Clutch Replacement Questions

[vur]

Took my clutch apart today on my '84 GS750EF to resolve my clutch drag problem and a developing clutch "clattering" noise when engaging clutch (more pronounced when cold). I found the following issues:

1) Drive plates (friction plates) less than specified 2.6 mm thickness (all ~ 2.3 mm, 0.011" below spec). The reduced oil groove heights on the plates may explain the dragging effect (plate stick together easier...).

2) A number of Drive and Drive plates had distortion outside the 0.1 mm (~ 0.004") tolerance. This explains the clutch drag and noise.

3) Sleeve Hub Wave washer was missing (including spring seat and piano wire clip). Not sure how this would have contributed to overall operation. The last driven plate had spalling damage on back side just above teeth (teeth were OK) where the plate was forced against back of sleeve hub. Appears the wave washer would have prevented this...

4) There were 10 drive and 10 driven plates installed but the parts manual diagram suggests there are only 8 plates each (Suzuki service manual does not indicate, that I have noticed). Can some one confirm how may plates there should be?

CLUTCH REPLACEMENT QUESTIONS:

OK, so I obviously need new some new parts, so have the following questions:

1) Should I buy Sukuzi parts, or is there a better aftermarket clutch? PRICES?

2) Clutch Bearing. It appears to be OK per service manual. Should I replace it anyways? Any Ideas on price? The bike has over 26000 miles (42000 km) on it.

3) Could someone confirm the number of plates it should have (see above plate number question).

4) Clutch Springs. The springs are ~ 34.7 mm in length (within +/- 0.2 mm), service limit is 33.9 mm. Should I replace them anyways?

Thanks, in advance...

VUR

[psyguy]

most people prefer suzuki plates
there are cheaper ones on ebay
ebc does heavy duty springs, you can use only 3 with the rest 3 old ones, the lever will be a bit stiffer
some clutch plate kits have an extra plate - the concensus is to stay away from these for street use
i dont think theres a gs model with 10 plates though

check again the minimum thickness for the plates, they may still be in spec (from memory)

definitely use the wave washer - it reduces the initial impact on the clutch plates and gives a softer engagement

[vur]

Suzuki service manual says standard plate thickness is 2.7 - 2.9 mm with 2.6 mm limit. I have ~ 2.3 mm on all plates (except one which is ~ 2.5 mm and also has different oil groove pattern). My plates are 0.3 mm, or 0.011", below limit....

VUR

[psyguy]

Suzuki service manual says standard plate thickness is 2.7 - 2.9 mm with 2.6 mm limit. I have ~ 2.3 mm on all plates (except one which is ~ 2.5 mm and also has different oil groove pattern). My plates are 0.3 mm, or 0.011", below limit....

VUR

oh, ok
in that case going back to the standard number of plates and the wave washer etc without replacing the springs is likely to solve your prob
but do carefully examine the clutch basket for any damage as per the instructions in the manual

[vur]

Talked to my Suzuki dealer about clutch parts. The spring seat required for the wave washer spring arrangement for the back of the plates is no longer available. Apparently the wave (spring) washer, seat and associated clip were removed and replaced with an additional steel and friction plate per his parts listings. This was apparently done for performance reasons... Everyone apparently was doing this. May explain why I have one friction plate that appears different than the rest (someone in the past remove the spring washer).

For now I guess I will get the extra plates and try to locate the seat and order the other two parts (the slip and spring washer which are back ordered) separately and install it some time in the future.

VUR

[psyguy]

Apparently the wave (spring) washer, seat and associated clip were removed and replaced with an additional steel and friction plate per his parts listings. This was apparently done for performance reasons... Everyone apparently was doing this. May explain why I have one friction plate that appears different than the rest (someone in the past remove the spring washer).

i actually though that might have been the reason, but i never heard of it

you may want to post a new question specific to this and see what people say

[psyguy]

alpha-sports still lists wave washer seat as available

[vur]

Yes I noticed Alpha Sports had the parts listed too. Could not find my specific model though. Closes I could find was an '85 GS700 (no listing for '84 GS750...). Maybe I will have to compare the part numbers to see if different bikes are the same. If so it's a good chance mine will be the same...

I have found that if some parts are not available to Canada dealers, that US dealers may still have stock. In Honda's case, Honda Canada can not go directly to Honda USA to get stock, I had to call a US dealer directly to get parts.... Suzuki maybe the same, I don't know.

I only have this week to get the bike back together (after which my free time will be limited until next year). So I plan to just rebuild it with new plates the way it came. Seem to work fine until just recently.

Thanks for the info!

[vur]

Confirmed the seat washer is the same # (21471-45101) for both an '83 GS750 and an '85 GS700. I am pretty confident that my '84 GS750 would be the same.

If I have problems, I will pursue purchasing the parts through Alpha-Sports. The bike seemed to be working fine earlier with the extra plates. Would be nice to now exactly what the pros and cons were of this apartly freqent modification...

[Nessism]

Alpha-Sport is expensive, there are cheaper sources such as motogrid, bike bandit, etc (although I'm not sure who ships up north).

Bike Bandit shows the wave washer parts are available, also, clutch plates are expensive. You might want to check out z1 Enterprises for a more reasonable price on plates.

Good luck.

[gadang]

I had to order my Steel Driven plates from Bike Bandit because Z1 looks like they wholesaled them all out. They have like 3...when I tried to order more it said out of stock....and they were only a $1.50 instead of $5.85 from BB! Just ordered 8 but their schematic only showed 7...must not have included the one behind the spring.