Cold vs Hot Clutch

sdbrehm · Post by **sdbrehm** » Thu May 24, 2007 8:27 pm

I haven't seen this discussed before. If I apply throttle immediately after starting my '86 Spree the clutch engages instantly and I'm off. From then on there is a noticeable delay between the time the throttle is applied and when the power gets to the wheel.

From what I've read here it sounds like the delay is normal and can be adjusted somewhat by changing roller weights and springs, but why would I get instant engagement when the bike is cold?

islandbayy · Post by **islandbayy** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:17 pm

Yah, just thinking about this last night... Should put what, smaller weights to make it grab?

Post by **noiseguy** » Fri May 25, 2007 3:16 am

Spree don't have roller weights, no variator.

May be a function of worn pads... I'm wondering if new pads would help this.

Also wondering if this is more of an engine power issue... with the engine losing some low-end power as it warms up and the fuel mix is thinned out.

darat · Post by **darat** » Fri May 25, 2007 5:15 pm

i got a set of BRAND NEW PADS WITH SPRINGS i want 50$ for it.

Post by **noiseguy** » Fri May 25, 2007 6:05 pm

Aren't those $35 at a dealership?

sdbrehm · Post by **sdbrehm** » Fri May 25, 2007 8:05 pm

I don't have a clutch spring compressor, but I'll see if I can rig something up and check the pads.

What are other symptoms of low end power problems? I can get up to about 30mph on the flat, and maintain 20 up a long hill on my 10 mile commute. If I can trust the gas gauge I'm getting around 50mpg if I keep the speed down to 25mph. If I run WOT it's down to 35-40mpg. Must be all the hills. It couldn't be my 190lbs

I recently cleaned the air filter and the carb. If anything, the mpg dropped a tad. The engine seems to run well. I do sometimes notice a bit of power surging, especially when going downhill, but now a little during the first mile or two.

sdbrehm · Post by **sdbrehm** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:22 pm

Ok, finally got a chance to take it apart. The manual says the clutch pads should be 1.5mm minimum but the picture is not clear on what is being measured. The curved metallic looking surfaces are less than 1 mm, maybe a half mm mounted on some sort of fiber substrate. If the substrate is not supposed to be included I'd say the clutch pads are essentially gone, right?

The ID of the clutch outer is about 3.81 inches, which is within that tolerance.

BTW, I suspect the clutch outer gets very hot, but should the outer surface be discolored blue?

Finally, should I be replacing the springs and damper rubbers along with the clutch pads? I've got about 3200 miles on it.

wedgepilot · Post by **wedgepilot** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:39 pm

Sounds like you need new clutch pads asap! The outer shouldn't be blue - maybe all that heat is stopping the clutch lining working properly?

New springs are a good idea while you're in there, they're pretty cheap. Uprated ones will raise the pickup point, which is only useful if you have a performance pipe and your power band is higher.