Clutch Basket Damper Modification

[sharealike]

VStrom 1000 and SV1000 are not the only bikes suffering with problems in the clutch basket.

I put this together to explain. Seems to be a popular bike with those who moved on from the VStrom.

[sharealike]

2013 was yet another busy year at full capacity for SV and VStrom clutch basket damper modifications. About half came from the UK. The rest from owners in the USA and a few from Canada. Suzuki must have sold some serious number of Stroms over there. Thanks are in order to all owners for their support during the year.

Many elected to remove their old baskets themselves and post them here for the modification work, which upgrades them to last just like they would in any other bike. Helping owners do as much of the work themselves and keep costs down was the original idea so great that it's still by far the most popular option.

More than in previous years had their local workshop provide the labour to remove and then refit after it had been here for the upgrade. Many dealers also sent their customers baskets here. Even some from used bikes they were preparing for sale.

For 2014 I'm hoping to put much of the information about the modification and sets of instructions for the remove and refit of baskets onto a website www.vibefreev.com for owners to download. Past years has seen me responding to emails, often with much the same information when that time might have been used performing a few more modifications. I'm close to full capacity so anything that streamlines the service can only be better. Might even find the time to be a little more active here on the forum and get out for a ride myself.

I'm still replying to individual emails as before. I believe help with diagnosis, answering questions and the personal service available is perhaps part of the reason it's run so successfully to date. Please include your country, bikes age, distance from new if asking for help with diagnosis. I will be straight back (well at the next civilised time available) with answers to all questions.

Website is linked to by clicking on the globe over to the left or here www.vibefreev.com

[sharealike]

I'm often asked to modify brand new baskets for owners before they fit them. This can be for those with very high mileage bikes (60,000 miles plus) where the original basket might be beyond economical modification and/or where shipping their used unit round the world to be modified and back again takes too long or costs a fortune. This new basket made in May 2014 arrived here to be modified. Has all the old problems which is not good. Particularly when it's the same parts that are going in the new 2014 bikes.

[Gassoon]

Interesting video, John - the clearest explanation yet.  


Shocking that it's still an issue...but not suprised, really  

[Oop North John]

So that is the basket from the latest DL1000, if it is  

[Fat Rat]

What about all the hype around the new 'Slipper Clutch' on the 2014 DL1000? I took that to mean brand new engineering  

[Juvecu]

It seems all that has changed on the basket is the top spring plate now being thicker, like the SV one.

The slipper bit is going to be provided by the clutch plate assembly, at least, that's what I'd assume.

[UK_Vstrom650]

Not good at all!!!

[sharealike]

What about all the hype around the new 'Slipper Clutch' on the 2014 DL1000? I took that to mean brand new engineering  

The rest of the clutch on the new 2014 bike is brand new. New hub with slipper release for less risk of locking the back wheel on downshifts and the same clever mechanism works in reverse (much like it always has in the SV) to increase clutch grip when accelerating. Makes a nice light clutch lever for such a punchy engine.

The new 2014 bikes clutch basket is exactly the same as previous years from 2003 to 2013. Same casting, same springs and the same parts inside. Would need a major change to the engines layout to do anything else with the basket. All they have done is fit a more robust top plate that should be even stronger than the SV. Must have decided to address this cracking problem shown below which is not really a problem. I've only seen this once in the 150 plus SV baskets I've modified. Never seen it in the 400 plus DL baskets I've rebuilt.

[sharealike]

Its now six years since I modified the first ever SV1000 clutch baskets by completely stripping them and re-engineering the internals. Only months after that I modified the first ever baskets for VStroms using the same re-engineering process so I've been contacted by many owners about clutch issues ever since. While the complete clutch is out of the engine so the basket can be sent here for the work that cures the "chudder", it makes sense to check the rest of the clutch components. While its been good news so far that only a very, very small number of clutches have needed anything other than the basket modification to restore the clutch to as new vibration free performance or better, there's an increase in the number of owners expecting to find their clutch friction plates to be at or near the end of their useful service life. Changing the plates is often one of the recommendations made by workshops to cure a host of clutch issues. And who could blame them when the bike is around ten years old and covered 50,000 miles. My experience is that having supplied modified baskets for plenty of bikes at 75,000 miles and beyond still running their original plates, I know of only a handful of owners who decided it was time to change them. My advice has been and still is to continue with the bikes original Suzuki plates while ever the clutch does not slip in use and the friction plates or steel plates look in good condition. No sign of the steels overheating with dark marks or the frictions being blackened and gummy of course. The friction plates can still look fine when about to reach their minimum thickness so I post the Suzuki specification below.

Drive plate thickness -

Frictions Standard: 2.92 – 3.08 mm (0.115 – 0.121 in) - Eight of these thinner plates so the majority of the frictions.

Frictions (No.2 & No.3): 3.72 – 3.88 mm (0.146 – 0.153 in) The two thicker friction plates. The first to come out next to the pressure plate. And the last plate (inner most) to come out of the basket.

Never know of anyone needing to change the pressure springs but the design free length is included for good measure. I stress needing because some changed them but always at the same time as new plates so we never know.
Clutch spring free length -
Service Limit: 59.4 mm (2.34 in) - Five of these on the VStrom clutch holding the pressure plate firm against the frictions.

I hope this helps owners decide what to do when their higher mileage clutch is open for inspection.

[sharealike]

Here I compare two used clutch baskets at approximately 12,000 miles. One 2004 clutch basket with the latest version from the 2014 DL1000A. Ten whole years between them and little has changed in the stock item. They still get the chudder. Chatter and Shudder makes Chudder.

[MartinW]

Very Interesting video John. Thanks for posting it.
 

[Gassoon]

Yeah, agreed! Be interesting to see a brand-new clutch  straight off a new DL1000, with no/very few miles on it to show the condition it degenerates from. But I suppose you don't get any new ones in!

[sharealike]

Yeah, agreed! Be interesting to see a brand-new clutch  straight off a new DL1000, with no/very few miles on it to show the condition it degenerates from. But I suppose you don't get any new ones in!

Very good point. Show what I find for real that's a true issue and get on with sorting it. Not much polish in my workshop. There's a bloke in the states and another in Brazil who copy my design and shadowed my business with very polished websites for the last few years. They already stripped and show the latest brand new 2014 and onwards baskets in response to my you tube vid of the sectioned clutch at the NEC back in 2013. Brand new don't look too good. Close to the same problems built in from new that chudders if/when they start to go the wrong way.

I'm perfectly happy to supply new pre-modified for any year but many owners don't want to spend a penny more with Suzuki to fix a problem that's been about since 2003. A few can't avoid it because they have wrecked baskets where previous owners tried silly fixes they copy off the web or made up.

PS - here today because otherwise she would have me decorating.