Soaking the fibers in oil... how long?

[hikermikem]

Getting ready to change out the glazed fibers in my 1100EX clutch with a set of brandy new aftermarket ones from Fast by Gast.

So, starting right in with stupid question #1 - how long do you guys recommend soaking the new fibers in oil for, before installation?

I'm assuming you can't "overdo" it, but is 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours enough?

Thanks,

Mike

[tkent02]

It doesn't really matter. Just so there are no dry spots.

An hour or whatever time is convenient is OK.

I have just dipped them and thrown them in with no ill effects.

[Agemax]

i would soak them for at least a week..............















seriously, overnight will be long enough.

[Starion007]

I soak them over night. That's on FBG's and Star racing's recommendation.

Mark

[blowerbike]

gast plates are grabby so be aware.
there is a reason they cost half of oem.
neutral while running may never be found again...lol
overnight or a couple hours..
you end up with the same thing.
i have a 5 gallon bucket of asbestos plate's that have been soaking in oil for over 10 years.
sometimes i forget i even have them..hahaha

[bonanzadave]

neutral while running may never be found again...lol

Im running FBG and N is a cinch .

[blowerbike]

Im running FBG and N is a cinch .

how much free play and be honest....

[bonanzadave]

how much free play and be honest....

Honestly.....Not as friendly as stock and it will get a bit finicky when its really warm. Free play is tight when its hot. but Ive been riding this ol dog for 30 years so everything feels like an old favorite pair of shoes . Well worn and comfortable but still respectable with a little shine .

[blowerbike]

my point is...
any clutch will get neutral with zero or negative free play(hard on the throw out bearing) as it separates the disc more.
i have used fbg plates in street and strip bikes with a live clutch..
didn't like it...didn't like the engagement...didn't like the feel in general.
now in a slider bike there great and preferred by a lot of racers.
oem is hard to beat except for the price even in 300+hp applications.

[hikermikem]

gast plates are grabby so be aware.
there is a reason they cost half of oem.
neutral while running may never be found again...lol
overnight or a couple hours..
you end up with the same thing.
i have a 5 gallon bucket of asbestos plate's that have been soaking in oil for over 10 years.
sometimes i forget i even have them..hahaha

OK, so I have a set of glazed over OEM fibers with plenty of meat left, and a set of new FBG fibers. In a perfect world, should I simply scuff up the OEM ones with grit paper & use them, or would new FBG ones be a better choice?

The only reason I'm changing them out is because when cold, I have a little slippage - once warm, all is well; and yes, i've changed out the springs already.

[GateKeeper]

I have slippage once warm, I guess I should change mine for sure....

[Tom R]

I have fbg fibers in my 1100 and am pretty happy with them. I always have free play in the lever and can usually find neutral stopped pretty easily; but if its really hot, I may have to find it on the roll.
I put in new springs and deglazed steels and old fibers a couple of times, but the clutch would still let go around 7 or 8k wot. IIRC Neutral was harder to find with the old fibers.

[hikermikem]

UPDATED - Job complete

So yesterday I came down with a severe case of Spring fever - it hit around 78 F here in CT under sunny skies.

Who could think about "real" work?

It was a great day to change out the clutch fibers in Big Red, as I had the the replacement FBG ones soaking overnight in oil.

All went well, everything came apart easily, and went back together just as easily. This of course was due mainly to the fact I already had the clutch apart last June to address the slippage issue I'm addressing again.

I even installed that silly piano wire this time (left it out last June), along with a new locking tab washer for the clutch nut. I even reused the clutch cover gasket.

Clutch works very smooth now, not at all grabby as of yet, but I only test rode the bike about 5 miles - no slippage either when cold, as that was the primary problem.

We'll see how it wears in after a few long rides in the hot weather.

One interesting point that saw in another thread about clutchs here however - I had ordered a new OEM 1150 clutch nut because I read here that those were a bit more beefy that the stock 1100 nuts, but when it showed up it looked pretty thin. The nut that was already on my 1100 was much heavier that this new one! I'm thinking the PO had already installed an 1150 clutch nut, so I re-used that one instead of the "new" one.

[madjack57754]

With the nut, it's all about the metalurgy of the material.