Topica Loopframe_Guzzi Archive


Subject: Was Grabby Clutch-Now Sureflex

Author: joe jump

Date: Sep 8, 2003, 10:26 AM

Post ID: 1714441995



Ron,
I do believe the friction material on my Sureflex plates was
rivited, but I'm unsure of what you mean by a "Spoke Design". I think
the steel plate that the friction material is rivited to has slits cut
in it at the OD, but I can't recall if the slits go radially in to the
hub. I think the friction material was one piece on either side,
bridging all the slits.

Before the clutch plates you refer to left you on the side of the
road, how did they operate-smooth or grabby? Could you give more of a
description of the solid clutch plates you refer to, i.e., how to
identify, who makes them & who sells them?

Thanks for the help!

Joe in St Louis


Ron Komoroski wrote:
 
If you are referring to the sureflex clutch plates that are a riveted
together spoke design, I have had very bad luck with them. I replaced a
set
in a friends SP that had disintegrated, and had a failure in my Eldorado
(the ONLY time any of my loopers ever left me on the side of the road)
Only
solid clutch plates for me!!
Ron Komoroski
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe jump" <jum-@hotmail.com>
To: <Loopfram-@topica.com>
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 9:58 AM
Subject: RE: Grabby clutch reappears


 Ian,
I have the same problem with my V-7 Sport. I replaced
the clutch hub with the 4mm spline unit & replaced the friction plates
with the Sureflex items, all sourced from MG Cycles. I also changed out
the springs. My bike doesn't lurch forward like the clutch is either off
or on, but when warm it hooks up pretty fast & sort of shudders, not
smooth & progressive. My pressure plate, intermediate plate, & ring gear
were smooth, and I took great care to clean the splines inside the
flywheel spotless-no notches there either. I lightly lubed the hub &
flywheel splines with BMW spline grease & made sure there wasn't a trace
of contamination on the friction surfaces. I have no trouble with
disengagement-I can easily slip into neutral when stopped & it will
easily go into 1st hot or cold. The only thing I can think of is the
friction charicteristics of the driven plates. I look forward to hearing
what the list has to say.


Ian Adkins wrote:
 
Hey All,

Well....after 200 miles, and what I thought was a good fix to my grabby
clutch woes on the White Eldo, the problem is reappearing. The good news
is
that I now have some experience with the progression of this problem and
can
come to some concrete answers. Let me know if you folks agree with my
hypothesis.

When I first bought the bike the clutch was VERY grabby...almost
unrideable.
As I would ease out the cluth, trying to feel for the plates to make
contact, nothing would happen and then all of a sudden it would grab and
lurch forward (hey...maybe the bikes new name :-)). This problem was
less
evident when the engine was cold. The bike operated fine once rolling.

I pulled the engine but there were no noticable indicators of something
wrong. The splines of all components looked good....the clutch plates
had
lots of thickness. There was a fair bit of clutch dust in there but
nothing
gummy. I replaced the clutch plates....realigned the flywheel (it was
off),
lubed the splines and bolted everything together.

When I first ran the bike everything was nice and smooth. Clutch plates
engage evenly and the bike worked like a dream....until 20 miles ago.
After
spending a good day with my buddy Ed....riding about 80 miles the
grabbiness
is reappearing...getting progressively worse. I can feel the uneveness
of
the plates making contact as I engage the clutch. The grabbing appears
to be
consistent with engine rotation.

The clutch operates smoothly so I don't think there is any binding in
the
cables. If the problem was with the tranny I think it would have been
evident as soon as I ran the bike after the apparent fix. I don't think
the
problem is in the splines of the tranny hub. I replaced the clutch
plates
but not the intermediate plate.....

My thinking is a warping intermediate plate as it gets hot. I have yet
to
retest the bike when cold but will do that sometime today.

Any thoughts?

...Ian



Joe in St Louis



Joe in St Louis

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