clutch grinding???

[250rforlife]

ok well after i was doing some wheelies today and some holeshot i found i might have a problem. my clutch has been sliping a little in 4ht and 5th. but not bad but i can feel it. well after i did all of this i notice somthing reall bad. well when i pop the clutch in any gear and i give it some gas to do a wheelie or a power shift, when i let my clutch out 1/2 to 3/4 with me on the gas as descried, my motor makes this grinding with vibration noise. and it slips real bad when this happens. now idk what this is but i hope its not tranny related cause i aint got the mney for that. but i got money for a new presure plate, inner hub, and fibers and metal disks. but anyone have this happen before? it shifts good if im not the gas when i let the clutch out. and it down shifts good. any ideas??

[CJM]

Without seeing it and personally riding it, all signs point to worn out clutch fibers and plates.

You said it was previously slipping a little bit in 4th and 5th-was it engaging the gears properly at least-IE not popping out of those gears. If it was thats a bent shift fork/shift drum and it means cracking the cases apart.

The wheelies may have aggravated an already worn/wearing out clutch. Your putting alot of stress on the clutch plates by doing holeshots.

Id start by removing the side cover, taking off the clutch plates and inspecting them with a micrometer as per the manual and see if they are in spec of trash. Also inspect the basket, pressure plate and the pressure plate bolts as well as the throw out bearing and look for any wear.

Willing to bet its just a worn out clutch tho. The transmissions on these things are pretty much bullet proof, I dont think Ive ever heard of more than 1 or 2 biting the dust.

One other consideration: What kinda oil have you been using? Sometimes the oil people to use is not meant for a wet clutch system like the EX uses.

[250rforlife]

naa she never pops out of gear. i use belray semi senthetic. its a new oil they came out with. seems good.

[CJM]

Then it sounds like a bad clutch, open'er up and see what ya got.

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by 250rforlife
ok well after i was doing some wheelies today and some holeshot i found i might have a problem. my clutch has been sliping a little in 4ht and 5th. but not bad but i can feel it. well after i did all of this i notice somthing reall bad. well when i pop the clutch in any gear and i give it some gas to do a wheelie or a power shift, when i let my clutch out 1/2 to 3/4 with me on the gas as descried, my motor makes this grinding with vibration noise. and it slips real bad when this happens. now idk what this is but i hope its not tranny related cause i aint got the mney for that. but i got money for a new presure plate, inner hub, and fibers and metal disks. but anyone have this happen before? it shifts good if im not the gas when i let the clutch out. and it down shifts good. any ideas??


After sitting the ex for a couple of months, I tried it out when we put +2s and front 450r shocks on it and it is doing the same thing as you described. I havent pulled the side cover yet but I'm sure its the clutch. I'm going to replace it when I freshen up the top end in a couple of weeks. It wont be leaving the shop till then, dont worry:p

Was that youre original clutch in it?

[250rforlife]

update!!!!!

my clutch works fine till about 20mins of riding after its warmed up. it works perfect till about 20 minutes of riding aftter you warm the bike up. i think my fibers and metal plates are shot. because i think this is happening after the clutch gets hot and the worn fibers start to slip very little creating that grinding noise and vibration. and idk if its the original clutch or not.

last question.... if it was somthing other then the fibers and plates woulding that grinding and vibration always be there? not just after 20mins of riding the bike after its warmed up????

[CJM]

If it was the trans gears it would do it all the time, hot, cold or whatever.

[250rforlife]

so its defintally the fiber, and metal plates are worn out?

[slightlybent47]

Originally posted by 250rforlife
naa she never pops out of gear. i use belray semi senthetic. its a new oil they came out with. seems good.


Well there’s your problem! Synthetic oil is a no-no in the ex. You’ve probably trashed the clutch plates using the wrong oil.

And it’s synthetic not (senthetic).lol

[250rforlife]

really?? hmm. well i also found out that its most likily my inner clutch hub. the one with the taps. so theres 165% then a clutch kit anouther 100$. luck me :(

[CJM]

Originally posted by slightlybent47
Well there’s your problem! Synthetic oil is a no-no in the ex. You’ve probably trashed the clutch plates using the wrong oil.

And it’s synthetic not (senthetic).lol

Used mobil 1 fine no issues, didnt like the fact i broke down quick tho.

[tri5ron]

here's a good read...

http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=384144&perpage=10&highlight=synthetic label slip clutch&pagenumber=1

Pay particular attention to page 3, and look at the examples of the SAE labels.

Long story short,...
"Energy Conserving" is not good for the wet clutch in a 400EX.

[2001400exrida]

synthetic is just fine.

energy conserving is not good. Synthetic is jgood for any wetclutch. I ran Mobil 1 in my bike forever and the clutch never slipped once.

If you wanna save some money though get some Rotella