Premier clutch friction plates

[ADVGD]

Just come back from a three day ride on the West Coast, lots of new tracks explored, new places seen, an absolutely great trip. But, the newly installed Premier clutch friction plates gave me a dog of a time in the rough stuff, in no time flat they would heat up dumping untold slack into the clutch cable until the plates cooled. Admittedly running 14/41 gearing to get decent road speeds means I give the clutch serious abuse in the rough terrain, however the OEM set lasted 36,000 km and never once had this problem. It's not that I have cut corners here, the friction plates are of a similar price as OEM and Moose Racing plates, very curious to hear if anyone else is using Premier plates or has any experience with them.

Cheers

[JATZ]

Yip... I killed a set of new plates when we went through the Mackley at new years. They were brand new and burnt out getting up the steep gnarly exit after the second creek crossing.
They came rightish after cooling for a bit. This was on the Big.
From memory they were about $190 for the set

Also.... piglet wants to know what those noodles you raved about are called :facepalm:

[ADVGD]

Yip... I killed a set of new plates when we went through the Mackley at new years. They were brand new and burnt out getting up the steep gnarly exit after the second creek crossing.
They came rightish after cooling for a bit. This was on the Big.
From memory they were about $190 for the set

The thing is I treated these plates the same as the OEM plates, the only difference is that the OEM plates handled it just fine, I could ride extended periods up rocky riverbeds, climbing steep hills, etc, be slipping the hell out of it and it would be just fine. This Premier plates seem unable to handle this.


Also.... piglet wants to know what those noodles you raved about are called :facepalm:

A thread about clutches and noodles, what next :blink:

They are these ones:

http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/img/prods/ramen-noodles/90074-nong-shim-shin-ramen-lg.jpg

Super yummy, hot and spicy, awesome to heat you up after a winters ride. In most supermarkets, normally in the asian/oriental section

[Brian d marge]

Something doesnt add up , things expand when they get hot, the clutch would drag . Unless they are sticking together and acting as a single plate

How were they installed ???

Stephen

[JATZ]

Something doesnt add up , things expand when they get hot, the clutch would drag . Unless they are sticking together and acting as a single plate

How were they installed ???

Stephen

Mine were installed by me, steel plates were "roughed up" a little and cleaned with brakeclean before being installed with the new friction plates and heavy duty springs.
I believe mine became glazed with the heat of the oil, they were taking a hiding trying to push the bike up a steep loose slope using plenty of clutch.

[ADVGD]

Something doesnt add up , things expand when they get hot, the clutch would drag . Unless they are sticking together and acting as a single plate

How were they installed ???

Stephen

Hi Stephen, it makes sense, as the plates heat up they expand and then push towards and against the clutch springs with the result being slack put on the pivot arm > clutch cable > clutch leaver. The clutch operates fine under normal riding (racked up over 1,200km no probs over the 3 day ride) but in the gnarly stuff the more the clutch is worked and heated (while still operating fine without dragging) the more and more slack results

[ADVGD]

Mine were installed by me

Did you use OEM or aftermarket?


they were taking a hiding trying to push the bike up a steep loose slope using plenty of clutch.

Not surprising, that DR BIG is a big unit of a bike

[Brian d marge]

Hi Stephen, it makes sense, as the plates heat up they expand and then push towards and against the clutch springs with the result being slack put on the pivot arm > clutch cable > clutch leaver. The clutch operates fine under normal riding (racked up over 1,200km no probs over the 3 day ride) but in the gnarly stuff the more the clutch is worked and heated (while still operating fine without dragging) the more and more slack results
Mine usually give a heap of clutch drag . to the point that you cannot change any gear or separate the drive from the engine

you said a lot there was a lot of slack. I would be laying the bike on its side flicking the cover , without hurting the gasket , and looking for some evidence . Those are big bikes to be pushing around if the clutch goes south

Stephen

[ADVGD]

you said a lot there was a lot of slack. I would be laying the bike on its side flicking the cover , without hurting the gasket , and looking for some evidence...

Stephen

Cheers Stephen, it appears to be a common problem with cheap clutch fibres when you Google it, here are a couple of comments from forums of those that have installed aftermarket clutch fibres/kits and have cable/leaver slackening issues:



You're abusing the clutch enough to cause the slack. Never had a bike that did that without clutch abuse. If it doesn't go away with new stock plates (all of them) and springs, lower the gearing even more, change your habits, or live with the extra slack until it cools down

I have an EBC clutch on my drz and I have the same problem. Clutch lever is stiff at cold, normal when riding on road and a lot of play while offroading. Oem clutch wasn't doing that... I've bought the EBC because I needed it fast and it was the only one in stock but I'll never put back another one on my bike

ebc clutches are junk

OEM and MOOSE have proven them self’s over and over again

Installed a new clutch kit and ever since the leaver goes all slack after lots of use in dirt riding



My question is, does Premier fall into the bracket of "cheap"? As said above I didn't aim to cut corners, the fibre plates were the same price as Moose Racing ones which appear to have a good name...

[Woodman]

Whats a clutch???:blink:

[ADVGD]

Whats a clutch???:blink:

I'll use this image of your bike as an example of where the clutch is located on a motorbike

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_nRRVy1LvPzw/TT39huPS2zI/AAAAAAAAAfg/5FEtxTjuag4/s912/IMG_0686.JPG

Oh hang on Woodman, it appears your clutch housing is obscured by a sh*t load of water and mud :p

[JATZ]

Did you use OEM or aftermarket?



Not surprising, that DR BIG is a big unit of a bike

Like I said.... the clutch took a hiding trying to get up that hill :blink: they were premier clutch plates and I think were about 180- 190 $
New heavy duty springs installed at the same time
I would hate to think what Snoozuki would want for OEM plates for the Big.


Oh hang on Woodman, it appears your clutch housing is obscured by a sh*t load of water and mud :p

:killingme: thats a good one

[XF650]

Where were you riding on the Coast, that caused this clutch grief?

[Woodman]

Wonder if running a thicker oil would help??

[ADVGD]

they were premier clutch plates and I think were about 180- 190 $


Interesting


New heavy duty springs installed at the same time


Yep, did the same


Where were you riding on the Coast, that caused this clutch grief?

I spent the 3 days GPS logging every track through Hohonu and Nemona Forest, some of the tracks were steep and/or rocky in paces. Blackwater Creek track is a wee gem :yes: the only problem is it is too short

[XF650]

I spent the 3 days GPS logging every track through Hohonu and Nemona Forest, some of the tracks were steep and/or rocky in paces. Blackwater Creek track is a wee gem :yes: the only problem is it is too short

Did you find the air strip?

[Crim]

Wonder if running a thicker oil would help??

No, still think it would drown in a puddle that big:shutup:

[NordieBoy]

So the common factors are Premier plates, HD springs and heaps of grunt.

[ADVGD]

So the common factors are Premier plates, HD springs and heaps of grunt.

Premier plates, yes, and after hitting up the supplier he seemed surprised to hear my report. After further discussion he mentioned that this was the same manufacturer as EBC clutches and brakes and that he had never had any complaints :scratch:

More Googling seems to back up that these clutches are prone to this...

http://www.exriders.com/archive/topic/173072-1.html

The supplier is going to the rep to see what his responce is, it'll be interesting to hear back...

[NordieBoy]

Same manufacturer?

As in, out the back door of the same factory in China or EBC's "budget" arm.

[ADVGD]

Same manufacturer?

As in, out the back door of the same factory in China or EBC's "budget" arm.

Yep, aparently they are produced in the same factory and retailed under differnt brands, but from all the bad posts its hard to know which one is the "budget" arm.

I found this on a suppliers website company profile:

Premier Friction is a leading Manufacturer of Clutch Plate in Anand Parbat region of Delhi

So it looks like they are an Indian based company...

[ADVGD]

Where were you riding on the Coast, that caused this clutch grief?

Here > West Coast Ride (http://www.adventureguide.co.nz/articles/12/107/west-coast-adv-ride.php)

[DEATH_INC.]

Just outta interest, (not an adv bike I know) I ran the premier plates in my old gsxr, and they were shite. Slipped when cold and were marginal when warm even with heaps of play in the adjusters. Junk, wouldn't EVER use them again.

[ADVGD]

... Junk, wouldn't EVER use them again.

Cheers for the feedback mate, interesting to hear issues for road use also, haven't heard or read anything good about Premier/EBC yet...

[gammaguy]

I'll use this image of your bike as an example of where the clutch is located on a motorbike

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_nRRVy1LvPzw/TT39huPS2zI/AAAAAAAAAfg/5FEtxTjuag4/s912/IMG_0686.JPG

Oh hang on Woodman, it appears your clutch housing is obscured by a sh*t load of water and mud :p


so that a wet clutch?

[Brian d marge]

Premier plates, yes, and after hitting up the supplier he seemed surprised to hear my report. After further discussion he mentioned that this was the same manufacturer as EBC clutches and brakes and that he had never had any complaints :scratch:

More Googling seems to back up that these clutches are prone to this...

http://www.exriders.com/archive/topic/173072-1.html

The supplier is going to the rep to see what his response is, it'll be interesting to hear back...

Trust me on this one , Take an oil sample , crack the sump a wee bit and into a clean jar ,,,,an Indian company , lets just say they are a tad worse ( some of them ) than the Chinese

By the way I know George from EbC , can give you his email if you want !

Stephen

[ADVGD]

Trust me on this one , Take an oil sample , crack the sump a wee bit and into a clean jar

Presumably you are leading to the possibility of clutch fibre contaminated oil? I only use quality OEM oil filters so this should pick up all traces of this, regardless I did drop some oil for inspection and saw nothing out of the ordinary for fresh oil and filter at the time of the fibre plates install with only 1,200km from the last trip on it.

Nothing has changed in this formula:

same bike same gear loading same Elf fully synthetic oil same OEM oil filter same riding style

… the only new addition here is the Premier clutch fibres.


By the way I know George from EbC , can give you his email if you want !

I don’t ever like to go off guns blazing criticizing a product before all the facts are known, hence the reason for this thread trying to see what reputation they have based on other peoples experiences. With all the bad posts on forums world wide and the increasing amount of information by talking to others in the industry I am comfortable is saying the these plates have an undeniably bad reputation by "some people", in all the bad posts claiming bad fading issues etc not one person has posted in their defence saying they are ok or a good quality product. That’s enough for me to steer well clear of them. I always aim to by quality products as I frequently go into remote places and its just not worth risking it with low quality parts in order to save a few measly bucks. Pretty gutted to be in this position but am here because the supplier told me the reason I was supplied the Premier plates was due to no OEM plates in NZ for another month, Premier were the only ones available in NZ. Thanks for the offer of the contact Stephen, I appreciate this, but there is no need as I have no interest in purchasing any Premier or EBC products in the future. I have just ordered some Moose Racing fibre plates from the States, from the research I have done their reputaion is equal to or better than OEM, we'll soon see...

Cheers again for your help

[Brian d marge]

Oil tests pick up stuff that microns thick , and pass easily through the filter , Actually they can tell you a lot about what happening inside your engine Here they are about 15 dollars a test , but I wouldnt be sure about NZ ,
Here OEM parts are very reasonable , a set plain and friction for my CR is about 150 dollars complete , A couple of tricks I use to get better clutches are ; A if you can get another plate in , B Alternate springs if you can. finally HD springs , ( the preferred is another plate)

Good luck on the alt brand , Oh BTW I also use auto transmission fluid in my Cr , but that is a race bike and the oil is changed every race , That Elf synthetic , nothing untoward about that? some plates dont like synthetic

Stephen