98-02 clutch basket in 93 gs?

[CraiGDaniel]

Hi all. Will this complete clutch basket;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUZUKI-GS-500-GS500-COMPLETE-CLUTCH-BASKET-SPRINGS-/220837045277?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item336ae9e41d

Fit a 93 gs500e?

Cheers

[burning1]

Go to http://www.ronayers.com

Dig through the parts fiche. Find the clutch basket for your bike. Click on the item to see a list of bikes that cluch basket was fit to. Expand the list to see every bike it fits. If the part is the same across model years, it will 100% for sure work. If the part number isn't the same, it will probably work, but more research may be needed.

[CraiGDaniel]

Go to http://www.ronayers.com

Dig through the parts fiche. Find the clutch basket for your bike. Click on the item to see a list of bikes that cluch basket was fit to. Expand the list to see every bike it fits. If the part is the same across model years, it will 100% for sure work. If the part number isn't the same, it will probably work, but more research may be needed.

Thanks for the reply.

Following your instructions and some digging i can't make out 100% but it doesn't list 98 basket as compatible.. although i could be wrong as this is a rough glance and seems a little complicated to figure out by a noob.

[burning1]

I'll take a look at the Fiche. First question though is what are you trying to fix on your bike? What problem are you trying to fix? GS500 clutches are *extremely* rugged for the amount of power the engine puts out, and rarely go. Most of the time, when there's a clutch problem it's because of some other issue or adjustment.

With that said, what part of the clutch are you looking to replace? Springs? Basket? Plates?

Thanks.

[burning1]

Although we could cross reference every part of the clutch, the hub, inner basket, and pressure disk are probably the most pertinent parts of the clutch. Those are items 1, 3, and 9 on the Fiche.

Item 1 is part number 21462-14301, and fits up to 98. The Fiche lists it as being superseded by part number 21462-14301, which is the newer clutch basket you're looking at on Ebay. The inner basket hasn't been updated, and the pressure disk has.

Since the parts are listed as superseding the parts on your bike, the manufacturer is stating that they should fit. The only thing you need to watch out for, is that sometimes when a part is updated, you need to buy all the updated components of the entire assembly.

[burning1]

Short version: The clutch assembly will fit your bike just fine. You may or may not be able to mix and match components. Looks like the pressure disks have also been updated a couple of times, so no guarantee they will fit your clutch basket.

[CraiGDaniel]

You're an absolute star mate.

I'm trying to fix a very annoying clutch slip. The clutch is slipping in all gears if i give over half throttle, seems to get better as the bike gets warmer but never goes away.. and has cut my acceleration down to that of a tractor. I have to be slow going through the  gears to avoid a slip.

I assumed a whole clutch basket change would fix this. I havn't actually inspected the clutch basket yet as i can't afford to drain the oil and replace it (only replaced it 200 miles ago) and here in the uk 3Litres of oil is about $45-50 roughly.

What would your suggestion be? Again thanks for a very in-depth response.

[adidasguy]

Slipping clutch is usually clutch cable adjustment. Clutch cable might be too tight.
Check the WIKI for clutch cable adjustment.
I don't think a GS500 clutch goes out unless really abused.

Oh, wait - you changed oil 200 km ago? Is that about when the problem started? If so, maybe the wrong oil used?

Anyway, check the clutch cable first.

[burning1]

Glad I could help out.

With a slipping clutch, the complete basket is absolutely the last thing I would replace. I put 3000 race/track miles on my GS500 and never ever had an issue with my clutch plates. Worst thing that ever happened is that I cooked them from a series of practice starts, and they went back to normal as soon as they cooled down.

First, check that you have the correct amount of free-play in your clutch lever. You should feel like it moves with no resistance a few mm before you start pulling on the lever. If you don't have any freeplay, you can try adjusting the knob on the clutch lever until there is some play, or adjust the nuts located on the countershaft sprocket cover on the left side of the engine.

If that doesn't fix things, There's also an adjustment on the clutch release assembily... It's also located on the countershaft sprocket, under the little cover you see in the in the middle of the sprocket cover.

These two checks will fix about 95% of the clutch problems we see. The stock clutch should be good for 50,000+ miles on a well cared for bike. Generally, wet clutches can stand up to a good bit of abuse, and offer a long service life. We rarely hear about people replacing their clutches on these forums.

Another potential cause of clutch slippage is bad oil; make sure the oil you filled the bike with wasn't an energy conserving formula... If you used a 10w40 oil (car or bike is fine) then it's very unlikely that your oil is energy conserving, but it helps to double check.

If none of these answers fixes your problem, you can inspect the clutch basket it's self. The good news is that you don't have to toss your nice new fill of oil. Thoroughly clean around the oil drain plug, into a *clean* catch pan, and then put the oil into a sealed container for safe keeping. When you're ready to put the bike back together it can be re-used, just be sure to add a little makeup oil to replace whatever you lost during the process. And be clean.

BTW... If you decide to pull the clutch cover, it would be good to have a spare gasket, and possibly some gasket remover handy. Old gaskets are rarely removed without tearing, and that advise will save you from having to wait for a dealer replacement.

[burning1]

BTW, my race bike was a 93. I can attest to the abuse an old bike can take. Finally quit on me a few events after after being run a quart and a half low at race pace. Stupid me. Keep an eye on your oil, folks...

[CraiGDaniel]

Again you're a great help.

The history of the bike is thus;

Purchased 2 months ago, seller advertised as reasonable condition, no service history 12months mot and 40,000 miles (not km).
Second day after purchase, chain snapped. New sprockets & chain were installed.
A week later forks spilled oil everwhere, seals gone & forks pitted.

Took the bike to a mechanic and had him replace with new oem parts;

Clutch cable + all clutch adjustments (so can rule this out i guess)
Fork seals + fork oil + clean up stanchions to extend life and prevent seal break.
Front & Rear brake pads.

He also told me it looked like the bike had been horribly looked after and possibly stood for some years, but checked the important aspects of the bikes functions for me and said he can't see anything dangerous. Must of been a dodgy M.O.T though.


The clutch slip was happening a few days after buying the bike. It gradually got worse, so i switched out the oil filter with a HiFlo new one and some semi-synthetic 10w-40 wet clutch bike oil from a local dealer. The slip dissapeared for about 30 miles and then re-appeared just as bad and is still getting worse.

Just a brief history, felt you could maybe nail the problem down a bit more and help me out as you obviously know what you're talking about.

So i can drain the oil and re-fill aslong as i keep it uncontaminated? That makes me happy. Would it be worth pulling the busket out and getting some high res pics today, and see if you can spot the culprit?


Again thank you very much.

[burning1]

It's possible that the adjustment on the clutch release assembly was missed - I wasn't aware of it until a few weeks ago, and I'm not sure that many other bikes have one... So, double check.

Would recommend double checking the freeplay, just in case. Rule #1 with investigating problems is to never take anything for granted... Always double check yourself. Not trying to suggest anything about your dealer, just suggesting dalliance.

With that said, yes, given the overall condition of the bike, it's totally possible that the clutch is toast. I wouldn't remove the entire basket at this point, I'd just do the following....

1. Remove right side engine cover (make sure to remove the ignition rotor before pulling the clutch cover off.)
2. Pull off the clutch pressure plate
3. Inspect the free-length of the springs (they fatigue, and don't work as well with age.)
4. Inspect the condition of the friction plates (sufficient material?)
5. Inspect the condition of the steel plates (Not blued, not warped.)
6. Inspect the baskets for wear... (If the plates have worn notches in the basket, it can cause the clutch to bind.)

Clutches are pretty simple, but it might be worth getting a manual to make sure you're not missing anything obvious when doing the repairs. Oil leak, or incorrectly torqued bolts can bite you.

FWIW, the clutch you linked on eBay is a very good deal, and might be a bit of an upgrade for the bike.

Yep, you can certainly re-use the oil if it's not contaminated. Although cleanliness is very important, a little dust isn't going to kill anything. I put a about 250ml  of sand through a GSX-R 600 engine during a trackday a while ago (due to a crash), and actually ended up riding a couple miles with the sand in the crank case. I wouldn't recommend it, but it does say something about how rugged the engines are.

I take it the dealer did a through inspection on the bike when you took it in? Given how much has gone wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if there is damage to the chassis bearings, old tires, bad brake fluid, cracked lines, missing hoses, etc. I'd also worry about whether or not the previous owner allowed it to run low on oil.

[adidasguy]

Even if someone said they adjusted the clutch cable, I'd check it myself first before tearing in to the engine.
As a wild idea, also try loosening the cable - turn the adjuster at the clutch lever in a turn or two IN and see what happens.
Possible the clutch cable is sticky and when you release the clutch, it isn't completely releasing. Lube the cable and see what happens.
Clutch mechanism on the left side cover could be sticky. With the cover off, watch it as you pull and release the clutch lever. See that it moves freely.

..... I guess buring1 said everything I had to say. We were posting at the same time.....

[CraiGDaniel]

Thank you both lots.

As suggested i will check the cables, re-adjust everything as per the manual and take it for a spin. Will report back the result.


Cheers guys

[burning1]

..... I guess buring1 said everything I had to say. We were posting at the same time.....

Great minds? 

[CraiGDaniel]

Ok lubed and fiddled with all 3 clutch points, no luck.

Have gone ahead and bought that clutch basket in the link above.

Any tips on taking out the old one and installing the new one? as im a noob any in-depth help would be amazing.


Appreciate it

[gtscott]

pull of rotor cover, remove ignition rotor and pick up, remove clutch cover,
remove the small bolts around the clutch basket, (the ones with springs behind them you can see them in the picture in the link)
remove clutch, it will come out in a patern of metal plate, then friction material plate, and metal plate, friction plate and so on, keep the plates in order, then you need to bend a washer that is around the nut on the main shaft there out of the way so its not locking the nut anymore, then remove the nut and pull off the clutch basket,

assembly is reverse of dissasembly, there is a factory manual online that you should be able to locate fairly easily that goes into more detail