Quote from: Suzuki Stevo on January 21, 2016, 06:44:13 PM
The only way possible for an adjustment to make the clutch slip is to have the rough adjustment #6 too tight (No free play, holding clutch open) if you have it backed it out 1/4-1/2 a turn and it still slips, you're gunna have to pull the right case to see what's up with the basket.

Mine slipped the 1st time I adjusted according to the manual. Just keep backing it out or use the major adjuster screw for some slack.

All right. Here's the scoop.

The gasket was busted. Had one large and one small tear near the top. There was also a leak near the bottom, but I'm not quite sure where that was coming from, as the bottom of the gasket looks fine. There is a large plug on the bottom of the cover, could that be the source?





The springs look pretty great. Manual says service limit for the clutch coil springs is 60.8mm and their average measurement is 63.24mm. So that's a small load off.

Then we get to the clutch plates. All seven were present; but on first glance, they don't look so good to me. They look burned and abused. Is this is how they normally look after some wear? Perhaps someone can fill me in on that.

I observed the metal plates to stick to the fiber plates a smidge, but not really sure if that's normal, either.

Service Limit for the fiber plates is 2.62mm. Standard measurements are 2.92mm - 3.08mm. Average measurement for these were 2.93mm. Some were below that. Shortest plate was 2.89mm and tallest was 3.01mm. So majority of these plates are minimum standard.





I haven't measured the metal plates. Is it possible to do that with the vernier caliper, or do I need to buy a set of gauges?

Well, seems I'm in need of some new plates, regardless. Is OEM a must, or is aftermarket for these things acceptable? I'd appreciate a link to a reputable place in which I could purchase some.

I'm pretty dumbfounded that this bike is approximately 12,000 miles on it and these plates are in these condition. Baffles me. I had my suspicions previously, but I feel as though this confirms that my bike hasn't been well cared for in the past. Ah, well. It's mine now 

Thoughts?

I can't speak for burnt /abused fiber plates. But is there a tolerance for the thickness of the steel plates? I can't imagine them ever wearing out though...... did you check the flatness of the steel plates on a piece of glass?

Manual indicates that steel plates can become distorted and to check it with a thickness gauge. I can't check the specs right now, though.

I don't think the flatness is the issue. In the manual it shows a picture of the thickness gauge measuring along the face of the plate. I imagine they're wanting to check for uniformity around the ring.

12,000 miles is plenty of time to ruin a clutch.  The images look ok to me, I can't see anything wrong with them but that doesn't really mean anything.  Here is a set of used plates, these also look ok to me:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/04-09-SUZUKI-GS500F-Clutch-Plates-Discs-/171891146500?hash=item280582bf04:g:3nUAAOSw9N1Vy3AP&vxp=mtr

Your clutch plates aren't at the service limit, just at the low end of the standard range (which I interpret as the thickness of the item when it is new, but... ??) perhaps the clutch was damaged by incorrect oil or something?

The manual doesn't list a thickness for the steel plates, just a distortion limit of .1mm or .004in.  You would put the plate on a flat surface and see if you can slide a feeler gauge under.  A mirror is probably flat enough.  If the steel plates are distorted that could lead to slipping.




Are you sure you were adjusting the cable correctly?  Did you have some free-play in the clutch lever?

What's the tolerance for a GS500? You can put the plate on a picture frame and get something with a similar thickness to use as a gauge (Google helps with that). At least you can see if they are distorted at all.

Could be a previous owner was a trainee Burnout Master!

Maybe one of these sorry fools was the previous owner of your motorcycle

https://youtu.be/oebzAIZEfxQ

Quote from: lucas on February 04, 2016, 08:39:07 PM

Your clutch plates aren't at the service limit, just at the low end of the standard range (which I interpret as the thickness of the item when it is new, but... ??) perhaps the clutch was damaged by incorrect oil or something?

I measured the plates just now in the area between the pad. The "service limit" measurement for the fiber pads is the pads pretty much being ground down to nothing. So I think 2.62mm is a pretty extreme case. Shouldn't let them get that bad. Regardless, these plates are all at or below the minimum standard measurement that is called for, so I think they're no good. They're only going to get worse in the future, ya know?

Quote from: lucas on February 04, 2016, 08:39:07 PM

The manual doesn't list a thickness for the steel plates, just a distortion limit of .1mm or .004in.  You would put the plate on a flat surface and see if you can slide a feeler gauge under.  A mirror is probably flat enough.  If the steel plates are distorted that could lead to slipping.

I see, I misread the manual. Put them on a flat surface and measure beneath with a feeler gauge. Duh me, 

Quote from: lucas on February 04, 2016, 08:39:07 PM

Are you sure you were adjusting the cable correctly?  Did you have some free-play in the clutch lever?

100% Sure. I did it according to the manual many, many times. I even tried many variations of my own making. None worked well or for long. I go over that in greater detail earlier in the thread.

Quote from: Big Rich on February 04, 2016, 08:39:39 PM
What's the tolerance for a GS500? You can put the plate on a picture frame and get something with a similar thickness to use as a gauge (Google helps with that). At least you can see if they are distorted at all.

0.10mm. In other words, really small. I'll be buying some feeler gauges to check them. May as well go all out while it's apart, right?

Quote from: Janx101 on February 04, 2016, 09:03:45 PM
Could be a previous owner was a trainee Burnout Master!

Burning out on a GS... 

Iarn, when I had my old Honda the tolerance for the valve tappets was ridiculously small (I can't  remember exactly at the moment). Without buying some specialty feeler gauge, I found out that a sliver of aluminum from a soda / beer can was a great makeshift feeler gauge...... but never recommended it to anybody else because the aluminum could rip apart and fall down inside the engine.

But it sounds like you're on the right track for getting your clutch back on track.

Quote from: Big Rich on February 05, 2016, 01:01:02 PM
Iarn, when I had my old Honda the tolerance for the valve tappets was ridiculously small (I can't  remember exactly at the moment). Without buying some specialty feeler gauge

Older Honda's use to be .002 In /.003 Ex, at least the ones I owned from the 70's and 80's, and the hot ticket was the special gauge with .002/.003 @ a 45°, I have one around here somewhere?

So I got a feeler gauge and put those metal plates on a glass table. The 0.10mm didn't slide in too easily. Not without some force, so I guess they're within spec. Still not feeling How burned up they look, though. Not sure what kind of stresses the heat put them on.

Back to my earlier question. Does anyone here have any experience with these fiber plates and knowledge about possible replacement options? Is OEM a must or is aftermarket perfectly fine? That'll determine if I get some plates of unknown origin from Ebay, or something from Bikebandit. Thanks!

This is the 64,000 dollar question.

Do you buy OEM, name brand, no-name, or cheap replica.  In this case it's pretty obvious that a replica is out of the question, so no $2.99 clutch deals.

The two factors that affect your performance are the slip friction characteristics and the longevity of the clutch plates.

BUT the two things that people review clutch plates on are the appearance and whether it fits.  I imagine you could come across people who day the clutch plates broke into pieces, but I've never heard of that before.

So the two things you care about are the things people can't objectively comment on.  Evaluating the feel of a clutch is totally subjective and people can over- or under-estimate how abusive they are to their clutch.

Vehicle manufactures don't have a monopoly on good products and processes.  In fact vehicle manufactures typically don't make many of the products that are installed on the vehicle but buy things like clutch and brake components from companies who specialize in those products.   

As far as I know there is no one who is studying the performance, longevity, and wear characteristics of different clutches and then publishing that information.  So like the rest of us you are on your own to make your decision about which product to trust and which marketing slogans to listen to.

Guess I'll just bite the bullet and get the OEM pads. Those obviously work, given they're in thousands of GS. Would rather pay the extra for the peace of mind rather than paying $50 for a pack of pads twice and the time of replacing them twice on top of that.

How did this resolve?  Have you replaced the clutch pack yet?

Unresolved. She's still sitting apart in my garage. I've got to wait for tax return and then another week or so for the parts to come in after that. I'll update once I get the new plates in there. I just hope they fix the issue.   

Time for an update.

The new fiber and metal plates are in. They seem to engage fine. I haven't had an opportunity to really test it though due to a seeming complication...

The oil pressure light is coming on, now. It isn't at full brightness, though. It's about 50% brightness. It's pretty strange. It's on when the bike runs, but when I kill the bike with the kill switch it gets substantially brighter, like it usually does when you kill it that way. I'm paranoid to take the bike very far now.

Not sure what to do. Heh

EDIT: Well, in spite of the wonky light, I foolishly put my bike through it's paces and the slip is gone as of now. I hope it's gone forever. I'm not surprised now that the other plates and fibers weren't holding considering how scorched they were.

Thanks for all the help.

That's good news.  The oil light thing is odd.

The oil pressure sensor is located in the engine side cover that you removed.  Perhaps you blocked the sensor with the gasket or with RTV silicone?  Hopefully someone with specific experience in this can offer some advice for you.

Here's an idea.  You may have a slight connection to ground somewhere on the wire leading to the oil pressure sensor.

I'm not sure how you could test this... I'll try to think of a way.

If the oil light problem started directly after draining/refilling its possible the gallery directly behind the switch has a trapped air bubblet in it.

Try unscrewing the sensor and letting some oil out, like you would if you were bleeding a radiator.