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The Beta Clutch Fix


dan williams
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I just did this work on a 2008. Clutch travel was 0.05" (1.27 mm). Runout was 0.005" TIR. To measure runout, I put the indicator near the OD of the pressure plate. With the clutch pulled in and the bike in gear, I rotated the back wheel to get the plate to spin. This is not a machined surface so I think 0.005 is quite good. The clutch worked OK but would not change gears when stopped. It was also stuck at start up. I have not ridden it enough to see if it is now different. If I remember correctly, my 2002 Sherco had 0.04" of travel.

Update:

I have ridden the bike a bit now. The clutch no longer sticks at start up and it is easier to change gears when not moving. With two springs out, the pull is a bit easier. It is also a bit noiser as the article warns.

Edited by mcman56
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Thanks mcman56 1.27 of lift for full pull of the lever? thats 0.17mm (c. 10%!!!) more than mine. Some folk simply fi a master cylider which shifts more fluid to resolve all the Beta clutch dratg problems. any more bids? anybody fitted bigger master cyl. and measured lift?

Edited by chewy
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  • 1 month later...

Just a thought.....binding glue and sharp/rough plate edges could both be removed by bead blasting the plates, there are many different types of bead media from sand to walnut shells etc

.....obviously you would want to clean them very well afterwards but I'd imagine this could be a very quick fix?

Any thoughts?

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Might work but based on the process we went through at work cleaning excess adhesive off an ali base I suspect you would probably wreck a couple of sets of plates finding the right media and the right blast settings. My other concern would be blast media impregnating the surface of the friction material and then causing problems. The blasting would remove the rough edges, but the guide shows actually removal of metal to smooth an area the should be flat, blasting wont do this.

I would have thought the quickest solution would be careful fixturing and set up on a mill (not really a home solution and not cheap either) or make a small scraper, an old piece of hacksaw blade ground to the right shape would probably do.

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Well there are a million ways to do this but you only need one since you only have to do a set of clutch plates once. I thought of lots of methods and they were good mental exercises but in the end picking up a set of files and just going at it got the job done faster/cheaper.

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A big thanks to Dan and the other contributors for this.

I bought a 2000 270 Rev 3 about a month ago and I was resorting to using trees and walls to pull up against to clear the clutch.

The plates were in a right "gummy" state but my knockoff dremel and its various thin wire wheels and polishing stones had the job done in about 4hrs.

I roughed up the driven plates very, very gingerly by putting my drill complete with a conical wire wheel (poor terminology I'm sure) in a vice. ...locking the drill trigger and then rotating the plates (both sides) against the bristles. Thousands of minute scratches were the result and it only took about 5 or 6 seconds per side.

I took out 2 springs also and am running it with (20yr old but never before opened) Dexron 3 ATF. I've ridden it 3 times since, 2 practice/play sessions and a trial last Sunday.

- No sticking.

- Light lever.

- Good "feel".

- No slipping.

- All gears easily selected.

- Neutral is still a bit of a pain but I've found getting it from 2nd is easiest...getting used to it and can live with it.

Very happy.

Thanks again...Ferret.

Edited by theflyingferret
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  • 2 weeks later...

The water pump seal needed changing so while I had the covers off I decided to do the clutch, The plates are marked Advige??? on my 95 Techno and didnt see to have any surplus glue on them. What I did notice is that the clutch basket had deep grooves worn in to the fingers by the plates. I filed them flat again and now the clutch is far more progressive and controlable instead of the light switch it used to be. The clutch still drags though and I am using ATF.

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  • 2 weeks later...
 
  • 4 weeks later...

I'm thinking of giving this a go, on a scale of 1 - 10 with how hard is this to do? (1 being the easiest)

I have no previous experience of engines/gearboxes however i'm quite methodical when it comes to fixing stuff, will i get it into a thousand pieces and regret starting it?

Is there anywhere in the midlands that I can pay to get this done? I would like to do it myself but I get very little spare time and would prefer to be riding than in the garage

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  • 4 months later...

Well well well, I took the plates out of the new bike and I'm pleasantly surprised. The adhesive on the friction plates is thin and even without glorping up between the pads and it is applied in a tight ring rather than splashed all over the plates. The tabs don't have adhesive on them nor do they have big ridges or high spots. The springs are even mounted with step washers though they were flipped on my bike to increase spring pressure. I think a quick polish with the Dremel and I'm done.

Too right Beta!

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I'm thinking of giving this a go, on a scale of 1 - 10 with how hard is this to do? (1 being the easiest)

I have no previous experience of engines/gearboxes however i'm quite methodical when it comes to fixing stuff, will i get it into a thousand pieces and regret starting it?

Is there anywhere in the midlands that I can pay to get this done? I would like to do it myself but I get very little spare time and would prefer to be riding than in the garage

id say its a 4 it is easy if you paid somebody you would be gutted good luck mate

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Well finally managed to get out on the 2013 for a short putt. Probably wasn't the smartest thing to do while fighting the flu but it was 62F. A temp I'm not likely to see for some months and I had to try it out. I did the tab polish on the fiber plates but the clutch action is still a bit abrupt. Much as described by Chewy. I also suspect they didn't change the spring height/rate with the thicker pack making clutch pull very heavy. I'm tempted to process two more of the skinny plates and replace the thick fibers to see if Beta made a change that was not necessary.

On a side note one of my friends put these in his 2010 Evo and likes them.

Clutch_springs.jpg

Edited by dan williams
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Just spent today on this task on my 2012 Beta Evo 200cc. A long task but satisfying. Wow!! Started the bike, clicked it into gear and all there was, was a click and no clunk and wanting to lurch forward - the bit of cold stick has gone. Then out on to the cul-de-sac street and nice light clutch action, progressive and most astonishing of all, was to stop and click the bike into neutral from first or from 2nd gear - and I was only wearing sandals!!

A job well worth doing - did all the plates but only polished the tabs on the aluminium plates as the tabs on the two metal plates look nice and smooth and true! I did not notice any increase in chatter. Left all six springs in and tensioned to 10Nm.

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