Clutch Basket Damper Modification

[sharealike]

Hi All

I have run two SV1000 nakeds over the last five years and become aware of clutch basket damper issues that cause vibration under load and various noises at idle and just above. Suzuki deny there is any issue on SV's but I know and have proven different, but they do say early DL's had issues that are now resolved. Changes of baskets for new on DL's or putting SV complete clutches in seems to reduce things for a while but it returns too soon for the three or four hundred pounds it costs. US and Australian forums confirm this is even more of a problem on DL1000's than the SV's.

I have now proved that some involved reworking of the damper in the basket cures the vibration. I made an offer to modify baskets for a few people here in the UK that had the same vibration problem. I offered this free of charge (now over) to people with the ability to swap their baskets themselves and become test guinea pigs. I modified baskets for people with the engine vibration problem all over the world in the end, as no one from the UK came forward. Now modified over close to 200 (September 2011) and looking to continue getting rid of this vibration that spoils our otherwise beautiful engines.

PM me if you wish to know more. Email directly at vibfreevstrom@yahoo.com

Sharealike aka John

[dogpuf]

Damn I live in Yorkshire but I have a K2

[Bob]

Double Dam I'm a Yorkshire K2 owner too !!!

[sharealike]

Dogpuf, Bob

Lets not rule you out just yet as you will be on my doorstep.

I understand the springs fail in many K2 baskets so should in theory not be as repairable as the later baskets. that's why the ideal trialists would not be K2's. Their damper springs can squash and get tired so lose their effectiveness and have been known to twist through the windows in the keeper plate. The windows were very large so broken bits of spring could get out with the risk of them locking the clutch plates together or holding them appart. Later versions had smaller windows but Suzuki missed two other problems that crop up on every basket made for these big V Twins.

If you have a vibration problem that starts from about 3,000 rpm and upwards under slight to full engine load and may also have a tock, tock noise at idle with a clatter as you go from drive to overun at 1,500 to 2,500 rpm, then it could be that the modification I propose will reduce and/or eliminate much or all of these.

If you have these issues I think you will probably have looked at your basket or perhaps have this in mind to do already. If you are going to have a basket out then give me a shout to have quick look or a chat through just what you found. This before you decide on spending £300 plus on a replacement, or put it back with a view to suffering in silence (well perhaps more in rattle and vibe). If repairable I can sort it out in a day or so. Yes - FREE in the spirit of proving what's wrong and then I might start up repairing these on a maintenace exchange arrangement. The whole basket damper will feel very loose and you can think the springs are shot but in fact the problem is in the quality of the assembly that causes them to set out on the route to self destruct. You can catch them and halt this with a few clever modifications. The position of the individual springs is most important as is the location and relationship of the inner and outer keeper plates to each other.

Could be a few reasons why you don't have the original K2 basket still in the bike. I hear dealers changed these out for later designs as soon as there was any suggestion of a problem within the warranty and perhaps a little beyond. A previous owner might have changed the basket if you bought your bikes second hand.

Sharealike
Edit Nov 8th 2010. K2 springs are proving to to be fine and not having the problems once suspected. Free trial is well past and now modify baskets for owners in all countries. New baskets start with the same problems by 10,000 miles or even less. Even those manufactured in 2009!!!

[sfarrar]

To member SHAREALIKE, I have a vstrom 1000 and the clutch is really noisy at tickover, when you pull the clutch lever in it quietens it considerably, Having read your thread regarding clutch basket damper modifiation I was wondering if this is the sort of problem you can assist with?  (it really is driving me mad!!)  I live near Wakefield in Yorkshire  and probably going to be messing with the clutch  some time next month before I get the bike out for good. Hope to here from you . steve

[sharealike]

sfarrar

Very glad to help you. This issue is well known in some parts of the world. You are the first person in the UK to respond.

I have repaired many of these dampers for people in France, USA, Australia and Germany over the last few months. This as part of the original free trial. They have this annoying knock at idle when the bike is hot and also a vibration under load at anything from 3,000 to 4,000 rpm.

Experience has now shown that early K2 baskets can be modified just as well as the later ones. Most K2 baskets were changed under warranty by Suzuki in the USA or just after by their owners. The replacements have not faired much better. Suzuki tell me production and so development of the engine has finished. There will not be a later basket for DL or SV.
Many people are on their second or third basket and find the problems start to show again after only 2,000 miles. They are buying used K2 and K3 bikes that develop the problem and find they have the later basket fitted when they take them down. K6 and K7 owners are also sending the clutch dampers for repair at about 15,000 miles.
Here in the UK we just don't seem to get the miles on the bikes like these bloke's do. From what I see in the 20 or so I have now stripped I would say all bikes are going to need a basket modification one day.

Three ways to sort this out.
1 - New baskets modified before fitting. Owners supply the basket or I source the part in the UK. Modified basket posted back.
2 - People remove their baskets and post to me for repair and modification. Returned by post after.
3 - People find a used basket or an old one they took out some time back. Repaired and modified with return by post.

I will PM you with my contact details and we can take it from there. We live very close so I can even help you with the stripdown if required. There are a few good presentations around showing DL owners how to get the clutch out. First thing is to make very certain it is a knock due to the clutch basket damper. There is a test for this.

Sharealike

[Blackbeard]

My 2003 DL1000 has this clutch problem too. I have just been living with it because as you say a new basket can only last 2000 miles. If I can help please let me know. Paul.

[sharealike]

Blackbeard

I can repair your existing clutch basket for you. Are you able to strip it out of the bike yourself and post to me.

Oil pump drive gear can be left on for me to remove if you send your existing by post.

PM me or respond here if you wish to take this further.

Sharealike

[sharealike]

sfarrar and blackbeard

Sent you both a PM each on this but no response so far. Please could you respond with still interested or otherwise.

Kind regards

Sharealike

[ejayaitch]

Hello sharealike.
I had a DL1000 K2 for a while and suffered the clutch basket vibration -- our US friends on their 'StromTrooper' forum call it "chudder".
I bought an 18 months old (1900 miles on the clock) K3 model 5 years ago to replace the K2, and was disappointed that there was still clutch basket vibration. I wrote to Suzuki-GB quoting the K3's VIN No., and they confirmed that the bike had been fitted on the assembly line with the old-type (K2 & early K3) clutch basket.
At 6845 miles, I bought & fitted a genuine Suzuki new-type clutch basket, and the engine was so much smoother.
However, at 18900 miles, I have become aware that the old vibration may be there again.
I would mention that the majority of the (12K) miles covered have been 2-up with 3 full luggage boxes!
I could be interested in your clutch basket modification -- I also still have the (K2 & early K3) OEM basket that I removed from the bike some 3 years ago.
Regards, ejayaitch.

[bandit401962]

Hi

Sv1000s K3 in Bradford, with major clutch rattle. Would be really grateful for anyone who can sort it for me. It drives me mental

DAve

[sharealike]

Bandit401962

The standard baskets can be loud at idle once the newness has worn off. Much of the noise is down to the basket having lost its damping at idle which the modification does address.

Main tell tale of this is as you ride. Have you a shudder or vibration as you ride through 3 to 4 k rpm. It's a band about 500 rpm wide and there in all gears and throttle openings. Owners tend to find themselves riding round this area without realising, yet it's quite a sweet spot of the engine when they are right.

Another tell tale as you ride at low speeds such as in traffic is a clack, clack, clack as you go from drive to overun.

If you have the vibration there is a test that's a good indicator if the damper is past it's best. Find the rough area in the rpm range (usually 3300-3700) so you can consistently duplicate the vibration as you ride. You might find a long gradual uphill helps hold it in the zone. Once you've found it, now ride through it and as you do, pull in the clutch just a hair as you pass through the offending range and see what happens. Not enough to allow it to slip, but just about to.

If the shudder disappears, you likely have the infamous clutch shudder. If it does not disappear, there may be other issues, like throttle body synchronization, throttle position sensor adjustment or lean FI issues.

Vstrom owners seem more sensitive to it. Perhaps due to higher top gear ratio, torquey tune of the engine and they tend to like a more relaxed cruise. The clutch dampers are the same except the SV works the same parts even harder due to harder springs.

Owners of the early bikes I did are reporting that the modification is still good after 10,000 miles. Americans I did in the spring.

Sharealike.

[sharealike]

Bandit401962

The standard baskets can be loud at idle once the newness has worn off. Much of the noise is down to the basket having lost its damping at idle which the modification does address.

Main tell tale of this is as you ride. Have you a shudder or vibration as you ride through 3 to 4 k rpm. It's a band about 500 rpm wide and there in all gears and throttle openings. Owners tend to find themselves riding round this area without realising, yet it's quite a sweet spot of the engine when they are right.

Another tell tale as you ride at low speeds such as in traffic is a clack, clack, clack as you go from drive to overun.

If you have the vibration there is a test that's a good indicator if the damper is past it's best. Find the rough area in the rpm range (usually 3300-3700) so you can consistently duplicate the vibration as you ride. You might find a long gradual uphill helps hold it in the zone. Once you've found it, now ride through it and as you do, pull in the clutch just a hair as you pass through the offending range and see what happens. Not enough to allow it to slip, but just about to.

If the shudder disappears, you likely have the infamous clutch shudder. If it does not disappear, there may be other issues, like throttle body synchronization, throttle position sensor adjustment or lean FI issues.

Vstrom owners seem more sensitive to it. Perhaps due to higher top gear ratio, torquey tune of the engine and they tend to like a more relaxed cruise. The clutch dampers are the same except the SV works the same parts even harder due to harder springs.

Owners of the early bikes I did are reporting that the modification is still good after 10,000 miles. Americans I did in the spring.

Sharealike.

[Nix]

Good thread here, sharealike, and very good of you to offer your expertise!

I'm in Buxton, Debyshire, with a 1000K6 GT with nearly 7k on the clock.

I can get down to 45 mph in OD on neutral throttle and accelerate very gently on it without drama but I've noticed more roughness from 4 1/2k ish upwards, any gear.

Not had the bike long (few weeks) and only just did the TB synch and fitted a TRE yesterday (no difference whatsoever with the TRE).

The TB sych was way out (160/225, 4 dealer stamped services and never touched/checked   ) but noticed one cylinder vacuum more unstable than the other.

I'll try some more checks before coming back to you in case it's not the clutch damping issue starting up, if the offer is still on...

[steve...]

Hi, are you still offering this mod ?  I've just bought a late 03 DL1000 but it turned out to be a k2 bike and between 3k and 4k there is a terrible noise and harshness, really bad.

Thanks, Steve

[sharealike]

Thank you for your interest. Yes I still do the modifications to the clutch baskets.

Plenty of 03 registered turn out to be the K2 build clutch. None the worse for it though.

The K2 was said to be alone in having the problem. Now well accepted that all years can get these harsh vibes. Only 20% of the seventy five Stroms I have done to date are K2. Even had to do them for the recent GT models between 10 and 20k miles. They all modify with the same good results.

Some owners even ring up to thank me profusely for the improvement its made. Still going strong after a long trip two up on holiday abroad.

A few in the USA put close to 10,000 miles on my modification in six months without problems. Some French and German owners are not far behind.
Plenty write saying its as if they just got a new bike and no longer trying to sell it.

I only went "open" offering the modification to all owners at the start of 2010. Not a business though. This was pull by them rather than push by me. Demand for what I do being driven by owners. Up till then the only treatment for a vibrating engine caused by the clutch was another basket from Suzuki that all too often would start to vibrate again.

Most owners manage to swap the basket themselves following a set of slides I send out. Plenty have their dealer do it and I can turn the baskets round real quick.

Away less than a week in the UK. Including post both ways and time here for the re-enginering modification.

Total time away is week and a few days for Europe if the owner is in a hurry and willing to pay for next day shipping both ways. Same for the USA and the rest of the world.

Outside the UK they are never away for more than three weeks using normal shipping rates and timescales.
Please give me a call or email directly and we can take it from there.

John
0777 077 2456
vibefreevstrom@yahoo.com

[theshed]

had mine done around the Feb time and took the basket out myself with very little previous mechanical experience
solved my problems and I was very pleased with the results,
unfortunately I wrote my bike off a few weeks later but put it back on the road within two weeks and have done 4k since the mod again can say its still going great and with further advice found on the forums bike really is as sweet as a nut

[steve...]

Thanks, will give you a ring.

[sharealike]

had mine done around the Feb time and took the basket out myself with very little previous mechanical experience
solved my problems and I was very pleased with the results,
unfortunately I wrote my bike off a few weeks later but put it back on the road within two weeks and have done 4k since the mod again can say its still going great and with further advice found on the forums bike really is as sweet as a nut

theshed

Glad to hear you managed to get her back on the road. Thank you for the mileage and progress update on the modified basket.

Sharealike - John

[steve...]

John, you've saved me from selling the V-Strom  

I've not gone very far, just round the block but the vibration is gone, 100% gone.  It accelerates through 2, 3, 4 and 5k rpm without any vibration or rattle at all.  Perfect !

Many thanks . . . and poor show for Suzuki not doing this in the first place !