Author Topic: Which clutch? advice appreciated  (Read 13826 times)

Offline singleoverheadbraincell

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
Which clutch? advice appreciated
« on: September 23, 2012, 07:11:05 PM »
Hi all,

has anyone a recommendation for a brand of replacement clutch...Wemoto have a 'Gecko' and an 'ECB'. The ECB is £20 dearer. Having a good clutch action is important to me so I don't mind paying for the more expensive one if it is a superior clutch. I suppose at face value, if it's £20 dearer, then there must be a reason why. I wonder how much the original Honda kit is? anyone know? I only do about 1000 miles per year so it won't get heavy usage.

Just as an aside - the average width of the friction plates is 2.50mm. The manual states that 2.30mm is the minimum. Does anyone know what thickness the new plates would be? This is an academic question as I plan to replace the clutch anyway and will know the answer when I get the new clutch...but if anyone can give me some guidance on the brand of clutch, that would be immensely appreciated.


Offline toucheturtle

  • SOHC Member
  • Posts: 113
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2012, 07:28:53 PM »
I bought EBC from Wemoto a year or so ago, no complaints works fine.

Offline deltarider

  • SOHC Master
  • Posts: 1337
  • My kingdom for a turkey!
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2012, 07:40:34 AM »
550?
Thickness plates (new) per Honda Shop Manual is 2,6 mm. What makes you think you have to renew them?

Offline singleoverheadbraincell

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2012, 09:09:07 AM »
Delta,

thanks for this info.....I have the Haynes manual but wasn't able to find this info (just the minimum thickness). The plates vary in thickness from about 2.40mm to 2.60mm....I take your point though. I imagined that new plates would be at least 3mm. The springs are at their minimum (free) servicable level so I am going to replace those anyway.

It may just be the springs that I need - the clutch mechanism was at its maximum adjustment level. When the bike is in first gear with the clutch pulled in, the bike wants to move forward when I use the kick starter. Any further thoughts?

Offline deltarider

  • SOHC Master
  • Posts: 1337
  • My kingdom for a turkey!
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2012, 12:14:41 PM »
Tip: always consult the genuine Honda Shop Manual CB500 - CB550 as found in:
http://www.honda4fun.com/materiale-documentazione-tecnica/shop-manual.
Download and forget about Haynes.
« Last Edit: September 24, 2012, 12:17:22 PM by deltarider »

Offline singleoverheadbraincell

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #5 on: September 24, 2012, 02:31:22 PM »
in this manual under 'Service Data', it states the 'friction disc thickness' (by which I presume they mean the clutch) should have a standard value of 3.3mm and the serviceable limit is 3.0mm.....so this has confused me further!

Offline deltarider

  • SOHC Master
  • Posts: 1337
  • My kingdom for a turkey!
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #6 on: September 24, 2012, 03:47:45 PM »
That refers to the 500. On p. 141-2 you'll find service data for the 550.

Offline singleoverheadbraincell

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #7 on: September 24, 2012, 04:39:48 PM »
I see now Delta, thanks.

Offline Bryanj

  • Grogu
  • *
  • Posts: 10693
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2012, 05:17:34 PM »
If its in spec leave it alone mate, i tried for years to burn out a 500 clutch and never managed it!

Offline Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)

  • SOHC Jedi
  • Posts: 2937
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #9 on: September 24, 2012, 07:06:08 PM »
HI,
I am with Byranj never ever replaced clutch plates and I have rebuilt quite a few old Honda's.
Save your money
cheers
Bitsa
Long Live Best Bitter.Status Quo and Sohc Bikes and common sense which you can not teach

Offline matthewmosse

  • SOHC Master
  • Posts: 2161
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #10 on: September 24, 2012, 09:43:15 PM »
my 500/4 did most of it's 180,000 miles without doing anything to the cluch internally, as far as I recall it came with a set of ebc heavy duty cluch plates ready to fit, and these are still in the back of a draw in my shed. At that milage that would be inpressive on a solo machine, mine was / is a sidecar outfit from about 20,000 miles and I genrally had it loaded up with passengers or luggage or on several occasions I carried complete bikes broken down to parts in it.
Got a 500/4 with rust and a sidecar and loadsa bits. nice and original and been round the clock

Offline singleoverheadbraincell

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #11 on: September 28, 2012, 02:17:34 PM »
I took the clutch apart and indeed on closer inspection with the vernier guage the plates are around 2.60mm which is supposed to be their 'as new' size....I have 44k showing on the clock - barely 'run-in' judging by the mileage 'mathewmosse' and 'oddjob' have clocked up. So it seems these little suckers just don't like to wear down very much.

My clutch was quite heavy though - I have removed the cable and oiled it up so that it's now sliding very smoothly........it wasn't that bad before, actually. I'll be interested to observe how the clutch 'action' at the handle has changed and if it has improved. Thanks for the contributions and I'll update the post when I get the whole thing back together with fresh oil etc.

Offline Bryanj

  • Grogu
  • *
  • Posts: 10693
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2012, 06:29:15 PM »
If it's a genuine Honda cable "Oiling" is the worst thing you can do as the outer is nylon lined and the inner coated with a rubber type substance and the oil swells them up and makes them tighter

Offline singleoverheadbraincell

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #13 on: September 29, 2012, 08:40:12 AM »
Oddjob.....thanks for your advice but I'm a bit confused with your suggestion. I have a 1977 550K. I don't see any grease nipple at the adjuster - is the 500 radically different to the 550 in this regard? surely not? Am I understanding you correctly? anyway, all the mechanisms work fine and the pushrod is in good condition with no 'mushrooming'.

With regard to the cable - I don't know if it's a genuine Honda or not, I suppose it might be printed on the outer cable. It's been lightly oiled anyway using an old syringe (I don't take heroin btw, my poor old mutt gets injected with insulin every day for his diabetes).

Off now to spend another glorious day tinkering in the garage

Offline mickwinf

  • SOHC Master
  • Posts: 1737
    • View Profile
Re: Which clutch? advice appreciated
« Reply #14 on: September 29, 2012, 09:31:49 AM »
the clutch operating mechanism is different on the 550, it is all on the clutch side casing on the r/h side. Adjustment is made with the screw and locknut, with the cable adjustment backed off, then take up the slack with the cable adjuster. Make sure the cable has a good run without any sharp turns, i found on my K3 it made a big difference re-routing the cable.Apparently Honda changed the clutch on the 550 due to problems with the 500, but i have never had problems.
Love the 500 and 550 have a 500 called Lazarus under restoration

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal