Grabbing clutch when stopped & slipping when in power

[kdx87]

Hi guys im lost to think why my clutch grabs a little when i slow down at the lights to a stop, i have to continuously blip the throttle a bit to make it let go. and then to top it off it slips terribly when i hit the powerband. Different oils seems to change the effects a little. im about to go get 90w gear oil im sick of 10-40w and 20-50w. Its on my 87kdx 200

[kdx87]

Any Thoughts?

[bufftester]

When was the last time you serviced (plates/springs) your clutch pack. The KDXs are known to drag the clutch a little. The clutch slip is likely either misadjustment or worn springs/plates. You do make sure you aren't using energy conserving oil, right?

[kdx87]

I had adjusted the whole clutch and check wear amd all were in spec before i put it in, it slipped from the start. Im not sure what to adjust internally, would tightening the bolts that hold the springs down work, also using 2t gearbox oil should help. Im using castrol gtx 20-50 non synthetic.

[ohgood]

Hi guys im lost to think why my clutch grabs a little when i slow down at the lights to a stop, i have to continuously blip the throttle a bit to make it let go. and then to top it off it slips terribly when i hit the powerband. Different oils seems to change the effects a little. im about to go get 90w gear oil im sick of 10-40w and 20-50w. Its on my 87kdx 200

90w gear oil ? dayum, it's gonna be grabby for sure with that !


how's your clutch cable ? if it's stretched/frayed = grabbing when stopped
how's your springs ? if they've lost temper they'll not hold as well = slipping clutch when riding
how's your basket ? notches in the fingers = grabby, poor disengage, and sometimes, poor engagement too (highly notched fingers)

give the clutch pack a wash with kerosene, dry, then soak in oil (whatever you plan to run) and try again. i'm running rotella 15/40, and don't have issues with grabbing / slipping at all, and i'm near the service limit of both springs and fiber plates. keep in mind the clutch will always be grabby when cold, until the oil warms up and the rust is knocked off the plates. give 'her a little rock back/forth in a high gear before you start it up and hold the clutch in, that will break any stiction from rust/water. then start 'her up and warm her up :)

[bbsdaddy1221]

Bel ray gear Seaver 85w is the ticket. It's not really 85w but it has the lubing properties of real 85 but the viscosity of 10/30 and let me tell ya that stuff made me bottom end like new and it shifted very bad to start. Run about 2 changes cycles with it and you won't regret it

[kdx87]

Thanks guys, i pulled the clutch apart and inspected everything with micrometers, everything is within spec however the manual says spring free length should be approx 20mm, mine is 30mm, and its a clutch for the kx 125 as its imlrinted on it. I also dont know the tourque of the clutch spring bolts.

[bufftester]

the spring bolt torque is pretty low, on the later bikes its only like 68 inch-pounds IIRC. The 86-87 KDX and the KX 125 had the same springs and clutch plates (and a bunch of other odds and ends, just didn't check them all), so what part is stamped KX? With the longer springs you should have the opposite problem of clutch never disengaging fully instead of slipping which is normally what happens when the springs wear and shorten. Regardless, you need to get the corect bits back in and properly assembled and all your issues should resolve.

[kdx87]

The plate that holds the plqtes down has kx125 on it and the springs are oversize, whats the correct tourque for the spring bolts

[kdx87]

Problem solved must of been that the plates were sticking together as some were really hard to unstick, put everything back together and its all beautiful, gave a crf450x a run for his money yesterday, must of been disappointed he couldn't exactly pull away from such a bike to easy.