Hi All. Thoroughly confused about the number of friction and plain steel plates to fit in the clutch. The bike was originally a 1962 Star but has seen umpteen mods in its life. It came with a 4 spring clutch but the basket and centre were badly worn beyond use. I now have a new basket and centre for a 3 spring set up. As far as I can see from manuals, the forum pages and video clips the friction plate is the first to go in with the alternating stack being built up. The stack 'finishes' with a plain plate followed by the pressure plate. However I'm still unsure as to how many of each plate type type should there be? any advice would be welcome! Thanks again. Rob
You need 6 of each. But EVERYTHING about the 4 spring clutch is different I believe to the 3 spring.
So you need the clutch hub, basket, thrust washer, rollers (from memory these are wider), you also need the later 3 spring Cush drive.
Thanks for the info. I have fitted new basket, hub, thrust washer etc so have a complete 3 spring swap over. Have assembled the plates as you indicated and these look correct in the basket i.e. 'filling' it up. All now assembled and looking good. Thanks for the help. Rob
Hi Rob,
Any particular reason you went for a 3 spring rather than replacing the 4,? Just interested. Dave.
Hi Dave. The 4 spring unit was completely trashed as I think I may have mentioned before. I have a huge stash of parts (plus a dismantled 1968 Spitfire) which came with the bike when I bought it and the various clutch bits were all the 3 spring type. I selected the best of the parts with the intention of making a useable assembly from those. I thought best to replace the cush drive rubbers in the centre but I eventually gave up as I just couldn't get it apart. The new centres didn't seem too expensive so I bought another. Life etc got in the way so it was many weeks later I returned to the job and thought, as I'd already replaced the centre with a new one it would probably be best to replace the basket/outer too as I was fitting new plates as well. So with hindsight, yes I should've gone for the 4 spring but inexperience and a piecemeal approach led me to where I am now. Oh well, at least the clutch will be functional and I've learned a lot in the process. I'll know next time as when I've completed this bike I will assess the pile of spares/junk I have (which includes 2 frames, 3 tanks etc etc) and see if there's a viable bike amongst it all. Will keep you abreast of progress!! Rob