Kwaka clutch slip?

[Worty]

I'm going to be a bit cheeky here, and ask a quick question about the Kwaka.  I know many of you own moderns as well as the old sweethearts, so here goes.  Coming back from my lovely break, I was winding the Kwak up on a M62 slip road.  As I did so, and got to some decent revs, the engine seemed to 'slip'.  It felt a bit like on and off clutch slip, where the engine revs increased very briefly then went back to normal.  This happened twice on the slip road in quick succession, but never before or since, even uphill with a headwind and the throttle wide open.  I wondered if the beastie has a sort of cush drive where the engine can turn over against a big spring if under too much load.  Have tested the clutch in all sorts of ways and it ain't slipping!  Could it be an arrangement on the bevel drive?

[muskrat]

G'day Worty.
Strange that it's only happened once, but that's the only thing I can think of.
I don't know how the Kwaka drives but most moderns have "cush" rubbers in the clutch and/or in the rear hub.
Could it have been wheel spin on the off ramp oil slick?
Cheers

[KiwiGF]

I'm going to be a bit cheeky here, and ask a quick question about the Kwaka.  I know many of you own moderns as well as the old sweethearts, so here goes.  Coming back from my lovely break, I was winding the Kwak up on a M62 slip road.  As I did so, and got to some decent revs, the engine seemed to 'slip'.  It felt a bit like on and off clutch slip, where the engine revs increased very briefly then went back to normal.  This happened twice on the slip road in quick succession, but never before or since, even uphill with a headwind and the throttle wide open.  I wondered if the beastie has a sort of cush drive where the engine can turn over against a big spring if under too much load.  Have tested the clutch in all sorts of ways and it ain't slipping!  Could it be an arrangement on the bevel drive?

Have you changed the oil recently? I once put 20/50 gtx in my suzuki 1400 v twin (now sold), then discovered the clutch slipped a little, due to the “friction modifiers” I guess, problem went away after changing the oil to one suitable for wet clutches.

[muskrat]

Good point Kiwi.
I did that back in the 80's in a bike with wet clutch. Years ago I did the same in the plunger. Took a while to find it's way in but spasmodic clutch slip till I pulled out the friction plates and washed them.
Cheers

[Triton Thrasher]

Have you changed the oil recently? I once put 20/50 gtx in my suzuki 1400 v twin (now sold), then discovered the clutch slipped a little, due to the “friction modifiers” I guess, problem went away after changing the oil to one suitable for wet clutches.

It was a common problem when young idiots had 1970s Japanese bikes.  20W/50 was the commonest oil and sometimes they found tins of it in their dad’s shed.  It didn’t agree with Japanese clutches, because it was too thick.

[muskrat]

Have you changed the oil recently? I once put 20/50 gtx in my suzuki 1400 v twin (now sold), then discovered the clutch slipped a little, due to the “friction modifiers” I guess, problem went away after changing the oil to one suitable for wet clutches.

It was a common problem when young idiots had 1970s Japanese bikes.  20W/50 was the commonest oil and sometimes they found tins of it in their dad’s shed.  It didn’t agree with Japanese clutches, because it was too thick.

Mainly due to the friction modifiers.
Cheers

[Triton Thrasher]

The plates used to stick together and drag horribly.