Gl1200 clutch question

[made2care]

Is the task of rebuilding a clutch very involved on a gl 1200. Must the engine be removed?

 

[ekvh]

Octane and a few have done 1000 clutches still in the frame. It would be too tight for me. I am guessing it can be done, but can't say for sure.

 

[dan filipi]

The clutch in this 1984 1200 motor I have is held together under pressure requiring the pack be compressed to remove a spring clip. Different than I've seen on both the 1000 and 1100's, and I'm not sure if the same goes for all 1200's. I'm not sure how one would compress it while in the bike to remove the plates separately, or if the entire pack can be removed as a unit.

 

[Denver]

Yes, all but the outer basket can be removed with the motor in the frame. :salute:

 

[made2care]

Okay, here's the scoop. And a quick message to PurpleGl1200I, I haven't forgotten you, will keep you posted too.

I have an amazing deal that just arose. I text the owner with some questions. This is on a 1987 Gl1200.

This bike is listed with a slight clutch issue. Here is the conversation:

Me to seller-
"You mentioned a clutch pad? You had a dealer look at it and they said it needs a new clutch pad. Does the bike shift at all? Is it locked in gear?"

Seller to me-
"It does shift, it's not locked in gear or anything like that, its just getting worn, so its acting like the clutch isn't engaging all the way when you try to shift, so I would have to pull the clutch bar in really hard in order to shift but it does go through all of the gears fine, just needs a new pad is what i was told" Conversation ended.

Me to Classicgoldwing members- What are your thoughts on this? Here are my thoughts: This bike has a hydraulic clutch correct? Therefore it could be the line or slave cylinder? I have never heard the term "pad" for a clutch. is this the same as plate?

Thanks for your help.

 

[joedrum]

hmmm could be master lever on the bar is not fully coming out all the way or going in ....my bike has a 1500 front master lever on it and it was doing that ..all it took eventually was taking it apart and cleaning it back up ....

 

[made2care]

joedrum » 6 minutes ago[/url]":sh65sk5c]
hmmm could be master lever on the bar is not fully coming out all the way or going in ....my bike has a 1500 front master lever on it and it was doing that ..all it took eventually was taking it apart and cleaning it back up ....

Forgot about that. Thanks.

 

[dan filipi]

It does sound like a hydro problem rather than a clutch problem.

 

[Ansimp]

+1 :good:

 

[Rednaxs60]

Read a thread (the forum escapes me) about a fellow who did a 1200 clutch rebuild with the engine in the bike. Had to be very creative to get it done. Most times the engine has to come out, especially the '85 LTD and '86 SEi (the engine has to be removed to do the clutch on these two bikes). The steel and friction plates are still available from aftermarket and Honda.

There is a damper plate that is fitted in the middle of the clutch stack that consists of two steel plates riveted together with metal strips of spring steel keeping them apart. The rivets wear over time; however, I don't think this would give you the symptoms you are mentioning. This damper plate, item #6 on the parts fiche for the clutch, is rare and hard to find (I found one in Florida and replaced mine when I did some engine work this past summer). It is also recommend to replace the lock washer for the clutch stack nut (another hard to find item).

There is a "bin the damper" thread(s) on this forum. It is quite interesting and I actually tried it. This is where you replace the damper with two steel plates and reinstall the clutch stack. It apparently works well for the 1000/1100 bike, but I found the difference between the clutch stack with the damper replacement and the damper installed to be approximately 0.025 inch less with the damper mod installed. I was not happy with this much play in the clutch stack so I replaced the damper with a new one. This was on my '85 LTD so the results may be different on the non-EFI models.

I would check the clutch lever bushing that actuated the push rod for the clutch MC. these wear and will affect clutch operation. It has be mentioned on some other threads that is bushing has worn so much that the clutch MC push rod has pushed through the lever bushing and then you have real problems.

A flush of the hydraulic system would be good as mentioned. Rebuild of the clutch slave is inexpensive and ones not take a lot of time. I found a lot of crud in the slave cylinder on my bike from what I surmise as lack of flushing the system every two years or so.

Has this bike towed a trailer? This is hard on any bike clutch. When I rebuilt the clutch on my bike (the PO had towed a trailer) every steel plate showed signs of being overheated (blue around the outer edges - 123K Kms on my bike) and because of this I replaced all the steel plates. Another question to ask.

To summarize, check the clutch lever bushing first, then flush the system, then rebuild the slave and MC if necessary before a rebuild of the clutch.

Just a few thoughts on the issue.

Cheers