My daughter and I did some wrenching today. She recently got a '96 Savage with 12,400 miles (she is the third owner).

We installed a VerSlavy as the cam chain tensioner was at 19.5mm extension (from what I gather 18mm is the worry point and over 23mm may result in the destruction of the engine). That went OK although we think Suzuki should have corrected this design issue a while ago.

The clutch has been slipping under hard acceleration. We found the clutch springs to be longer than the wear limit (that means they're OK; shorter than the wear limit is bad), but as we already made the purchase we put in EBC clutch springs, advertised as 10% stiffer than stock. This did not solve the slipping, so it's time to inspect and likely replace the clutch fiber and steel plates. Does anyone have any advice/tips on replacing the clutch? I've heard of a coin gear jamming trick to allow loosening of the clutch nut. Exactly which gears do you jam to do this? Also I understand it is important to install the engine oil gear (Ron Ayers 16321-24B00) in the correct orientation so as not to oil starve the engine. We will go slow and take many photos in the hope that we get it right.

I just realized that the default timeframe on a Search (textbox with the magnifying glass icon on upper right of a forum page) is one week. When I changed the timeframe to 'all posts' I got all the advice I need on clutch replacement -- Thank you, Forum members thumps and OldFeller.

BTW the clutch lever is between the two marks on the case (marks are above the oil level window), the clutch cable is well lubricated (MotionPro cable luber) and moves freely, and we have the middle-sized clutch pushrod.

I'm ordering a Barnett clutch kit from an ebay retailer and hoping our experience installing it goes as good as thumps reported.

Maybe I'm not getting it? -- Suzuki offers 3 clutch pushrods in lengths of 45.5 +/- 1mm. The stocker is the middle length. When the clutch is completely engaged (rider's hand is off the lever) there should be no contact between the pushrod(whatever length it is) and its actuating cam because there's supposed to be a little freeplay in the clutch cable. My clutch is slipping when the bike is rolling, the clutch is completely engaged (I'm not touching the clutch lever), and I gas it. The engine revs but the acceleration doesn't match the revving. Really don't see how a longer pushrod would affect this slipping. I do see how a longer pushrod might help a dragging clutch (the clutch plates are not disengaging enough when the lever is pulled in). Am I missing something?

BuckRYCA wrote on 04/08/10 at 11:14:39:

Only cause I haven't played with to know...
What if you needed the shorter rod?

I appreciate everyone's responses. Thank you.

serenity3743: It may have been the wrong oil, but it's hard to know. That's the risk buying a used bike. I do know the clutch was slipping a little when we got it (11,500 miles) and 900 miles later it is slipping a lot. This is after two oil changes by us using oils that are known to work for motorcycles with wet clutches(800 miles on Mobil 1 4T 10W40 synthetic motorcycle oil and now 100 miles on Shell Rotella T 15W40 dino diesel oil).

OldFeller: I'm really curious to see what's up when we pull the clutch fibers/steels. I suspect they're goners. This would be consistent with oil becoming very dirty very quickly. The clutch pushrod is the the correct length (45.5mm), but that part of it that is inside the clutch basket is discolored as if overheated. If they're out of service specs and you still want them, I send them along. I like the idea of recycling.

Before you go the new clutch pack way, invest in a $4.00 p[art and get the longer push rod.  My clutch was BAD ...no adjustment, slipping (due to trying to adjust) etc.  After putting the new rod in, it is golden.


Much easier to do and quicker.  Oh, my push rod looked a little "cooked" too.  I think it is the way of things.

My daughter and I replaced the clutch today. It was straightforward following the Clymer's manual. I did purchase an electric impact wrench as I was anticipating a problem getting the clutch nut off, but it was not necessary. To remove the clutch nut, we put the bike into second, blocked the leading edge of the rear tire with a 4"x4", applied the rear brake, and used a breaker bar (with the 32mm socket). When using a torque wrench to put the nut back in place, do the same except put the 4"x4" block on the trailing edge of the rear tire.

I've got photos, but really it was fairly simple, 2-3 hours going slowly and carefully. It's useful to pivot the rear brake out of the way instead of removing it altogether to enable clutch case removal (loosen rear nut, remove nut on front bolt, push bolt in ~ 1"" to clear the brake assembly, and pivot the assembly down).

We did soak the fiber plates for a couple of days in Shell Rotella Synthetic 5W40 (JASO MA2 certified--OK for wet clutches) and that's the oil we used for the re-fill.

We put in a Barnett kit (6 fiber plates, 5 steel plates, and four springs) for $110 on eBay (listed for $130, but with a 'Make an Offer' option). The difference is pronounced. It's all very satisfying. Now when the throttle is opened, the engine pulls -- no more clutch slippage. Hooray!

As for what we found, the both the old clutch fiber and steel plates were glazed with a brownish deposit that may come off with work and nasty solvents, but we didn't bother. I suspect the previous owners did not adjust the clutch properly and/or used energy-conserving oil.

The stock clutch pushrod (45.4mm) caused the actuator arm to be within, but on the high side, of the two case markings. The 1mm longer pushrod resulted in  a more centered actuator arm position, so we that's the one we used.

Here's how the old plates measured:
Clutch fiber plate #1 (1 of these)
0.136"    Wear Limit 0.103"

Clutch fiber plate #2 (5 of these)
~0.116" each     Wear Limit 0.124"

So, according to the Clymer's Wear Limit all five of the #2 fiber plates were shot.

I'll be happy to send them your way.