clutch EBC vs Barnett vs ?

My friend you just saved me like $250 at least by now...and finally someone that speaks my "lil silver thingy" language....I never know the proper names for these things, and for our lack of vocab. Your posts are worth a million of those thingys....lol:smile:

 

I paid 150.00. One hundred for the clutch kit and 50.00 for labor.

Sorry to hear man.

 

Oh hell I would have paid that...but 350 was wayyy to steep for me...I'm a single father trying to ride...although I did get my 1994 VFR750F w/26K on it needing a new clutch, rear brakes, and a rear tire, some broken plastic up top (not too bad though, its up by the rad. cap) for the total of $1,800. God I love friends in need of money...so not a bad deal huh? Sorry reg71 I don't mean to thread jack...

 

Nunya:

I think 1,800, you did get a deal!

Your story just makes me hate shops that hose people even more!

 

Reg, if there is excessive grooving, particularly in the outer hub (AKA "clutch basket"), you will hear a little bit of a rattling noise at idle that goes away when you pull in the clutch lever. It is more pronounced on multi-cylinder engines that are slightly out of tune, or that have high-performance camshafts with a lot of overlap. A rough idle will equal more noise.

I would imagine that if the grooves were deep enough and rough enough, the clutch may not want to engage/disengage smoothly because the engagement tabs would bind as they tried to slide back and forth. That would be pretty excessively worn, though. The other thing that you might hear or feel is a slight increase in driveline lash, mostly in a high gear at a low speed.

And to all members, please forgive me when I point out things (like criss-crossing) that many of us do as a matter of course. My intent is to save somebody who is new to wrenching, who may NOT know, the pain-in-the-ass factor of breaking a perfectly good part, and finding out that you can buy a new one for a whole lotta money, or buy a used one that is in worse shape than the one you started with, for slightly less than a whole lotta money. It pains me to admit that I have paid for some of my education by having to replace things that I broke... Oh, well, it had to come out sooner or later...

Bye!

 

In your second pic there are dark stripes where the fingers of the clutch plates go and on the center hub where the steel plates go. If those dark areas are too deep, the plates can't move as smoothly, and sometimes not at all, which will make the clutch action seem grabby or jerky when letting it out. It usually takes many 10 of thousands of miles, lack of maintenance or hard riding like racing, to wear it far enough to need replacement.

 

"Hmm, I may be in trouble before too long then cause I have put about 20000 hard miles on her in the last two years... Right now it's going okay, though." from reg71

Obviously, I haven't figured out how to use the "Quote" feature yet. Goode thingg I kin tipe nd spelle knice...

Reg, if it is not rattling and the action is smooth, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Based on your other posts, you obviously maintain your bike well. About the worst thing that can happen to a clutch is repetitive high RPM slippage, as in drag racing starts and power shifting.

And, sometimes clutches are marginal in design, right from the manufacturer. I recently read somewhere about the GSXR 1000's of the early 2000 years having fragile clutches, so there you go.

Anybody out there know how robust the VFR clutch is, in general?

 

That clutch cover is a pain in the a$$ to get off...should I just force it harder, its kinda hard to get a grip on with oil all over and such....what is that big nut looking thing on the outside of the clutch cover. Is that something I need to know about too....

 

I personally havent tried out an EBC clutch yet, but in my search for a new clutch for 87, i ended up choosing barnett over ebc. dont get me wrong, i LOVE the performance of this clutch, but there really are a few things to know before hand.

(1) this is an all out performance clutch. it grabs like one, it feels like one, and the barnett springs make the clutch lever stiff as a board (to the point that my left hand hurt the first few times i rode it)

(2) barnett clutches DO have a break-in period. the first couple of days, youll hate the fact that you ever installed it cause your hand hurts so much. i dont know if my hand is used to the work or if the clutch just got worn in at this point, but ive been riding my bike all week and its already comfortable.

(3) due to the force with which that new clutch grabs, neutral has become a PITA to find most times. im sure this will improve with wear as well

(4) the barnett creep. the shop that cleaned my carbs out and got the bike running again told me that every customer theyve ever had that installed a barnett clutch experiences some odd creep with the bike in 1st gear at a stop. i experienced this too, but i also found that its partly due to me not being used to having the lever pulled in ALL the way to disengage the clutch (and believe me, it takes pulling that sucker in ALL the way to get that clutch disengaged)

that having been said, the performance of this clutch is a night and day difference from the stock one, and all things considered, i love the barnett clutch for this bike.

it just takes a little getting used to is all. if you like to REALLY ride your bike, youll love this clutch. if you could just as well be chill on a cb750 (and are that type of toned down rider) you probably wont like it much.

 

Hey guys, pretty interesting to see the varied experiences, good and bad, with the clutch. Reg, I agree w/Lgn, unless you've been doing lots of hammer dropping (drag racing) of the clutch, I wouldn't worry about the tangs on the basket. And to answer Lgn at the same time, my '91 750 lasted 83K miles on the orig. basket and hub, tho I replaced the fiber disks at about 50K. Inspection revealed minimal wear. I would guess it can go well past 100K if you're not hammering on it. Nunya, $350 for a clutch job is robbery! Whoever had it done for $50. labor got it right. Chris71: Do you remember if the Barnett you installed was pre-Kevlar ? Those were grabby clutches, but the Kevlar ones are much smoother (tho the springs are a killer!)

Scott (waiting on my new Remus Ti can ... Mmmm, Ti)

 

I know this thread is old but i just went through it today so I just felt like i would add my two $.02 of what I just went through trying to change the clutch. First of all, my manual's instructions were designed for dissasembling the ENTIRE clutch assembly, not just changing the plates. So remember that you may not need to do EVERYTHING they say. Draining the oil and removing the fairings are easy enough and didn't run into trouble until i got to clutch cover. Removing all the screws around the clutch cover required some serious leverage. I've got a 97 VFR750 and I doubt the previous owner ever changed his clutch. A useful trick if you've tried and cant get the cover off is to use a mallet to try and loosen the seal. if need be, you can try and tap a kitchen knife between the cover (Any tips on how to remove my clutch cover? - Honda VFR Club) and case but be VERY careful, you do not want a leak. If you are still having problems feel around the bottom for leaking oil. That is a good indicator that the seal has been broken and try and work the knife there. I spent a good hour or two getting that cover off and had to call for help. You WILL ABSOLUTELY need to get a replacement gasket.

also note that the large 17mm nut does not need to be taken off. something which confused me a bit.

I've had some other problems since the company i ordered the barnett clutch from sent a metal disk in the wrong size so I will have to call in the morning to get a replacement. lets just hope they overnight it and don't charge me...

 

Guy's I never really gave the clutch much thought cuz it seems to work well. However when you pull the clutch in at an idle you can here that something quiets down? The bike only has 7,500 on it. Do you think I could need a clutch rebuild? How do you know when you need one?

 

just a quick heads up to future clutch changers. there is a washer behind the starter clutch reduction gear which fell out when i pulled the cover off. I put it back on the wrong side of the gear and it gave me a week worth of headaches and puzzlement. I had to reopen the clutch cover to move a washer. so if you see a washer fall out make sure you put it back behind the reduction gear. see your repair manual for a detailed diagram of its location to be sure.

see here for more details: http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/24953-bike-wont-start-now-no-electronics.html

 

somefun, i would say that if it is getting quiter it should be a VERY slight change. if the bike is in neutral and you disconnect the engine from it, the transmission will stop spinning, less work from the engine, less noise (no transmission movement). hope that helps. i can tell the difference in my car (manual transmission) as well

 

Yeah I think thats what I'm hearing.. I'm pretty easy on the clutch...I gotta think even with killing it should last 10,000 miles...:thumbsup:

 

A different Barnett experience

So I *finally* got around to putting in the Barnett kit I ordered ... 4? months ago - timed with the oil change. I whipped off the clutch cover (rubber hammer and short 2x4 to loosen), gasket stayed intact!! No washer fell out but the idler spindle stayed in the outer case so I moved that back onto the idler gear and hung the case vertically forward of the clutch basket, no disconnecting wires and stuff.
I removed the 5 springs and then the pressure plate. I noticed that the spring studs are somewhat grooved and worn - hmmm.
Now according to my SM, I'm supposed to have 6 regular disks and 2 larger ID disks in the back of the clutch pack separated by a "judder spring", so that's what I ordered - Barnett clutch pack for a 2001, 6 & 2. I pulled the clutch pack out, 8 disks all the same, no judder spring, no special-sized disks. What up ? Since I'm not going to leave it down while I wait for 2 additional disks, I reassembled the new clutch pack (after drowning the disks in oil for 30 minutes) and put two honda disks on the outer end for easy replacement when the time comes (next oil change!). The plates are a closer-tolerance fit than stock, they really had to be guided down the grooves. Neither the basket tangs nor the hub grooves showed any appreciable wear.

The springs - HS! larger, longer, heavier. Yet you don't feel it at the lever.

Lot of effort to get them started onto the spring studs.

So I rode-tested it tonight. Wow. What a difference. Clutch action is much smoother, no catch-y points, no false-slipping, not grabby at all, even the shifting feels smoother and more precise. This weekend is gonna be fun!

So - those of you with 98-99's, or any 5G'ers who have changed their clutch - who has the funky judder spring setup ?

 

clutch

I just installed a barnet clutch in my 97 vfr,the stock honda one was better in every way,stronger springs,beefer clutch plates,$200 bucks down the drain, gary