KillaKAW4LIFE

Expert Class
Posts: 348
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posted November 30, 2007 09:30 AM
Burnt Clutches
I have a question..... Once again on my friends bike in Louisiana there is a problem.
He installed new clutches on the bike about 1500-2000 miles ago along with an oil change and now they are slipping. Now hearing from a lot of guys, they have many passes and many miles before having to change the clutch. Yes he did change them his self for the first time. And from what he told me, the two odd size steels were put in the middle of the stack but apart from each other by a few steals. Is that the correct installation procedure. Yes they were soaked in oil. He still uses Kaw oil.
A little info about him.......325 lbs +/- , first bike, ride clutch a little but definitely not as much as when he first got the bike, other than that he mostly cruises. No racing really only blue moon and thats off a roll.
Any suggestions on why they went sooooo fast or what he may have done wrong. He wants to change it right this time.
No hazing please.
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dubious

Needs a life
Needs more time to ride!
Posts: 8442
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posted November 30, 2007 09:54 AM
Edited By: dubious on 30 Nov 2007 09:55
no hazing.... er hazed clutches! LOL
A few guys have had issue with their clutches after rebuilding the stack.
Sorry I can't help.
Mine has 10,000 miles on her, and I am changing them out over winter for 1st time just because...
When I first ran the nitrous I thought the clutch was slipping, but realised it was my tire was slipping at 160 mph! LOL
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natural selection.....
destiny will overcome intervention.
Some are not worthy of the effort.
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KillaKAW4LIFE

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Posts: 348
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posted November 30, 2007 10:06 AM
Oh and the replacement were Kawasaki Clutches and Steals. Just trying to figure out something. Thanks Dubious.......LOL if he had the turbo I don't think he would even care. Must be fun
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fastestbusaaround

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I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted November 30, 2007 10:43 AM
Why is he "riding the clutch", if he's not racing? I don't race - and I sold my 06 with over 22K KMS on it....rode her hard, wheelies etc, but no clutch replacements, or even a single clutch issue. I'd say rider issue more than likely, from what you describe...particularly when you say "riding the clutch"...no reason I can think of for riding the clutch if you're not racing, fuck, I hardly even use mine at all..
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FYYFF!!!
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zxbob

Pro
Posts: 1692
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posted November 30, 2007 11:07 AM
I was all most at 9K on my bike when I deceided to do a lock up on it. I thought since I
have it appart, I may as well change out the clutch pack.
What I found at 9K with near 300hp everything looked great. I did'nt need the clutch. Your
friend needs to try and change his riding habbits first ..... and make sure the second clutch
was installed properly.
Bob
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Good parts aint cheap and cheap parts aint good !
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bbirdxx2000

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Posts: 147
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posted November 30, 2007 01:15 PM
Brock has Heavy duty springs available for about $30.00, that should help
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9.96 @ 143 stock with flies removed
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BlackMagic14

Needs a job
Posts: 2058
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posted November 30, 2007 02:36 PM
Change to a different type of oil and make sure he has plenty of fluid in the clutch resevoir. A buddy of mine had the same problem and somehow it was caused by almost no fluid in the resevoir
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killakaw4life

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Posts: 348
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posted November 30, 2007 09:04 PM
Thanks guys. I will relay the message. He is always trying to do a rolling burnout but is still a little scared to totally dump the clutch with the throttle pinned wide Open. I think he will readily opt for the stiffer clutch springs. And yes a different oil may also help greatly.
oh and Fastbusa I think he has been practicing launches on the back road but thats one of the fastest clutches I've seen go out besides a 06 R1 which went dead in about a week and a half. They have to lauch so high in the rpm range to get going.
Thanks everyone
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bigdtd

Needs a job
Interceptors
Posts: 4209
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posted December 01, 2007 08:10 AM
he had to slip the heck out of it to wear it that quick unless there was an install issue
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2006 Black ZX-14,6 inches over,16/42, flies out,BMC Street Filter,Brock's Street Meg,Brock's Radial Mount Strap,PClll with Race map,Dynojet LCD w/Techmount, ZX-14 fender eliminator,Pilot Power2CTs,Speedohealer,Pazzo Levers,Cox Radiator Guard, Garmin Nuvi 265WT
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Sticks_n_Stones

Needs a job
Posts: 3930
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posted December 01, 2007 09:33 AM
I know this is beating a dead horse, but how about having him toss the subthrottle plates and get a PC III? That will give him all the low end torque he needs so he doesnt have to tear up his clutch!
And BTW, I weigh about as much as him, bike still has flies in (for now), and doing rolling burnouts is easy! If he is under the impression the front tire is gonna fly up because of his weight giving the tire tractiion through the extra pressure (as compared to you lighter riders that make it look easy), tell him not to worry. I, too, was worried about that until I committed to it and just full throttle dumped the clutch at 15 mph. Seems to work best around 8 grand on the tach when you release the clutch. Tell him to lean forward over the bars if he is unsure, it helps, or even better wet the ground with a hose first to get the hang of it. Now I can do it sitting with a slight lean forward at up to 20 or so mph. Higher if I stand up and lean forward. It's a friggin 14!! It was meant for shit like that.
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'06 zx14
Muzzy M10/M14
PCIII w/ Muzzy map
Flies out K&N in!
bits n pieces...
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bbirdxx2000

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Posts: 147
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posted December 01, 2007 09:36 AM
Edited By: bbirdxx2000 on 1 Dec 2007 09:37
quote: I know this is beating a dead horse, but how about having him toss the subthrottle plates and get a PC III? That will give him all the low end torque he needs so he doesnt have to tear up his clutch!
And BTW, I weigh about as much as him, bike still has flies in (for now), and doing rolling burnouts is easy! If he is under the impression the front tire is gonna fly up because of his weight giving the tire tractiion through the extra pressure (as compared to you lighter riders that make it look easy), tell him not to worry. I, too, was worried about that until I committed to it and just full throttle dumped the clutch at 15 mph. Seems to work best around 8 grand on the tach when you release the clutch. Tell him to lean forward over the bars if he is unsure, it helps, or even better wet the ground with a hose first to get the hang of it. Now I can do it sitting with a slight lean forward at up to 20 or so mph. Higher if I stand up and lean forward. It's a friggin 14!! It was meant for shit like that.
I agree with removing the flies, then you can launch @ 3,000 RPM
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9.96 @ 143 stock with flies removed
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jarhead
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Posts: 418
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posted December 01, 2007 01:08 PM
One thing to note is the position of the two odd sized plates, He has them in the wrong place. The one with the larger ID is supposed to go in first, it kind of fits around the spring that you see in there.
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KillaKAW4Life

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Posts: 348
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posted December 01, 2007 09:28 PM
LOL he has the flies out and a PCIII. Sticks, have told him that many tmes but he is still scared.
Hey Jarhead, where does the other odd size steel go?
BIGTD, I really do think it's an install issue because I seen him slip the original clutch way worse than this one. And it lasted longer.
Thanks again everyone
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zx12mark
Pro
Posts: 1654
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posted December 01, 2007 09:48 PM
he can fix the problem by losing 200 pounds and learning how to ride it like a motorcycle instead of a tractor.
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MotoCycho

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posted December 02, 2007 01:15 AM
Edited By: MotoCycho on 2 Dec 2007 01:21
First post here. Just barely started reading here. Also read/post over at http://www.zx14ninja.com & http://www.wristtwisters.com. I see a few of the same usernames. Shouts out and props!
Bought a new 14 in Aug. Burned up the clutch at about 600-650 miles drag racing. Flies were in and I weigh just under 300 suited up. Since, replaced clutch friction discs only and pulled the flies, added PC3. Bike feels like a whole new machine and I can't wait to race again in the spring. I was having to launch at 6000+.. I guess it just murdered the clutch.. he he. Won't have to do anywhere near that now. Bike wants to just pull now from 3000. That's way more like what I expected. As a skeptic of "free" power, trust me when I say.. pulling the flies has been the most amazing mod I have ever done to any vehicle. If you are still running flies in you are robbing yourself of serious low end power and missing out. I wish I would have trusted what I had read before racing was over and I had to put it up for the winter.
Note: On visual inspection of the old friction discs only two are messed.. the far most inside and the far most outside.. and only the friction material on one side of each of those discs is bad. Completely dissolved away would be best description. I bought a cheapy digital micrometer and have measured the 7 matching friction discs in the middle.. all are within spec. Next time I am just replacing the outside and inside friction discs. The steels looked perfect but I did not mic those since I bought mic after the clutch was back together. Will next time for sure.
Anyone advise on the stiffer clutch springs being better that the clutch sporing spacers... can you run both? I think heavier riders just have to plan on buying clutches more often. I have to replace the clutchs in all my bikes after drag racing each a few times. Seems to be the norm.
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bigdtd

Needs a job
Interceptors
Posts: 4209
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posted December 02, 2007 08:04 AM
Edited By: bigdtd on 2 Dec 2007 09:31
welcome cycho, all using OEM clutches?
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2006 Black ZX-14,6 inches over,16/42, flies out,BMC Street Filter,Brock's Street Meg,Brock's Radial Mount Strap,PClll with Race map,Dynojet LCD w/Techmount, ZX-14 fender eliminator,Pilot Power2CTs,Speedohealer,Pazzo Levers,Cox Radiator Guard, Garmin Nuvi 265WT
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KillaKAW4Life

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Posts: 348
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posted December 02, 2007 08:57 AM
quote: he can fix the problem by losing 200 pounds and learning how to ride it like a motorcycle instead of a tractor.
lmao I will make sure to tell him.
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zx12mark
Pro
Posts: 1654
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posted December 02, 2007 12:01 PM
just trying to help people see the obvious since there are so many blind people going thru life.
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kawabunga

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Cogswell Cogs Installed
Posts: 284
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posted December 02, 2007 12:57 PM
First rule of thumb in installing any wet clutch on a motorcycle is that you need to soak the friction clutch plates in fresh motor oil of the same type you will run in the motor for at least an hour. This will impregnate the plates with oil , if you do not do this the centrifugal spinning of the clutch will not allow the oil in the sump to get to the plates fast enough and long enough to prevent burning of the plates, resulting in failure again. Always install new metal plates as well and be aware of the assembly procedure. It's also a good idea, even though a lot of trouble, to remove the oil pan and clean it out real good, that clutch material had to go somewhere. Install a new oem oil filter and fresh oil, vacumm bleed the clutch and make sure fluid level is correct. You should be good to go then.
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