<-=- Club Bevel Heaven -=->

Hello again world,the sun is finaly out & so am I,but I seem to have developed a bit of a clutch slip,didn't have it last year before winter layup.
Can I just adjust clutch springs up a bit tighter,or could it just be plates have dried up thro' standing & a gentler right hand might be needed for a few miles to bed everthing in again,happy riding,MIKE.

Did you do an oil change prior to ridding the bike again? Some oils can make the clutches slip. It would be worth checking your adjustment too. Other than that you could try preloading the clutch springs and or deglazing the clutch plates. My old clutch always slipped no matter what I did. I replaced it with a sureflex competition one, and now it never slips.

facts:

- it is bad to go from synthetic oil back to dynosaur oil, the clutch will slip
- the center nut which holds the clutch basket sometimes loosens up which is a problem and needs to be checked
- you can put an extra washer under the springs or use 450 clutch springs for a tighter clutch
- your clutch just might be wore out
- surflex clutch kit comes with new springs, fiber and metal disks
- it is also a good time to take out clean lube and reinstall all the clutch actuating pins and balls along with your clutch cable....
- make sure the clutch cable is routed in an easy way, no sharp bends

Thanks for the replies,I have just changed oil,previous owner always used
castrol GTX 20/50 mineral oil,I have just refilled with silkolene chatsworth 40 mineral oil,bike has only covered 12500 miles,so hopefuly clutch isnt worn out,Iwill try a little preload on springs & see if a few miles gentle riding beds things in again,happy miles,MIKE

I don't know much about the oil you are using. I couldn't find out much either, other than a brief product description. It doesn't sound like it would have much in the way of anything in it to cause clutch slipage. When I was looking through their product range the Hardwick 50 looked to be a better choice though. Was the Chatsworth a recomendation?

Hello Colin,a couple of UK owners suggested using monograde oil,as I use Chatworth 40 in my AJS 500 trialer & all my previous bikes it seemed to make sense to try it in the SD,as I always have plenty in the shed,sadly it's raining again,MIKE.

Hi wrinklygit

If that mileage is for real, I'd be surprised if your plates are worn - more likely just glazed.

Take 'em out, give the friction plates a clean and a light rough-up, and check the plain plates are flat ... And otherwise follow Steve's advice about lubricating the push rod assembly.

Oh, and check the spring lengths - the specs are in the manual, I'm sure.
To me, putting a washer under the springs kinda smacks of hiding a problem rather than solving it.

You shouldn't be getting any problems from switching from GTX to Chatsworth, btw.

Ciao

Craig in UK