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Quasievil
29th March 2005, 19:30
Hey all
I got me a GSXR400 1992 and am getting it prepared for a bit of a track bike.

The clutch is not right and to be honest the workings of this peice of machinery is a complete mystery to me, I need a hand.

The clutch is right at the start of the pull, ie you just bring in the handle a few CMs and its engaged, the cable is poked and will not offer adjustments.
The bike has done around 30,000kms I think it hasnt been riden much for a year. When I first got the bike the clutch was slipping terribly and the Bike was hard to start off on.

My pick is that the Bikes clutch needs the usable parts replaced, ie new cable and new plates?
Question is how hard is it to do, is it a simple process or should I leave it to an expert ?

geoffm
29th March 2005, 19:58
Never having worked on the GSXR400...
Have a look at the bottom where the cable enters the motor. There is often an adjustment there onto the clutch pushrod. Have you lubed the cable?
To replace the clutch, put beer in fridge. drain the oil. Undo RHS engine cover. This is a good chance to replace the bolts if needed - old Yams in particular were famous for having engine bolts made from vintage cheddar - an impact driver can help. With RDs, whcih use philips round head screws, if you chew out the head, carefully drill the head off. the remainder unscrews with your fingers once you have removed the sidecover
You will see the clutch basket and it usually has 6 or so screws which you can see holding the plates together on the inner. Undo screws - they have springs behind them. Remove clutch plates, noting quantity and order of fibres and steels, and which one is first. The plate nearest the engine is sometimes a special one. Measure thickness of plates and check the steels are flat and not blued.
Use a new gasket or Hermatite when putting the sidecover back on. Don't forget the oil. Open beer. :beer:
Should take an hour to do tops.
Geoff

Quasievil
29th March 2005, 20:42
Never having worked on the GSXR400...
Have a look at the bottom where the cable enters the motor. There is often an adjustment there onto the clutch pushrod. Have you lubed the cable?
To replace the clutch, put beer in fridge. drain the oil. Undo RHS engine cover. This is a good chance to replace the bolts if needed - old Yams in particular were famous for having engine bolts made from vintage cheddar - an impact driver can help. With RDs, whcih use philips round head screws, if you chew out the head, carefully drill the head off. the remainder unscrews with your fingers once you have removed the sidecover
You will see the clutch basket and it usually has 6 or so screws which you can see holding the plates together on the inner. Undo screws - they have springs behind them. Remove clutch plates, noting quantity and order of fibres and steels, and which one is first. The plate nearest the engine is sometimes a special one. Measure thickness of plates and check the steels are flat and not blued.
Use a new gasket or Hermatite when putting the sidecover back on. Don't forget the oil. Open beer. :beer:
Should take an hour to do tops.
Geoff

Thanks mate, yeah cable has been pressure lubed but its poked and needs replacing.
Thanks for the advise

Velox
29th March 2005, 23:09
When I did mine the other day (with help I have to admit) the only probs that came up were finding a little indented ring thing that made sure the plates didn't come out (which we had to break a bit and then dent back in place) and readjusting the cable just above where it came out of the clutch box/engine thing. Other than that it seemed pretty straight foward, but I wouldn't know what peculiarites your bike has.

White trash
30th March 2005, 15:05
It's a piece of piss mate.

Just pull the clutch cover off (after draining the oil), remove the six little bolts on the outside of the hamburger looking bit (thankyou NC30) and all the plates and springs will be able to be reomved.

If you can't replace the cable without advise, you probably shouldn't be thinking of actually riding it.

Maximus
30th March 2005, 15:07
If you can't replace the cable without advise, you probably shouldn't be thinking of actually riding it.


Yea, I can definately say that from experience!! :whocares:

FROSTY
30th March 2005, 22:06
Quazi--I agree with geof M --except---Its gonna be a race engine-so dont fuck around .
1) buy a heavy duty clutch kit -its sod all more than a standard clutch.
2)remove the fibres and steels one by one and stack em up in a pile.
3) This bit is important I feel for a race bike. -check the fingers of the clutch basket for ridges and lumps -if the sides of the fingers arent smooth then use a fine file or sandpaper to smooth em. --otherwise you'll get clutch shudder when you start.
4) when putting the clutch back together i'd lay the metal plates on a sheet of glass and see if they are warped. If not I'd put a sheet of 1200 grit sandpaper on the glass and very lightly sand the metal plates.
Whilst youre replacing the clutch cable youd be best to dump the left switch block and clutch assembly and fit an aftermarket one and a couple of spare levers too.

scroter
31st March 2005, 12:36
i did a clutch once, i didnt need to drain the oil, just left the bike on the side stand and it drained to the otherside of the bike. corse this is only good if you got a side stand

vifferman
31st March 2005, 12:43
i did a clutch once, i didnt need to drain the oil, just left the bike on the side stand and it drained to the otherside of the bike. corse this is only good if you got a side stand
Yeah, I did a clutch once too - same method.
I also didn't evenly torque the clutch basket bolts, and ended up with a non-working clutch. :doh: :confused2 :o
Unfortunately, I had to go to work, so I had to ride the thing like that. The gearchanges were OK, but at the traffic lights I had to slip it into neutral before I stopped (or stall it), then get a few revs up and crash it into gear when the lights changed. :eek: