Clutch Kits

[eddohawk]

Hi there everyone

4 weeks to spring down here and the good weathers not far away. I'm moving onto the next phase of my bike overhaul. For those who dont know my bikes details its a 1990 3cv thats done approx 52000 km and was in 'reasonable' condition when I acquired it. I had no information on its previous maintenance history but my plan is to build a reliable tourer without doing the full appearance restoration thing.  So I'm thinking its clutch time. Mind you the clutch seems to be working fine but dont want to end up broken down or stranded on my trip to Tasmania later this year so I am steadily replacing parts which have a history of failing. I do have a master and slave rebuild kits which I sourced from the UK web site and I was wondering should I install both kits or just the slave kit which I understand is the most likely one to fail at some point.

Regards

Mark

[RichBaker]

Do them both, since you already have the parts.... and, get yourself a 2nd clutch spring, the original tends to slip under throttle. They stack nicely, the clutch won't ever slip again.

[Harvy]

Hi there everyone

4 weeks to spring down here and the good weathers not far away. I'm moving onto the next phase of my bike overhaul. For those who dont know my bikes details its a 1990 3cv thats done approx 52000 km and was in 'reasonable' condition when I acquired it. I had no information on its previous maintenance history but my plan is to build a reliable tourer without doing the full appearance restoration thing.  So I'm thinking its clutch time. Mind you the clutch seems to be working fine but dont want to end up broken down or stranded on my trip to Tasmania later this year so I am steadily replacing parts which have a history of failing. I do have a master and slave rebuild kits which I sourced from the UK web site and I was wondering should I install both kits or just the slave kit which I understand is the most likely one to fail at some point.

Regards

Mark

Mark, my philosophy is if its not broken don't fix it.
You have the kits now and are prepared. Just keep them till you need them.

On my last trip down to Melbourne, my clutch slave seal gave out on me on the second day. It is quite feasible to ride with a leaking slave. I just bleed it every morning so that I could get moving, and then didn't worry about it. Changing gears clutchless is very easy with a gentle right wrist, both up and down the box. I rode for 10 days this way with no ill effects.

Just my take on it mate....take it or leave it. Others may disagree.

Cheers
Harvy

[andyb]

If you can be absolutely sure that they aren't leaking, don't fix them.  That said, no big surprise if the slave at least isn't leaking sommat.

For the clutch pack itself, you'll need a gasket at the minimum, but tear into it and see how it measures.  When you're putting it back together, replace the diaphram spring with a new one (they lose their oomph over the years, like all springs) at the minimum.  If you don't have slippage now, I'd take a pass on going with a double spring for the time being.  While you're in there, remove and discard the big wire circlip-thing that retains the last pair.

Use the FJR spring, as it's cheaper than the FJ spring, and use OEM parts only, both for the spring and the clutch pack itself (if it measures out as worn).  Avoid the EBC spring as well as the aftermarket clutch kit fibers (i.e., barnett).

There's an absolutely ideal post compiled by captain shinybike that will give you every bit of information on doing all of this.  It can be found here.

[racerrad8]

Use the FJR spring, as it's cheaper than the FJ spring, and use OEM parts only, both for the spring and the clutch pack itself (if it measures out as worn). 

And I have it all available right here; www.RPMRacingCa.com

Randy - RPM

[eddohawk]

Thanks for the advice everyone much appreciated. I think I will replace just the slave at this stage. Once thats done its time for the rear linkage service which doesnt sound like much fun at all. But hey half the fun of owning an older bike is the learning experience that goes with it.

[fb747]

Rear linkages is a bit time consuming but not to difficult. You can pull the whole rear end off in one piece wheel and all, just slip the chain to the side.
Be sure to have a look at the head of the main swingarm bolt. There is a little notch cut out of the head of the bolt wich has to line up with a tab on the side cover thingy.
Do not do what I did and just hit the bolt with a hammer from the other side and go "why the f**k isn't this thing coming out!" because I can tell you from experince that it doesn't get the bolt out.

Happy spanner spinning to ya!