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http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200712

Gee, what burned out the clutch?


Not a camp-fire fashion statement:


See the linked thread for the story ...

Yes, he had camouflaged his bike.

Hemphill's got some explaining to do!

troy wrote:Hemphill's got some explaining to do!

I can already hear his explanation: "I was on this route that Troy mapped out in northeast Kansas ..."

safiri wrote:I can already hear his explanation: "I was on this route that Troy mapped out in northeast Kansas ..."

Hey -- I may have gotten Dave (and the rest of us) stuck in the mud, but I didn't strand him overnight in freezing weather!

It was a very interesting and fun ride, thats my story and I'm sticking to it. the picture you saw of my bike full of muck was AFTER I had cleaned it a little. That mud would build right back up within seconds. At one point I could let out the clutch in first gear and it felt like I was in neutral. Next day it was back to about 2/3 of what it should be so I rode it back about 20 miles to our cabin. Now that I'm back home I loosened the adjustment by the clutch lever on the handle bars all the way and started the motor to try to flush the crapola out of the plates. After readjusting the clutch to where it should be I can now pop wheelies, go figure. Talked to my trusted wrench, Tim Wolf at Motocare in Lawrence and he said ride it till it goes out and it might not for quite awhile. Anyone have thoughts on when to replace a clutch, that has been abused.

Our night out in the wilds is hard to describe. Lets just say Z rod and I got lucky and found a cabin being built, so at least we were under a roof, although the cabin had no windows or doors to keep the wind out. Our bed was made out of a couple of wood palates with a FIRM mattress consisting of 1/2 plywood. It wasn't fun but the other guys got to try to sleep on wet soil so I guess we had it good.

Ain't motorcycling fun, David

david h wrote:Anyone have thoughts on when to replace a clutch, that has been abused.

It wasn't fun but the other guys got to try to sleep on wet soil so I guess we had it good.

Ain't motorcycling fun, David

As to the clutch, I guess to me it depends on what kind of trip I was doing (length and remoteness) and the price of a clutch. Could be that your bike just needed to cool down (and the mud needed to dry out a bit).

You guys (both groups of two) did well in terms of survival. Keep warm (and out of the wind if you can). There is a thread over on AdvRider about "Camping by the bike" where the guy carried a large plastic survival bag (large garbage bag) that came in handy. Perhaps we all need to look into something similar (or one of those pocket survival blankets).

Glad you are home safe and sound.

That sounded like quite an adventure. It's nice to see another gray bearded feller like me gittin er done.
On the clutch I guess the only way you're going to know what you have left is tear into it, your manual should have minumum thickness specs.
On a Husky 400 I once had my clutch started slipping even though I had plenty of free play at the lever and the actuating arm. I tore into it and measured everything, the steel plates and the fibers were each worn a few thousandths, just enough there wasn't enough travel for it to fully engage.
It didn't look THAT bad, so instead of springing for the whole deal I bought a new single steel plate and stacked two together. I was lucky and had enough adjustment that everything worked out fine.
Those bikes had the stickiest clutches, if it had set a week or so you'd had to start it in neutral and take off running pushing it, cram it in first and hold the lever in blipping the throttle until it broke loose.
Your results may vary, DK

You can also try busting the glaze on the fiber clutch plates with #600 grit sandpaper. That sometimes works if you are in spec on thickness.
Stu

Lots of advice here and it all sounds solid to me. For me, though, since I don't really enjoy wrenching, if I take the time and expense to drain the oil, remove the side cover, remove the bolts and springs that hold the clutches together and remove the clutch plates. I'll be danged if I'm just gonna inspect, sand, clean and put them back. For what new clutches cost, I'm just gonna put new clutches in while I'm there.

But that's me.

troy wrote:Lots of advice here and it all sounds solid to me. For me, though, since I don't really enjoy wrenching, if I take the time and expense to drain the oil, remove the side cover, remove the bolts and springs that hold the clutches together and remove the clutch plates. I'll be danged if I'm just gonna inspect, sand, clean and put them back. For what new clutches cost, I'm just gonna put new clutches in while I'm there.

But that's me.

Me, too. My time (to repeat the process) is worth the $$ to put in a new clutch pack.

Been there, done that! When I replaced my clutch plates there was a lot of burned stuff in the engine oil. Flushed it with new oil and filter a couple of times before I got it out. I found out early this winter that you shouldn't ride a KLR in a muddy cornfield. Corn stalks and mud really pack in tight.