Didn't ride the Kwaka today because a) it was raining and, b) the new clutch springs weren't delivered by our esteemed Royal Mail. I've cleaned the cover and crankcase faces of some sort of sealant goo with brake cleaner and '00' wire wool, plus my fingernails
New friction plates soaked in oil overnight, and installed. Have done my best to clean the clutch housing of bits of wire wool and sealant remnants - wasn't too much but cleanliness is next to engine longevity (wondering if a strong magnet waved about would pick up any minute pieces??).
Although the clutch did slip on occasion, I think my 'noise' was the rear silencer bracket coming loose and making a hell of a squealing noise. I touched it as I was working on the clutch and it instantly made that horrible metal-on-metal racket. My theory is that if that noise had been coming from the engine, I wouldn't have made it home at 80mph down the motorway
Anyway, we shall see. The clutch is very similar to the GF, just better made. However, I noticed that whilst the clutch centre was solid, there was a bit of movement in the basket - hmmm. Not as much as the GF which moves like a plate on a stick, but I didn't expect any discernable movement from the Kwaka basket. Not too much of a hassle to replace (bearing is behind the basket somewhere), but I wouldn't expect to be changing that anytime soon (bike has done 25,000m so far). Just wondering now if the basket will tighten up a bit once all the springs are fully tightened - will see.
Time for beer now
