which clutch to buy?

[spyke]

Hi chaps,

Bad news is Ive just had to sell my lovely Moto Guzzi Griso for financial reasons, good news is theres some dosh left over to speed the A10 build up a bit!
Therefore going to purchase a 4 spring Triumph type clutch for my A10 in the next week or so, anyone recommend a particular one or source.
Are  the varoius ones either on flea bay or other internet sources all the same or not?

Cheers Spyke

[chaterlea25]

Hi Spyke,
Sad news about the Guzzi
To the best of my knowledge there are "various" clutches available
There seems to be nearly a £100 quid difference in the prices
I believe some of the chainwheels etc come fromfar Eastern countries??
Also beware of the centres as there have been some around badly made and even with the scroll cut in the wrong direction The depth of the taper hole also needs to be correct for the A10
There are many and various qualities of clutch plates available, Surflex are probably the best but also the most expensive by a long shot

I would only buy from a reputable supplier who you can talk to beforehand and who will stand over their products
An alloy pressure plate with the radial needle roller thrust bearing is a welcome and worthwhile addition

HTH
John O R

[muskrat]

G'day Spyke,
                      tell the cook you can't find a good 4 spring so you will have to get a belt primary  . I luv mine.
Cheers

[andy2565]

I'M GOING FOR A BELT DRIVE,RUNS DRY AND I CAN USE MY SPEEDWAY FIBRE PLATES,WHICH ARE THE SAME AS NEB AND JAWA,WHICH I HAVE LOADS,FROM ROY SHEARWOOD OR AUTOCYCLE.

[alanp]

Andy when you say fibre plates I hope you mean they are one piece fibre like on Bob Newby's which I have on my Goldie? If so they can run dry.
If you're an idiot like me you'll buy a well known belt drive kit for my RGS with the intention of running it dry and then find that the friction plates are steel backed running against an aluminium clutch basket and have to run wet. Not to mention the oil scroll thread on the clutch adaptor was the wrong hand so helped the oil out of the back of the casing with none of the correct scroll thread hand available...sore subject. £600 worth of belt drive junk on my garage floor...while I still run with oil and chain drive. Can't see the point of belt drives if you still have to put oil in the primary casing for the money involved.

[Duncan R]

Hi Spyke,

I have just recieved my complete clutch unit off of Fleabay. Providing the clutch centre comes off, I will be fitting it tomorrow so let you know how it goes. It looks good quality (to my untrained eye) I bit the bullet and splashed out as I cannot tolarate the single spring M20 unit that had been grafted on there. It was impossable to adjust, you could have it dragging or slipping (or sometimes both!) to be fair the plates looked pretty shot and there seems to be a huge number of plates in there and it would have cost me a fortune to replace them anyway. I have been looking for 4 spring secondhand for ages and there just don't seem to be any around. I could not justify a belt drive as I plan an engine overhaul over the winter.

[andy2565]

thanks for the info alan,i'll investigate before i buy,i have run belt drives before on my metisse and i fitted a dry neb clutch to my norton cafe racer which ran great,but i will ask before i buy,i believe roy shearwood uses them on his goldstar racer.

[Duncan R]

Hi Spyke,

I have fitted my fleabay clutch and have now done about 100 miles. So far so good, I am very pleased with it. It feels nice and light with a smooth take up. Everything fitted well and I can select neutral when stopped. I have even managed to get an oil tight primary case, which I am pleased with as it was running dry before and there was no chaincase front spacer or gaskets and no sliding plate and felt washer which made me wonder if there was a reason it was run dry. Anyway recommend the clutch if you want a reasonably priced replacement

[andy2565]

would it be correct that if you fitted one of the converted suzuki clutch's or alike,that they would have to run in an oil bath,more oil than a standard bsa clutch.

[chaterlea25]

Good question Andy!!!!
If you go to Rocket Racers posts we have been haveing some discussion there,
The chap solling the Pearson clutch I spoke to said that more oil than BSA said was needed????
Anyway hopefully soon enough these questiond will be answered when I get mine together!!!!
If you think about it the BSA will only deliver less than half the power of the Suzi so the clutch will well up to it

Cheers
John O R

[andy2565]

i agree,i think you would have to run alot more oil than the normal bsa clutch measure of oil,and also the more modern oil,made for the japanese wet clutches,and try and keep them cases oil tight.

[chaterlea25]

Hi Andy,
I have the chaincase oiltight on my SR, I did away with the felt washer and glued a cork one in its place, I had to carefully sand it to the correct thickness so as to clear the back of the clutch, I used non setting gasket sealer on the sliding plate side and made a new centre for the sliding plate that incorporates a hydraulic seal
I then had to fit a breather to the inspection cover as there was no way for the air to escape as it heated up

I'm having thoughts of a support bearing and oilseal type centre for my RGS ???? ???? ????

That said recently I made a new centre for a sliding plate to the original design and rivited it in, I made it a snug fit on the clutch adaptor, this has not leaked to any degree yet
I rejected a couple of new sliding plates as the hole were neither circular or a good fit on the centre

Cheers
John O R

[sinbad]

Hey duncan,
                  do you know which model your triumph clutch came from?. Can anyone tell me any other models with the 4 spring clutch that fit the a10. cheers.

[trevinoz]

Sinbad,
               You answered your own question.
Five plate Triumph clutches fit with the BSA adapter. They have a cush hub which is no problem but fitting a tab washer is a bit of a pain.
You can also use a three spring hub with the simplex basket but you need to modify the hub with a stop flange.
I don't know if any other model BSA used this clutch.
Trev.

[Duncan R]

Hi Sinbad,

The clutch I bought was compleatley new and came with an adaptor. There are a least 2 traders that sell them. I assume it is just a copy of the Triumph 4 spring clutch. The clutches are listed as BSA spares.