Cortez
Junior Member
I was just infomed by my mech that my clutch basket should be replaced.
My bike has 26k miles of smooth riding, clutch was never dumped to pop a wheelie etc.
Last bike that I got up to that mileage had clutch "as new" (as possible) when inspected (a ninja 650r).
The reason I brought the bike into the shop was worsening of the on-off throttle smoothness/jolting
back and forward as if the bike's fueling was getting worse with mileage.
It's like there is a slight hesitance when applying the throttle.. a dead/flat spot where the bike would
usually smoothly pick up (regardless of the rev range) that but then it would suddenly grab a lot more
aggressive. I learned with time to get around that by being a lot smoother and clutching it a lot more.
Riding fast at high revs in the twisties for example it would be extra bad getting back on the throttle after
a corner. Another symptom is like there's some slack in the drive train (like a badly adjusted chain) and
when that slack goes away after a metalic thump the bike jolts forward much faster then expected.
I figured throttle body sync, clean the injectors and it should be good (this is being done as we speak tho).. since
my MPG figures were getting worse as time went by too. The exhaust note also has some crackling and popping that's
been going on for about 6k miles, depending on the weather/temperature.. (stock exhaust). I wouldn't say there's
any surging when the bike is on constant throttle but it's like it's not running smooth with a constant "zzzzzzzzz"
engine note as before.
Anyways, we'll see what's better and what's not when I get the bike back, I can't afford to replace the clutch basket
and the repair guy says I can do thousands of miles with the basket in this condition too.
Anyways.. I guess my question is - what are the main symptoms of a bad clutch basket and when did you replace yours (if at all)?
p.s. The gearbox shifts fine, it was never smooth, a bit of throttle helps but it was like that since day one.
My bike has 26k miles of smooth riding, clutch was never dumped to pop a wheelie etc.
Last bike that I got up to that mileage had clutch "as new" (as possible) when inspected (a ninja 650r).
The reason I brought the bike into the shop was worsening of the on-off throttle smoothness/jolting
back and forward as if the bike's fueling was getting worse with mileage.
It's like there is a slight hesitance when applying the throttle.. a dead/flat spot where the bike would
usually smoothly pick up (regardless of the rev range) that but then it would suddenly grab a lot more
aggressive. I learned with time to get around that by being a lot smoother and clutching it a lot more.
Riding fast at high revs in the twisties for example it would be extra bad getting back on the throttle after
a corner. Another symptom is like there's some slack in the drive train (like a badly adjusted chain) and
when that slack goes away after a metalic thump the bike jolts forward much faster then expected.
I figured throttle body sync, clean the injectors and it should be good (this is being done as we speak tho).. since
my MPG figures were getting worse as time went by too. The exhaust note also has some crackling and popping that's
been going on for about 6k miles, depending on the weather/temperature.. (stock exhaust). I wouldn't say there's
any surging when the bike is on constant throttle but it's like it's not running smooth with a constant "zzzzzzzzz"
engine note as before.
Anyways, we'll see what's better and what's not when I get the bike back, I can't afford to replace the clutch basket
and the repair guy says I can do thousands of miles with the basket in this condition too.
Anyways.. I guess my question is - what are the main symptoms of a bad clutch basket and when did you replace yours (if at all)?
p.s. The gearbox shifts fine, it was never smooth, a bit of throttle helps but it was like that since day one.
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