Clutch Question

[MeanGreen02]

Hi everyone! Just picked up a 2000 KDX220R that has been sitting for a while. Last thing left to do is get this clutch replace. I watched all the videos that were recommended on this forum, but i can't seem to figure out why after assembling it, the clutch is near impoossible to pull in. took the cable out and tried to engage the clutch with a adjustable wrench and it won't budge. Any ideas?

Things i've done:

• Soaks the frictions disks over night

• There's a washer behind the basket, then a washer on the other side where the rest of the clucth assembly slide on.

• I checked to make sure i have the flat ring and the judder ring placed correctly.

• I made sure when the 2 big piece that comes together, are aligned. There's no gap.

• The last friction is on the offset groove

• When i tighten the 4 clutch spring bolts down to 80 in pound, it looks like the springs are almost completely compressed. Is that normal? When i have it half way in, i can compress the clutch by hand and see the 2 piece seperate, like how i imagine would happen when you pull the clutch lever in

i have the basket nut with the washer on at 60ft pound. When i button everything up, i still cant pull the clutch lever, it feels like it's stuck.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Here's some photos of the clutch assembled before going into the basket. I don't know how to add photos, so here's the link the my album. https://photos.app.goo.gl/4u4Pbpf5GQFQHxuB7

[ss109]

Something in your stack is wrong. Can you post a pic on the exact order you have it in? Here is how to post a pic: viewtopic.php?t=24128

[MeanGreen02]

Something in your stack is wrong. Can you post a pic on the exact order you have it in? Here is how to post a pic: viewtopic.php?t=24128

Here's a picture of the clutch stack.

Clutch Hub.jpg (510.66 KiB) Viewed 3693 times

I also noticed some burrs on the edges of the clutch pack that mesh together with the clutch wheel. I had the clutch pack in the basket and took the 4 spring bolts out and tested pushing and pulling on the clutch wheel by holding on to those 4 towers and it was sliding in and out but not freely. Could those burrs causing it to be stuck when under tension when the springs/bolts are installed?

clutch hub burr.jpg (970.38 KiB) Viewed 3693 times

[MeanGreen02]

Here's a video of what I was thinking might be happening with those burrs. Hope this link works.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DBH55wJK8iRHSusL6

[ss109]

I also noticed some burrs on the edges of the clutch pack that mesh together with the clutch wheel. I had the clutch pack in the basket and took the 4 spring bolts out and tested pushing and pulling on the clutch wheel by holding on to those 4 towers and it was sliding in and out but not freely. Could those burrs causing it to be stuck when under tension when the springs/bolts are installed?

Anything is possible. I would take a small file to those burrs and dress them. Then check it again for movement. By any chance, did you check your spring length and, if so, what is it?

[MeanGreen02]

I also noticed some burrs on the edges of the clutch pack that mesh together with the clutch wheel. I had the clutch pack in the basket and took the 4 spring bolts out and tested pushing and pulling on the clutch wheel by holding on to those 4 towers and it was sliding in and out but not freely. Could those burrs causing it to be stuck when under tension when the springs/bolts are installed?

Anything is possible. I would take a small file to those burrs and dress them. Then check it again for movement. By any chance, did you check your spring length and, if so, what is it?

I should have used a caliper but a quick check with the tape measure was pretty close to 1.5in. My stack is in the right order right?

[Chuck78]

Any updates on this? What brand are the friction discs and springs that you installed? That might be your problem, they are not quite the right spec and therefore you cannot ever disengage the clutch, as the clutch release mechanism has no travel left.

[MeanGreen02]

Any updates on this? What brand are the friction discs and springs that you installed? That might be your problem, they are not quite the right spec and therefore you cannot ever disengage the clutch, as the clutch release mechanism has no travel left.

I dont know the brand of the friction or steel disks, or the springs. It was on the bike when I bought it. Guy I got it from had the oil drained out of it and left it in storage for like 5 years. He gave me the old frictions and steel. Odd though, there were 8 frictions and only 6 steels.

Anyway, took the caliper to everything. Springs were between 38.22mm to 38.42mm. Frictions were 3.00 +.02 for some. Steels were all 1.37mm +.02 for some. I measured the older frictions and steel disk and were similar measurements with the newer ones.

I removed the frictions and steel and tested just the hub and springs only and I was able to get movement like I was expecting. So a bit of a head scratcher.

Looked at the photo of the springs. Doesnt look oem as it has more coils. Saw somewhere oem has around 6-7 coils, EBC has around 9. So maybe some new springs will help.

Screenshot_20260613_214617_Gallery.jpg (1.62 MiB) Viewed 2941 times

[ss109]

Quick test, on the top friction on the stack, put it in line with the rest of the stack. It doesn't matter anyway, being offset, so give it a shot and see if it moves then.

[JimmyB]

Any updates on this? What brand are the friction discs and springs that you installed? That might be your problem, they are not quite the right spec and therefore you cannot ever disengage the clutch, as the clutch release mechanism has no travel left.

I dont know the brand of the friction or steel disks, or the springs. It was on the bike when I bought it. Guy I got it from had the oil drained out of it and left it in storage for like 5 years. He gave me the old frictions and steel. Odd though, there were 8 frictions and only 6 steels.

Anyway, took the caliper to everything. Springs were between 38.22mm to 38.42mm. Frictions were 3.00 +.02 for some. Steels were all 1.37mm +.02 for some. I measured the older frictions and steel disk and were similar measurements with the newer ones.

I removed the frictions and steel and tested just the hub and springs only and I was able to get movement like I was expecting. So a bit of a head scratcher.

Looked at the photo of the springs. Doesnt look oem as it has more coils. Saw somewhere oem has around 6-7 coils, EBC has around 9. So maybe some new springs will help.

Screenshot_20260613_214617_Gallery.jpg

If those are EBC springs I think there is a problem with them with too many coils or too thick of wire causing coil bind, do you have a original set of springs?

[John_S]

My money would be on those springs being the problem. They seem like they would be all the way compressed by the time you tighten the bolts. Look up a pic of OEM springs on a takeoff ebay clutch for sale. They have much more space to compress.

[MeanGreen02]

Quick test, on the top friction on the stack, put it in line with the rest of the stack. It doesn't matter anyway, being offset, so give it a shot and see if it moves then.

Same thing. Doesnt move. I ordered some oem springs. Thats the only thing I can think of, everything else is correctly installed. When I tighten them down, they look completely compressed.

Its a hail mary, not sure theres much left to test if the springs doesn't work.

[MeanGreen02]

My money would be on those springs being the problem. They seem like they would be all the way compressed by the time you tighten the bolts. Look up a pic of OEM springs on a takeoff ebay clutch for sale. They have much more space to compress.

Thats my hunch now. Not a whole lot left. The oem are about 6-7 coils depending on how you count them. These are 9 coils. We'll see when the new springs come in from rocky mountain. I'll update everyone incase they run into the same issue in the future.

[MeanGreen02]

Any updates on this? What brand are the friction discs and springs that you installed? That might be your problem, they are not quite the right spec and therefore you cannot ever disengage the clutch, as the clutch release mechanism has no travel left.

I dont know the brand of the friction or steel disks, or the springs. It was on the bike when I bought it. Guy I got it from had the oil drained out of it and left it in storage for like 5 years. He gave me the old frictions and steel. Odd though, there were 8 frictions and only 6 steels.

Anyway, took the caliper to everything. Springs were between 38.22mm to 38.42mm. Frictions were 3.00 +.02 for some. Steels were all 1.37mm +.02 for some. I measured the older frictions and steel disk and were similar measurements with the newer ones.

I removed the frictions and steel and tested just the hub and springs only and I was able to get movement like I was expecting. So a bit of a head scratcher.

Looked at the photo of the springs. Doesnt look oem as it has more coils. Saw somewhere oem has around 6-7 coils, EBC has around 9. So maybe some new springs will help.

Screenshot_20260613_214617_Gallery.jpg

If those are EBC springs I think there is a problem with them with too many coils or too thick of wire causing coil bind, do you have a original set of springs?

I don't but I have some coming.

[MeanGreen02]

The springs was 100% the issue for me. Put some oem in and its working as it should. Lever pull feels like a normal lever pull should be. Adding a photo of the oem springs (top) and what was in the bike (bottom) for reference for anyone in the future that run into what I did.

20260615_201946.jpg (3.93 MiB) Viewed 1313 times

[SpruceItUp]

Glad to see you got it fixed!
I'd be curious of what those springs are for / who made them. I put some EBC springs in my 92 KDX and although they work, they make the clutch pull quite hard. I've dealt with it for about a year now, but I think I will go back to OEM as I'm tired of such a difficult pull. My old springs were out of spec, so I got new ones, as I was going through my entire clutch. I'd be tempted to make my actuator arm longer but I don't think I currently possess the skills to do so.

Thanks for the update!

[MeanGreen02]

Glad to see you got it fixed!
I'd be curious of what those springs are for / who made them. I put some EBC springs in my 92 KDX and although they work, they make the clutch pull quite hard. I've dealt with it for about a year now, but I think I will go back to OEM as I'm tired of such a difficult pull. My old springs were out of spec, so I got new ones, as I was going through my entire clutch. I'd be tempted to make my actuator arm longer but I don't think I currently possess the skills to do so.

Thanks for the update!

I saw somewhere that the manual had incorrect specs on the springs. The ones I put in today were used that I found locally. I actually ordered new oem ones from rocky mountain. Should be in tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll put a caliper on it and let you know what they are. The used one I have now was showing 36.5mm. The book was calling for 38.7mm and serviceable limit was 37.2.

[SpruceItUp]

I saw somewhere that the manual had incorrect specs on the springs. The ones I put in today were used that I found locally. I actually ordered new oem ones from rocky mountain. Should be in tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll put a caliper on it and let you know what they are. The used one I have now was showing 36.5mm. The book was calling for 38.7mm and serviceable limit was 37.2.

I happened to note that as well when I was changing the springs on my 92. My new ones measured out of specification (EBC) but I chalked it up to them being heavier than OEM. My old ones were also out of specification, but they were not causing the clutch to slip.
I don't have specific numbers on hand, all I remember is both my new and old springs measured out of the spec that was in the manual.

[ss109]

Wow, wonder where those springs came from? I'm happy the solution has been found and now you can ride!