Clutch wear

[Hailwood]

[Desmoquattro]

[huit]

[Barry A]

I just replaced the original clutch plates in my '95 900 SS after 65,000 Km. The tabs on the plates were severely bent but there was plenty of friction material left and the plates themselves appeared to be flat. I replaced the plates because I suspected the deformed tabs might be causing the gearchanging to become notchy and because the clutch was groaning a bit when starting from rest. There was never any sign of slippage. The edges of the tabs were discoloured and appeared to have work-hardened. It's possible that most of the wear happened early in their life then slowed down when the material hardened. This is just conjecture but, after only 10,000 km, I wouldn't rush out to spend money on new plates.

I replaced the plates with a set from Barnett. The clutch takeup is nice and progressive and it doesn't rattle in neutral. It didn't fix my (intermittent) notchy shifting so my theory about the bent tabs didn't turn out to be true.

Any suggestions about curing the shifting would be appreciated .... o&o

[Rob374]

Clutch wear is an inexact science. Riding the clutch, slow engagement practices, drag and power shifting can wear it out fairly quickly. I suspect the previous owner may have used the clutch like a hill holder instead of the brakes.
These will all shorten the clutch life
rob374

[Vespa]