[xtreem]

Leaving the Algona rally on sunday: Coming out of the first curve and lightly shifted fifth and the clutch was instantly gone. Not just a little slip when shifting, but like a toasted automatic transmission.

My OEM clutch went out at 7000 miles and I replaced with Barnett and Heavy Duty springs but now this at 41000 miles.

Do you suppose I could have snapped a few springs causing it to loose pressure??

I also tow very heavy loads with this bike: 500 to 700 lbs. on trailer.

I did order the Kewl Metal clutch this morning and I hope that is all the damage that I did.

I have not had the time to tear it down and inspect but I hope there is no damage other than the clutch.

Has anyone else experienced a complete failure like this rather than the normal slipping while shifting with the stocker?

 

[347 jason]

Re: Toasted !!!!

Leaving the Algona rally on sunday: Coming out of the first curve and lightly shifted fifth and the clutch was instantly gone. Not just a little slip when shifting, but like a toasted automatic transmission.

My OEM clutch went out at 7000 miles and I replaced with Barnett and Heavy Duty springs but now this at 41000 miles.

Do you suppose I could have snapped a few springs causing it to loose pressure??

I also tow very heavy loads with this bike: 500 to 700 lbs. on trailer.

I did order the Kewl Metal clutch this morning and I hope that is all the damage that I did.

I have not had the time to tear it down and inspect but I hope there is no damage other than the clutch.

Has anyone else experienced a complete failure like this rather than the normal slipping while shifting with the stocker?

does it try to move at all may be you did something to the drive shaft

 

[xtreem]

Clutch

Yes it will move if you do not give it any throttle. If I take off as easy as possible I can get it to about 40 mile per hr.

 

[Taz-man]

Toasted

You pull 500-700 pounds behind your bike....really? I am surprised the clutch lasted that long! I think you got great service from the Barnett.

Make sure when you pull it apart to get all the burnt pieces of clutch material out of there. Most of them should have remained in the clutch basket, but some smaller pieces may have escaped into the oil sump so check for those carefully.

Check the "flywheel" side of the clutch assembly for any blueing or hot spots same goes for the "pressure plate". Make sure you eyeball the "throw-out" or "release" bearing as well. If it shows any signs of too much heat then you should replace it.

I would drill some extra holes in the clutch hub for better oil flow through the center of the clutch pack. I have done this on several bikes including my own with great results. There is a very good article along with pics on how to do it on the www.californiavtxriders.com board under the Tech section written by BigLry.

I have in fact seen a complete clutch failure as you describe. Should be no big deal to fix unless there was some severe heat damage inflicted to the hard parts and bearing.

You may want to wear a dust mask or a bandana over your face, 'cause that puppy is gonna stink to high heaven... :lol: it will stink up your entire work space so be prepared!!

Taz

 

[xtreem]

700lbs.

Yes I pull a lot of weight with this thing. It pulls like a tractor. I probably have abot 10000 miles with a heavy load and I am always hard in the throttle.

I just hope I did not hurt anything inside, cause I run this thing with slippage for about 140 miles to get it close to home. I held it just off idle to keep it going. And it felt it would slip for a few seconds and then bight again for a few more seconds.

Anyone have spare parts if I need them???

 

[xtreem]

Tear down

Tore the bike down this morning and to my surprise when I popped the cover there was no burnt smell at all.

All that I found wrong was one broken spring, All else looks great with no burning of the plates bearing or any other parts. And all disks are still in tact.

I thought after 140 miles of severe slippage everything would need replaced.

Is it possible that one broken spring could cause this?

Now I am just waiting for the Kewl Metal to arrive.

 

[Big Jon]

Re: Tear down

Tore the bike down this morning and to my surprise when I popped the cover there was no burnt smell at all.

All that I found wrong was one broken spring, All else looks great with no burning of the plates bearing or any other parts. And all disks are still in tact.

I thought after 140 miles of severe slippage everything would need replaced.

Is it possible that one broken spring could cause this?

Now I am just waiting for the Kewl Metal to arrive.

Yes, apparently so.

 

[Bareass172]

Re: Tear down

Is it possible that one broken spring could cause this?

Very much so... I'm troubleshooting a problem clutch right now and with an MTC clutch .075" of shim accounts for approximately 19 lbs per spring additional pressure - or a total of 114 lbs of pressure across all 6 springs.

It sounds crazy, but it's true.

Plus, if you lose only one spring it doesn't hold consistent pressure across the entire pack.

 

[cmartin]

Just curious,?? if you got that kind of service from Barnett why are you changing up now??

 

[xtreem]

Clutch

I have no problem with the Barnett clutch it did a good job for me. But I do beleive the Barnett springs could use some improvement, because if the spring would not have broke the rest of the basket would still be ok.

I would just like to try another option. And since the Kewl Metal 10 disc seems to be getting a bad rap, I figure that I can put it though a good test.

 

[Bareass172]

Re: Clutch

I have no problem with the Barnett clutch it did a good job for me. But I do beleive the Barnett springs could use some improvement, because if the spring would not have broke the rest of the basket would still be ok.

I would just like to try another option. And since the Kewl Metal 10 disc seems to be getting a bad rap, I figure that I can put it though a good test.

While I'm not personally a fan of the KM clutch (I think it's trying to pack 10 lbs of sh!t in a 5 lb bag) I would recommend making sure you bleed your clutch with new hydraulic fluid and consider a lifter washer similar to what Showtime56 has done with his MTC. This will give you the best chance at being able to disengage the clutch pack with the extra plates.

Just a suggestion to help get it working properly - let us know what you think of it once it's installed. :wink:

 

[xtreem]

Re: Clutch

I have no problem with the Barnett clutch it did a good job for me. But I do beleive the Barnett springs could use some improvement, because if the spring would not have broke the rest of the basket would still be ok.

I would just like to try another option. And since the Kewl Metal 10 disc seems to be getting a bad rap, I figure that I can put it though a good test.

While I'm not personally a fan of the KM clutch (I think it's trying to pack 10 lbs of sheet in a 5 lb bag) I would recommend making sure you bleed your clutch with new hydraulic fluid and consider a lifter washer similar to what Showtime56 has done with his MTC. This will give you the best chance at being able to disengage the clutch pack with the extra plates.

Just a suggestion to help get it working properly - let us know what you think of it once it's installed. :wink:

Thanks for the suggestions, I may need to go in a couple times but I am fairly confident that I can get it working properly. Just have to wait for the new clutch to arrive.

 

[xtreem]

Clutch

Finally recieved the Kewl Mwtal clutch today. Going to do the install this afternoon and I will let you all know how I turn out.

 

[black hills]

700Lb. Trailer on a Motorcyle!!!! :shock: How do you get it stopped??

 

[Philscbx]

Curious,,,
What RPM are you doing your shift points with that kind of load?

 

[xtreem]

shift

Curious,,,
What RPM are you doing your shift points with that kind of load?

Shift points are about the same. The 1800 pulls like a tractor. You hardly know its back there.

As far as stopping the load , it surprisingly stops quite well.

 

[xtreem]

update

Clutch went in easy and I finally got to take her out and try it this morning.

When I first put it in gear I did have a little creeping. Enough that I had to hold it with the brakes.
Up shifting went very smooth.
It would downshift, but took a strong force to do it.
Neutral while running was impossible.

I took it for a ten mile drive and then run it hard through the gears twice.
I then paracticed the slow race for about a city block, of course this involves slipping the clutch.

Then went for a two mile ride after it cooled off.
Now
Very light creep when you click it into gear. You can hold it back with very light foot pressure.
upshifting still nice and smooth.
downshifting still tuff but about half the pressure needed right after install.
I can now find neutral when running but it takes a couple tries.
So I have no dought that this thing will break in just fine.

OH Yea and wow, does this thing hook up. A lot better than the barnettt when it was new.

By the way the KM clutch did not come with spacers for the springs so I just used the ones from the barnett.