Classic Motorcycle Restoration and Maintenance by Nigel Clark

Author:Nigel Clark
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781847978820
Publisher: Crowood

Clutch tool made from an old plate and sundry lengths of metal to form the handle.

Always ensure there is at least 1/16in free play at the lever.

NEB all-alloy, sixteen-plate clutch on a BSA Gold Star.

One thing that many classic riders forget is to keep the cables well lubricated. This is pretty much a case of out of sight out of mind, but it is not uncommon for a rider to strip a clutch because of a problem only to discover that the dry, corroded inner cable run was to blame.

As machines developed and became more powerful, the poor clutch became a thing of much abuse. BSA’s Gold Star and the Velocette Venom Thruxton were essentially clubman racers on the road and as such had a very high first gear. They needed a lot of revs and fair deal of clutch slipping to actually get them away from standstill and this naturally took its toll. The BSA’s reputation was by far the worse and these days it’s more likely to find some form of stateof-the-art aftermarket clutch hiding inside the Gold Star primary cover than the old BSA four-spring job.

Norton’s pre-war three-spring clutch was used in most of their singles and twins up to the Commando, which used an extremely good, multi-plate unit of plain and insert plates, held under pressure by a car-like single diaphragm spring plate and in place by a large-diameter circlip. Unlike the traditional clutch plates, the steel plates do not have a series of large tangs, but an outer edge with lots of spline-like teeth, which give a better spread of load, and the inserted plates soon gave way to bonded, phosphor bronze-lined plates. These gave a good combination of both grip and a reasonable weight of operation at the lever – though fairly stiff in comparison to modern standards. It could also be somewhat switch-like, either on or off. Be wary of the spring when removing the circlip; if you do not have the correct tool to compress it and allow its pressure to release steadily, it will fly out at great speed and under such circumstances that it would not be wise to find yourself in the way. These clutch compressors are readily available from your Commando specialist.

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