sleeper clutch

[ROD gs rider]

hello gstwins members  it's being a long time but here i am and yhis i have a question how a sleeper clutch works and what it's purpose ? thanks 

[spc]

Do you mean a slipper clutch??  If so, they're used in more powerful bikes to keep noobs from flipping over.

[Kasumi]

Basically in high performance bikes, most notably race bikes, GP bikes, have slipper clutches fitted. A slipper clutch is used to set how much engine braking can take place, when a racer comes into a corner and starts slamming down the gearbox a high compression engine will just lock the wheel up, causing the bike to skid etc etc.... Using a slipper clutch what happens is they set how much engine braking they want to take place, engine braking is what causes the wheel to lock up, and then instead of the wheel locking up the clutch slips which allows the wheel to keep turning instead of locking up.

[ivany]

Basically it prevents the bike from back-torquing the wheel, i.e. engine braking too much. Instead of engine braking past a certain amount of torque, the slipper clutch slips.

It's basically a thingy to keep newbs from hi-siding.

[scottpA_GS]

Kasumi nailed it 

Also.. Un-needed and prob not available for the GS... They usually cost about $1100+ 

[dgyver]

Some additional reading...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slipper_clutch

http://www.yoyodyneti.com/motorcycle_slipper_clutch_operat.htm

[ROD gs rider]

thanks for helping me out in learning more about bikes and sorry for the bother 

[ohgood]

You really shouldn't be riding hard enough to lock the rear on the street. The brakes are adequate for regular riding. The only time down shifting would cause a spill (slide) would be if the road is extremely slick (rain/oil/gravel) or the rider down shifts too quickly.

It's not actually a 'lock up' of the rear wheel, but the wheel turning slower than the road going by. Keep in mind any difference in speed between the wheel and the road means losing traction, beit from acceleration or braking, or downshifting.

You can do allot of braking by engine braking, but as a few people will point out, pads are -allot- cheaper than transmissions and clutches. It's nice to have the right gear ratio selected before a turn, and not be fiddling with guessing which one should be engaged 1/2 way through the turn. Not to mention you're getting into real safety issues like that.

The R1 / R6 kinda bikes I've ridden with all have slippers, but apparently they'll still slide the rear on engine braking. I've noticed some tire smoke just before turns and the brake lights never came on. This means something in the clutch is out of adjustment, or the tires can't keep up with the demands of the speed.

The couple of times I've engine braked too hard on rainy days I've wondered if a slipper clutch would really do any good in slick conditions. I'm guessing not.

[frankieG]

i had the slipper clutch on my gixxere 1k and tlr1000 it was great cuz both bikes were power/torgue crazy and it made for some fun high performance riding