Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I'll keep this as simple as I can in order to get as many opinions as I can. Thanks.


Karata 1.75" belt drive system

I am replacing my worn friction plates and steel plates after I was unable to take the "grabbing" out by adjustment, they looked like **** anyways. I pulled the clutch basket, cleaned all surfaces, cleaned and greased the hub roller bearings and reinstalled. Now when I tighten the hub nut, not even getting to the 50-60lbs manual specs, the basket tightens up so as to stop the hub from spinning by hand.

When I pulled the basket off, I saw grease and carbon muck on the "friction" plate (riveted one, on the hub) and cleaned it with solvent. I assume that now the basket is "binding" on this plate. Being a dry clutch, wouldn't it be necessary to lubricate this surface? I felt I should, but the term "friction" messed with my head and thought it needs to grab, not free spin.

I replaced all of the spacers the way they came off, could I need to change something distance wise?

I did the initial installation almost 20 years ago, and can't remember details from back then.

Thanks,
Mike


81' FL Stock 4speed tranny

 

This may or may not be of help. On a stock hub once you tighten everything to specs you cannot turn the clutch hub by hand unless you have the clutch lever pulled in.

 

grabby clutch with a belt drive is most likely no clutch tamer -- the basket wobbles and it makes a grabby even noisy clutch -- I use the long rollers and the tamer and have a nice smooth clutch --

 

Thanks for the reply.

In this case, I am trying to spin the hub by hand without any plates installed. It's right after I put the basket onto the hub and tighten the nut.

I understand all of the grabby, wobbly stuff because of the short rollers. What made me change my plates was the "heating up" aspect. When everything was cold, it was manageable...... but when things got hot it was quite a different story. I think I really screwed things up last year when I pulled the plates, and even though I tried not to, changed their relative alignments when I reinstalled. When I pulled them this time there was a lot of "peening" from the ***** on the steel plates on the basket's dogs, that may have added to my problems. I bought replacements.

 

I use an after market clutch shell with 50 (51?) roller bearings and the hub boly does not hold the basket. The discs and plates are what hold the basket. I guess a "tamer" is the disc that holds the rollers in. A hub should spin freely with the basket out but once it has the belt chain basket on and spark plugs removed it will turn. Hub fingers are easily bent if someone used them for leverage to remove hub nut. Then you will get noise or plates hang up and no shifting after that. Clean clutches and plates often. I even run a palm sander over the steel discs. Place clutch discs on a sheet of glass to check for warping. I use Barnetts clutches after trying every thing else. Barnetts iis the best. I damaged a clutch disc cleaning them once. I called and asked for a single and they obliged free of charge. But when it arrived it was the wrong one. I could not bitch but when I called them again I talked to a guy for a while and he said they had a better set so I said okay. Two days later a set arrived free of charge! Been 2 years and these are still in the bike.
I have solved all the clutch grab and clunk finally. If you want I will list what I have done to get it right. I run an 84 shovel with dry clutches and converted to it back to chain chain. The starter is finally acting right as well!

 

mikeyhd...Any chance the outer pressure plate is warped? And just confirm you have the nuts on the studs adjusted accroding to the manual for proper distance.


cravinbob...post away tech info is always a plus

 

Guys, I think he has no plates in the basket
He torqued the center nut that holds the hub in place
It should rotate by hand IF your transmission is in neutral
Does it not move AT ALL or it rotate just s little and then it stops with a CLANCK! ?

 

The hub should turn easy (if in neutral) even before the basket is in place. If it does not, check the tranny to verify neutral. Even in gear, with the back wheel raised off the ground, it should spin. Verify that you have a correct length mainshaft. If it's too short, the hub will contact the inner primary. Check that the hub and mainshaft are not so worn out that the hub slides on too far.

If you say you can turn the hub before torquing the nut, then is the hub just turning on the mainshaft, without a woodruff key to lock it in?

All this should work right before the basket goes on. Not that the basket makes a difference. Go easy on greasing the bearings. Very little is needed. You don't want grease to find it's way to the vertical hub/basket friction surfaces. It does make finding neutral harder. The hub friction plate does contact the back side of the basket, until you pull in the clutch.