Clutch Questions

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BorgBiker

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It's been over 500 miles of riding bliss now, and for the first time I twisted the throttle HARD at 70 mph.

As most of you know from experience, the Max shot up to over 100mph in a heartbeat. It was a nice rush early in the morning and really got the blood pumping. But...

As I reconnected my V-boost yesterday, now the V-boost seemed to overpower the clutch. The motor sped up more than I accelerated. It wasn't horrible, just a bit of extra rpm that didn't correspond to the movement. So it looks like clutch work is needed.

So after reading the clutch forum, looks like my choices are
a) replacing anything needed with stock parts
b) replacing the friction plates with aftermarket and replacing the half plate with a whole one.
c) roughing up my plates a bit if the friction plates don't look too bad

For more gripping power I can also:
1) install another spring ala "Double D"
2) do a barnett coil spring conversion.

I ride in LA freeway traffic a lot, so I don't really need a monster pull on the master clutch. Money is tight after the purchase and buying my 18 year old a car AND Christmas, so getting a FJR or other master cylinder for the clutch isn't going to happen this time.

What do you guys recommend for the best combo of increased clutch grip and minimal extra force at the clutch lever?
 
Clean the steels. Bead blast or just scotchbrite will work fine.
make sue the frictions are in good shape an thickness in spec.
remove clutch boss spring, spring seat, retaining wire. Remove half size friction. Install a new full size friction.

This will keep lever effoert stock and slightly increase holding power.

Add a pcw diaphragm spring in place of oem if you need more bite. They run about $40. It will increase effort a bit but its not terrible.
 
Clean the steels. Bead blast or just scotchbrite will work fine.
make sue the frictions are in good shape an thickness in spec.
remove clutch boss spring, spring seat, retaining wire. Remove half size friction. Install a new full size friction.

This will keep lever effoert stock and slightly increase holding power.

Add a pcw diaphragm spring in place of the OEM one for a bit more bite.


That sounds like the advice i'll be going with before spring too, thanks, Mike. ......Same sinerio....running great this past year for first time in a loooong while for me. Presto...next weak link comes along......but what a good problem to start having, I guess....:biglaugh:
 
I have reused the steel plates many times in both motorcycle and automatic transmission applications, I clean them in the solvent tank and inspect, if they are uniform in color and not burned blue or hot spotted I will lay them on the flat concrete floor and circular scratch both sides, run them through the solvent once more and I'm ready to go!.............I do however generally replace the frictions anyway since I'm already in there but that's just me, I also like to pre soak the frictions for 20 min or so before installation in the type of oil they will be working in..................................Tom.
 
I am of the opinion that unless you are drag-racing, or have worn parts, the stock setup is fine. I run my bikes pretty-hard but do not do many stationary drag-racing burnouts. I usually get 15,000+ mi from a clutch & typically get o.e.m. friction discs as I found Barnetts usually have a problem releasing first thing in the morning, or if the bike has not been ridden for awhile, the 1st time you drop it into gear, the bike stalls, which breaks-apart the plates, and then you can use the clutch normally. On occasion I have had to remove the clutch cover & pressure plate, & manually remove & re-install the plates after treating each of them to a spritz of oil. It has been awhile since I last tried a Barnett friction disc set, are they any better for that issue?
 
Mine slipped at high rpm's before the clutch mods. New OEM and full disk, bead blasted the steels, made it much better. Then, did the DD that stoped any slip. I never tried the PCW, but I'm sure from what I hear, it's much better than 1 OEM spring.
In all fairness my bike had Mobil 1, 10w-30 in it when I bought it at 12k miles. I went to conventional oil at the same time as my first step, so that may have added to the better grip also.
Steve
 
DD is pretty much all I ever use and suggest. The stock clutch slips more then most realize.

Sean
 
I used DD on my 1200, 1260 and 1500 Vmax. Never ever disappointed me! I had a barnett for awhile and developed slip problems on my 1500. Barnett sure looked nice with the clear clutch cover. PCW is an excellent way to go as well. However, once you strengthen the weak left grip, the DD is awesome. Unmatched in my personal experence.

rick rash
 
I installed the double d per PCW in my max back in the early 90s. It has been good ever sense, even running synthetic oil. With the stock clutch and syn it fried.
 
Ok, DD it is! Now, I need to know where to get another stock spring. The dealer wants over 80 bucks! PCW's website doesn't seem to show anything clutch related, and I didn't see anything on Mr Morley's site, but I'm guessing he'll have one :)

I'm guessing instructions for the DD can be found here somewhere, haven't looked yet.
 
Ok, DD it is! Now, I need to know where to get another stock spring. The dealer wants over 80 bucks! PCW's website doesn't seem to show anything clutch related, and I didn't see anything on Mr Morley's site, but I'm guessing he'll have one :)

I'm guessing instructions for the DD can be found here somewhere, haven't looked yet.

For instructions look here: http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=10938

Or google "levlhead vmax into the clutch". I'd post a link but its not coming up right now.

PCW and Sean both sell what you need.

I placed an ad here on the forum and bought a slightly used one for around $20 from a member who had upgraded to a barnett.
 
Yes, it's $75 from me and $10 for another full size friction plate, $7.44 for the gasket, and $7 postage. Need to email me directly if you are interested. I do have it all on hand too.

Sean
[email protected]
 
Yes, it's $75 from me and $10 for another full size friction plate, $7.44 for the gasket, and $7 postage. Need to email me directly if you are interested. I do have it all on hand too.

Sean
[email protected]
If I have burn spots on my steel plates can I just clean them up? Also I just need to replace what friction plates and put it on another stock spring on the pressure plate? If so price please and thank you
 
If I have burn spots on my steel plates can I just clean them up? Also I just need to replace what friction plates and put it on another stock spring on the pressure plate? If so price please and thank you
Steel plates can be bead blasted or lightly sanded, or scuffed with scotch brite to remove any deposits. Plates that are rainbow colored from being overheated, warped (not flat) or too thin should not be reused. Most of the time, the steels ARE reusable.

Replace all friction plates. Throw away that half sized piece of crap an the little metal rings that sit inside it. Buy a full sized friction and install in place of all that stuff. Pull that "piano wire" out too.

You can use the DD spring or the PCW spring. If I did it again today, I'd go with the PCW unit.
 
What mabdcmb said. I just finished mine up a couple weeks ago. Clutch job wasnt too bad but I did the oil pump upgrade along with it so was a project for me. I got just about everything for both jobs from Sean. Got his bead blasted plates also. I just got the hd spring not the dd. I dont drag my bike so i wanted reliabality and comfort for cruising. Happy with everything so far. Email Sean, between him and this forum...you will be up and running in no time.
 

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