how tight should my clutch springs be?

[DucofWestwood]

'06 s2r1k

So i took the pressure plate off to do some cosmetic upgrades.  when i put the springs back on, i aimed for 6 Nm's, as the manual states, but my torque wrench wouldn't give me an accurate reading at that low of a torque level.

so i'm pretty sure i've overtightened them b/c the clutch lever pull is much easier than it used to be, and the friction zone is much smaller.

2 questions:
1 - am i doing damage to anything by running with them too tight? (i'm running no clutch cover so i am worried about them being too loose!)
2 - short of getting a better torque wrench, is there a rule of thumb on how much to tighten the springs?

thanks in advance!!!

[Howie]

As long as you didn't break the fasteners or the towers they are not too tight.  Hand tight like tightening a screw with a screw driver will do it.

[zarn02]

If you tighten the hell out of 'em you can break things.

My general rule is "snug enough not to go anywhere."

I've also read "a bit past hand-tight."

[bikepilot]

^  The big danger with over-tightening is breaking off the tower, I've seen folks do this quite often.  As long as nothing is broken and its not so loose that its going to fall out, no worries there.  I generally give them a dab of loctight and just snug them up by hand - not very tight at all really, those aluminum towers aren't all that strong.

[Slide Panda]

As noted, you really can't over-tighten them signifigantly without the serious possibility of big issues.

And here's something to ponder - the more tension you apply to the springs thought the screws, the harder the lever pull. So over tightening them would make for a harder lever pull.

Like Zarn, i turn them in with a screw driver and a loose grip. Once I hit any solid resistance, that's it. Just to be sure it stays put, each one gets a drop of med loctite too.

[DucofWestwood]

great, thanks for all that, guys.  i'll loosen, loctite, and re-tighten by-hand tonight.  weird that the lever felt easier, instead of harder.

question on the lingo - what do you mean by "towers" ?

[Slide Panda]

The 6 post of the clutch hub that you're threading the retainer bolt into

[bikepilot]

Lever feel won't really change with how tight they are (provided they are all tight enough to be seated against the towers and no towers are broken).  The bolts bottom against the towers, whether they are lightly bottomed or mashed down to the near-breaking point won't measureably change spring preload. Make sure you didn't leave out any springs or spring retainers:)

[DucofWestwood]

ok, so another day, another question about my clutch ... i loosened the springs last night and it didn't really change anything (i guess they weren't very over-tightened to begin with).  i'm pretty sure i screwed something up in this whole process, but i'm not sure what.

background:
had the pressure plate off for about a week while i painted it and the springs and caps.  bike sat in the garage on rear stand.

the symptoms: compared to before i took it apart, lever pull is much lighter.  also the clutch is not engaging as "crisply" as it previously did.  i have to rev up the RPM's more before letting the clutch out all the way to avoid a stall.  and when i up-shift, i'm not getting the same "snap" that i used to ... i.e. power doesn't kick in crisply.

possible diagnoses:
- is this the definition of clutch slip?  (i'm still learning) 
- clutch plates got dirty while i had the pressure plate off for a week and i didn't clean them before putting the PP back on?
- air bubble in the clutch line?  (but i didn't do anything to the line so not sure how that would have happened)
- the silver bearing (now smattered with yellow paint in the pic below) in which the clutch control pin sits that is in the middle of the PP ... should it be completely flush with the outer edge of the PP?  i had to tap the pin lightly with a small hammer to remove it prior to painting, and i'm wondering if when i put it back in, i didn't tap it in far enough, so the PP is not far enough in towards the clutch plates?



i'm just guessing here so any thoughts, as always, would be much appreciated. 

[DucofWestwood]

PS - yes i know i've only got 4 out of 6 springs on ... it was already set-up like that when i bought the bike last year

[gage]

Did you orient the pressure plate correctly onto the basket? One of the posts has a line through it that should match with the Triangle (I think don't have stock plate) near one of the holes on the Pressure Plate. The pressure plate will fit on over the posts if misaligned but won't function correctly.

[Slide Panda]

Exactly my question.

Gage is correct - the stock pressure plate has a small triangle cast on the face, aligned with one of the depressions for a spring. The clutch hub has a hash mark on the end of one of the 'towers' where you thread the spring retaining bolt. That triangle and hash mark need to be lined up. If they are not, it can cause the problems you're having.

[DucofWestwood]

cool - i did pay attention to that when i was putting the PP back on but maybe i still didn't get it right.  going to check later today.  thanks guys!!

[breaddrink]

I know this was an age ago, but can I ask what your outcome was?

Rob.