Barnett Clutch Upgrade - With Pictures

The Barnett clutch was installed this evening. Took about an hour since I also cleaned up the areas I normally can't get to. Also took 15 minutes to find my darn 1/4 ratchet (never did find it - one of the kids must have borrowed it and forgot to put it back - Grrrrr).

As promised, here is the installation with pictures.

Here is the Barnett clutch plate as received.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-rLB7KNp/0/M/P1000116-M.jpg

These are the tools required. Ball end Allen wrenches, mechanics picks, and an in-lb torque wrench. Not shown is a 10mm socket/combo wrench for removing the Stebel horn (if installed - not sure if you need to remove a stock horn) and the stock spring holder ring. You will also need a pair of needle nose pliers.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-FQTRxKX/0/M/P1000118-M.jpg

Put the bike on the side stand and put an oil pan under the clutch cover side. No need to drain the oil unless you smoked your clutch. Then an oil change would be needed. Put the transmission in neutral.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-JGw69SQ/0/M/P1000119-M.jpg

Take off the horn and hang it from the rear foot board with a piece of coat hanger.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-4xXPJzH/0/M/P1000120-M.jpg

Take the cover off the clutch. Pay attention to where the bolts go. There are two different length bolts. I suggest taking a piece of corrugated (cardboard), draw the cover shape including the oil fill for reference. Use a small screw driver to poke holes and insert the bolts in the appropriate location in the pattern. You may notice the gasket stayed intact on the engine. I reused it.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-j9rgXjB/0/M/P1000121-M.jpg

Remove the 6 bolts holding the spring in place and remove the spring and pressure plate.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-v7v9BWC/0/M/P1000122-M.jpg

Here are the parts removed.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-Zck5Cvw/0/M/P1000123-M.jpg

Note the notches in the friction plate edges and the two punch marks on the clutch cage. This is important when reinstalling.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-sFfdMgK/0/M/P1000124-M.jpg

This is where the mechanics picks come in handy. Makes the removal of the clutch disks really easy.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-Gv4cfxF/0/M/P1000126-M.jpg

When all is removed, it looks like this.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-V3w5RwF/0/M/P1000127-M.jpg

I had done the Freebird mod which removes the inner half friction disk and small bellville spring and replaces it with a full disk. This mod reduces the friction zone on the clutch handle. I wanted the additional friction zone so I am putting the half and half back in. Here are the pieces including the wire. You are supposed to use a new wire every time. However, I was really careful when removing it and am reusing my old wire (plus, I didn't think ahead of time to buy a new one).

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-7C5gF4Z/0/M/P1000128-M.jpg

To be continued.

RR

As of this point, everything is taken apart and ready for install.

First is the install of the half bellville spring. Note it is marked for the side to the outside.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-vXffxvH/0/M/P1000129-M.jpg

The spring and half friction go in followed by a steel. There is actually two parts to the bellville spring even though I did not see reference to it in the Yama shop manual. At least I think there is supposed to be two pieces. Hope I didn't screw that up.

After putting in the steel, the wire goes around and has the ends inserted into a hole. Both ends go in the same hole. It may be helpful to have a good needle nose pliers to do this. The picks also come in handy getting the wire ends pulled all the way into the hole. There is a small grove on the outside of the clutch basket the wire rides in. You will need to get the wire into this groove before the end will reach the hole. It is a tight fit.

Unfortunately, the pictures of the wire did not come out. You will just have to trust me on this one.

Measure each friction disk in several locations for proper thickness. Tolerance is 0.114 to 0.122 inches. Mine all measured 0.116 to 0.118 inches.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-3bN7zTx/0/M/P1000131-M.jpg

Make sure to align the double notches with the two punch marks on the basket.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-3Sr87jH/0/M/P1000133-M.jpg

Friction, steel, friction, steel, ........

Then put the new shiny pressure plate on. You may need to rotate it to get it to properly seat. I had to move it two holes before everything lined up.

Install the springs, washers, and bolts. Torque them to 8 Nm - that is 70 IN-LB (not FT-LBS). This isn't that much torque. DO NOT OVERTORQUE!!! BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN!!!

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-6rphrFQ/0/M/P1000135-M.jpg

Put the cover back on, properly torque the cover bolts, reinstall the horn and ground wires.

Put the Barnett sticker on your tool box.

http://2000rsv.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Barnett-Clutch-Upgrade/i-QtxD56s/0/M/P1000137-M.jpg

And go for a test ride.

Was able to hammer the throttle in any gear and get solid transmission of torque to the rear wheel.

I am happy. I will try to give a report at the end of the summer as to the longer term performance of this upgrade.

Fire away if you have questions.

RR

Thanks for the post. Very helpful.

Measure each friction disk in several locations for proper thickness. Tolerance is approximately 0.11 to 0.22 inches. Mine all measured 0.16 to 0.18 inches.

A couple of things.

The friction disks are 3mm thick new, that is .118 inches thick, the minimum tolerance in my service manual is 2.8mm or .110 thick.

The 8Nm is 70 in-lb or 5.8 ft-lbs for those of us that have a torque wrench that goes that low in ft-lbs. As said, that ain't much and really bad things happen if to tight.

Congrats on the Barnett upgrade. A very good post. I did mine with the Barnett friction plates and steels kit in addition the the SR upgrade. Just a note, the Barnett friction plates do not have the alignment notches.

Also generally it is not a good idea to use a foot lb torque wrench at such a low setting. It is very very easy to twist and break things. A 1/4 or 3/8 drive 'beam type' inch lb torque wrench is not very expensive at places like Harbor Freight or Wal Mart. Under $50, sometimes under $20. Whats more I recommend a 'beam type' torque wrench until the user has learned enough feel for a 'click or ratchet type'. This is one of those rare cases where cheaper can be better even if it is a tad slower.

Mike

Congrats on the Barnett upgrade. A very good post. I did mine with the Barnett friction plates and steels kit in addition the the SR upgrade. Just a note, the Barnett friction plates do not have the alignment notches.

 

Also generally it is not a good idea to use a foot lb torque wrench at such a low setting. It is very very easy to twist and break things. A 1/4 or 3/8 drive 'beam type' inch lb torque wrench is not very expensive at places like Harbor Freight or Wal Mart. Under $50, sometimes under $20. Whats more I recommend a 'beam type' torque wrench until the user has learned enough feel for a 'click or ratchet type'. This is one of those rare cases where cheaper can be better even if it is a tad slower.

 

Mike

The torque wrench showed above is a click-type in-lb torque wrench from HF. During installation I double checked with my Snap-On ft-lb torque wrench set to 5.8 ft-lbs and it clicked just as the bolts started to move. The Snap-On has been calibrated within the last couple of years. Didn't really trust the calibration of the HF. I guess now I can trust it to be pretty close.

RR

A couple of things.

 

The friction disks are 3mm thick new, that is .118 inches thick, the minimum tolerance in my service manual is 2.8mm or .110 thick.

 

The 8Nm is 70 in-lb or 5.8 ft-lbs for those of us that have a torque wrench that goes that low in ft-lbs. As said, that ain't much and really bad things happen if to tight.

Jeff,

Thanks for the tolerance catch. I was typing this up from memory and missed a digit in my pornographic memory.

RR

That happens with those old rusty pornographs. They miss the straight up digit......

Greetings guys, its been a while for me. I've uninstalled my stock clutch on my 09 RSV. When unpacking the barnett parts, I found a little slip of paper that reads as follows:

NOTE: One or more of the friction plates in this kit is a different size than the others (Larger Inside Diameter, Wider Drive Tabs, Etc.) Refer to your service manual for proper installation of all plates.

My problem is (besides not keeping the old ones in order) in your very informative tutorial you don't mention this, nor is there any reference to it in the shop manual. Since I don't want to have to redo this job, I'd appreciate some help.

Thanks,

Caj

Caj,

I did not replace the friction disks or steels with the Barnett ones. Only changed out the pressure plate and springs and reused the Yama stock friction disks and steels. Sorry, can't help you with this.

I would suggest contacting Barnett and asking them for some assistance.

In the standard clutch setup, all the friction plates are the same and are interchangeable - with the exception of the inner most 1/2 friction - 1/2 spring. The steels are also completely interchangeable.

I wonder if the larger friction plate is to replace the inner 1/2-1/2 setup? Don't know.

Let us know what you find out from Barnett.

RR

That was my next move. I'll post what I find out. Thanks for the suggestion.

OK, since Barnett is on winter hiatus, I muddled thru and am 99% sure I got it right. The "different" friction plate goes in, then the spacer, and then the clutch plate, all held in by the wire. After all is said and done, I installed the new pressure plate and the clutch handle wouldn't budge. I bled the line down, filling with new fluid. Still no help. Since I'm only a rookie mechanic, here's my theory on how the clutch system works. Please point out any errors in my thinking.

Pull the lever-pressures up the system, pushing out on the "plunger" which provides enough pressure to move the pressure plate outward, releasing the pressure on the clutch disks themselves.

Assuming this theory is correct, I left the bleeder open and squeezed the handle. I got fluid out of the bleeder. I closed the bleeder, squeezed the handle, and it was back to no response. It would appear my problem is somewhere in the slave cylinder, Yes? I think that even if the plates are in the wrong sequence, or even removed completely, the plunger should still move when the handle is squeezed, correct? And yes, the little steel ball is still at the end of the plunger.

I would appreciate any assistance.

OK, since Barnett is on winter hiatus, I muddled thru and am 99% sure I got it right. The "different" friction plate goes in, then the spacer, and then the clutch plate, all held in by the wire. After all is said and done, I installed the new pressure plate and the clutch handle wouldn't budge. I bled the line down, filling with new fluid. Still no help. Since I'm only a rookie mechanic, here's my theory on how the clutch system works. Please point out any errors in my thinking.

 

Pull the lever-pressures up the system, pushing out on the "plunger" which provides enough pressure to move the pressure plate outward, releasing the pressure on the clutch disks themselves.

 

Assuming this theory is correct, I left the bleeder open and squeezed the handle. I got fluid out of the bleeder. I closed the bleeder, squeezed the handle, and it was back to no response. It would appear my problem is somewhere in the slave cylinder, Yes? I think that even if the plates are in the wrong sequence, or even removed completely, the plunger should still move when the handle is squeezed, correct? And yes, the little steel ball is still at the end of the plunger.

 

I would appreciate any assistance.

It might be that you don't have the spring plate itself seated properly? You have to rotate it here and there until it seats up tighter against the plates.. I had that happen to me as well..

Though I have the Barnett spring, steels and friction plates in my RSV, the shop I bought them from no longer offers them.. Any suggestions where to pick up these items online?

OK, since Barnett is on winter hiatus, I muddled thru and am 99% sure I got it right. The "different" friction plate goes in, then the spacer, and then the clutch plate, all held in by the wire. After all is said and done, I installed the new pressure plate and the clutch handle wouldn't budge. I bled the line down, filling with new fluid. Still no help. Since I'm only a rookie mechanic, here's my theory on how the clutch system works. Please point out any errors in my thinking.

 

Pull the lever-pressures up the system, pushing out on the "plunger" which provides enough pressure to move the pressure plate outward, releasing the pressure on the clutch disks themselves.

 

Assuming this theory is correct, I left the bleeder open and squeezed the handle. I got fluid out of the bleeder. I closed the bleeder, squeezed the handle, and it was back to no response. It would appear my problem is somewhere in the slave cylinder, Yes? I think that even if the plates are in the wrong sequence, or even removed completely, the plunger should still move when the handle is squeezed, correct? And yes, the little steel ball is still at the end of the plunger.

 

I would appreciate any assistance.

If the clutch mechanism worked previous to the Barnett upgrade, I would suspect the problem is in the placement of the clutch pieces. Not sure what would cause the lockup, but I suspect it is something with the component lineup.

RR

Thanks for posting this thread with pics.

To date, my clutch appears to be ok having 32K miles. But when the time comes, this can be a confidence booster for me to tackle the job. I've never replaced a clutch and this thread will be revisited sometime in the future.

Hey Caj,

The wider Barnett Clutch Friction Disc goes in the rear of the Clutch Basket. You DO NOT need to reinstall the retaining wire if you are using the FULL Clutch Friction Disc, weather it be the Barnett, or the Stock Yamaha Friction Disc from the upgrade. The reason your clutch lever is frozen is you have the Pressure Plate Clocked Incorrectly. The "Teeth" of the leading face of the pressure plate MUST mesh into the Clutch basket. They will only mesh in two places, 180 degrees apart. If the Pressure plate is not clocked correctly, the friction surface of the pressure plate will not be up against the LAST Clutch Friction Disc in the Clutch Pac. The nose of the pressure Plate will be against the edge of the Clutch Basket. To solve this issue, remove the Clutch Cover, Remove the 6 retaining bolts that hold the pressure plate on, ROTATE the Pressure Plate in 3/8" increments until the Pressure Plate "Drops Into" the Clutch Basket. Verify that the Pressure Plate Friction Surface is up against the last friction disc, reinstall the bolts and the Clutch Cover, and you will be good to go. Here's a TIP, NEVER squeeze the Clutch Lever with the Pressure Plate Retaining Bolts removed. You will be removing the Clutch basket to reinstall the Clutch Push Rod If you do! If you have questions, please feel free to PM me.

Good luck with this project, By the way, Very Nice Write Up RR!

Earl

Here's a TIP, NEVER squeeze the Clutch Lever with the Pressure Plate Retaining Bolts removed. You will be removing the Clutch basket to reinstall the Clutch Push Rod If you do!

Now you tell me, LOL. I'll give it a recheck tomorrow. Thanks.

OK, guys, got her back together, went around the block and all seems fine. I'll take her out on the highway after I clean up my garage mess. Now for a few notes to the novice:

DO NOT OPERATE THE CLUTCH LEVER WITHOUT THE PRESSURE PLATE INSTALLED!!!!!!!

I did this and then couldn't understand why the clutch lever wouldn't move. What I did in essence, was extended the pushrod to its full travel, so it had no where to go when I pulled the lever. The solution I found was to remove the short pushrod and ball bearing. Then I took a small blade screwdriver, and with the bleeder open, applied gentle pressure to the long pushrod. It moved approximately 1/4". I tightened the bleeder, reinstalled everything and VIOLA! (Yes I know it should be spelled "VOILA") the clutch worked as designed.

DO NOT STAND THE BIKE UPRIGHT WITHOUT PUTTING THE CLUTCH COVER BACK ON.

I did this to level the master reservoir. I immediately had a puddle of oil under the bike. Hence, the statement above about cleaning up my mess.

IF YOU REMOVED THE LEFT ENGINE COVER TO BLEED THE SYSTEM, MAKE SURE YOU REINSTALL THE COVER BEFORE STARTING THE BIKE.

Doing so will result in building pressure in the cooling system and blowing out one of the rubber thread inserts and allowing coolant to come gurgling out the hole. Refer to cleaning up my garage mess above.

Many thanks to all who helped with their suggestions. I hope these tips help the next novice to avoid my OH Sh*ts!!

RedRider..

Thank you for this write up, it gave my the visuals I needed, and helped a lot..

funny thing was.. as I was adding the bolts and cranking down the spring to bring the bolt flush with the clutch plate, all that was running thru my mind was, "don't over tighten bad things will happen"

Well at 5 down and one to go I had about 1/4 inch of spring left to tighten when boom, the pressure was gone and "bad things happened"

Not sure why it happened, but the threaded stud on the Clutch Boss split in half..

It seems as if quite a bit of pressure has to be used just to crank down those springs..

So, a question I would have is, were your springs really difficult to bolt down??

I ask because I am not sure if the previous owner changed anything..

I see in your pics you took out some other modifications, and I just went with the assumption mine was stock since it had the top 3 stock pieces..

thank you again for the write-up

Chuck

So, a question I would have is, were your springs really difficult to bolt down??

I ask because I am not sure if the previous owner changed anything..

I see in your pics you took out some other modifications, and I just went with the assumption mine was stock since it had the top 3 stock pieces..

 

thank you again for the write-up

Chuck

I don't recall them being difficult at all. My guess is the previous owner messed up one of the bolts.

The mods I took out were to put it back to stock configuration.

RR

At about 8000 miles my new 08 started slipping, " Bad " I installed just the Barnett

pressure plate assembly, about 10K on it now, absolutely NO Slippage.

So far, so good,

when removing clutch cover how do I get to the three bottom bolts ?the pipe is in the way @muffler pipe:confused24:

I hear you want to stick to stock plates over the burnett. That's what I did on my Roadstar. But looks like this will be a future upgrade.

when removing clutch cover how do I get to the three bottom bolts ?the pipe is in the way @muffler pipe:confused24:

Use a bevel head allan socket for angle removal.

you do not need to remove anything around that cover.

I have to remove my after market horn to get the cover

the rest of the way off though.

gotcha I had to purchase ball end allen wrenches to do it but all went well clutch works great