reading about grooves in the basket I thought I would ask about the grooves I see. If you look at the picture it looks like grooves, but if I run a screwdriver over them it's somewhat smooth. I do feel slight bumps so will that be enough to cause my problems? Can I use a file on the ridges while the basket is still in or should I pull it to file? Is there anything else I should look at while having this open?

[claygs750e]

Ok, so I measured all the fiber plates, steel and old springs and all the measurements are perfect. I filed the grooves down, but they weren't really that bad. I was using fresh the Rotella 15w/40 oil. So even though I bought new springs I'm not confident that anything I've done will help my problem. Any other suggestions while I have everything open? I don't know if the problem I'm having is actual "drag" or not. It's basically very hard to shift the gears with the clutch pulled very in. Very hard when cold in the morning and gets better as it warms up, but never that easy.

[huntb]

Ok, so I measured all the fiber plates, steel and old springs and all the measurements are perfect. I filed the grooves down, but they weren't really that bad. I was using fresh the Rotella 15w/40 oil. So even though I bought new springs I'm not confident that anything I've done will help my problem. Any other suggestions while I have everything open? I don't know if the problem I'm having is actual "drag" or not. It's basically very hard to shift the gears with the clutch pulled very in. Very hard when cold in the morning and gets better as it warms up, but never that easy.

Did you ever figure out the problem you are having? I've had the same issue since I've had my bike and still haven't come up with a solution. I'm reluctant to spend money on new steels and fibers if that isn't what is causing the hard shifting.

[claygs750e]

I'm still having the issue as well and my next step is to buy the plates and fibers. I don't want to, but I'm out of ideas. Have you found a solution?

[BigD_83]

Just out of curiousity, I notice that the rack release (part #21) has it's teeth oriented to the rear of the motorcycle in the parts diagram attached in the OP.

Would it make any difference in function if those teeth were oriented 180 degrees towards the front of the motorcycle?

EDIT- having just looked in the service manual, it does appear those clutch diagrams are generic, and the 650G rack release has it's teeth pointing towards the front and you would not be able to get any engagement at all the other way around.

[BADJACKSON]

This is a good read on clutch problems for those of us new to the GS 1000s and their quirks. I learned a lot.
Is there a preferred aftermarket clutch basket, or is OEM good enough quality???