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The Beta Clutch Fix


dan williams
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Firstly, thanks Dan for an awesome and innovative write up. I've read through the entire thread with interest. I've just completed the work and without having tested it properly outdoors, my first impressions (in the garage) are that it seems to have totally transformed the clutch :-) I have a 2014 Evo 250 and the clutch wasn't great, hence why I arrived at this thread. As with others I found it almost impossible to select neutral whilst running, to the point where I'd stopped bothering entirely and would simply kill the engine at rest. It was also dragging at times, strangely not always, but inconsistently (which is probably worse!), at times it would actually push/slide the braked front wheel across the ground! It was pretty much always difficult to roll backwards with the clutch disengaged too. My clutch pack had the different (thicker) first and last friction plates. These two plates were significantly worse than the others in terms of the build up of glue/friction material between the pads, perhaps these are made by a different manufacturer?? The other four plates were a lot better, almost to the point of not needing any work tbh but I did them anyway whilst I was at it. I carried out the work in the following way:

I used needle files as you suggested to clean between the pads and under the tabs (above the pads) to bare metal. The gaps between the pads on the thicker end plates were much thinner than the other four. I used a file to smooth out the tab edges and also to create a small radius on the edges. I finished off by sanding the tab edges with a small block with 600 grit emery to smooth them further. It didn't take too long at all.

Finally I washed off the plates and steel discs again in the sink with washing up liquid and water and rinsed well. I don't think I rinsed well enough though as when I refitted and filled with oil (Putoline light gear oil) and ran the bike the oil seemed to be foaming very slightly (seen through the sight glass) so I ran it till hot and drained the oil and refilled with fresh oil as I thought it might be residual fairy liquid on the friction material!

Initially I couldn't feel much difference but once it had run for a while and I'd worked the clutch the difference was obvious; There is now absolutely NO drag at all, it will roll backwards with ease with the clutch lever in and neutral can be selected from either first or second with ridiculous ease, it's bloody brilliant Dan! I let it cool down and tried again from cold and it was perfect right from the start.

Thank you so much, can't wait to test it out fully tomorrow :-)

All the best,

Marcus

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 12/19/2016 at 2:57 PM, dan williams said:

If you do decide to pull your clutch pack please post pics. I'm curious at the current state of Beta plates as it seems there are changes recently. If you try the fix post your results.

Here are pics of my '17 Evo 250 stock plates.  This thread had me curious what they looked like.  Compared to my '12, shifting feels easier, more concise.  I was surprised to see it already had the red recessed washers. 

2017Plates.jpg

InnerOuterPlates.jpg

Edited by wesyde
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  • 3 weeks later...

Well done Dan

Last weekend I had an out of control Beta Techno - couldn't get it out of gear while running, neutral was no where to be found. At times it froze and I was being dragged around the section with no clutch. what a nightmare.

Stripped it down, filed away the glue (2 hours work), cleaned and reassembled ---- Wow what a difference. Really does do what it says on the tin.

Full control, selecting neutral no longer an issue, and progressive when in sections. Finger light touch.

I did notice glue on the inside of the plate so ran a round file around that to remove it also.

Will be doing the same mod to my sons Beta Rev3.

Top man.

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I just did the "fix" to my '16 Factory 300 4t. I thought the clutch was pretty good before and was pleasantly surprised how much better it is now! My plates weren't as bad as some of the pictures shown. The majority were very smooth on the edges with hardly any die break out (the rough surface that requires filing) so I mainly radiused the corners so they would slide better on the clutch basket edges. I used a 400 grit sanding board (similar to a ladies emery board) to polish the edges and slick up the sliding surfaces. The glue that I cleaned out  between the fibers was pretty thin and uniform. For about four hours total labor it was very well worth it, I would encourage anyone with a Beta to do the "fix"!

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Removing springs will make the pull and static holding lighter but also can cause slippage. The other option is the Beta spacers on the later bikes can be flipped to lower the preload on the springs. Just pulling springs without doing the full fix is a bad idea as you may not get proper clutch engagement due to binding of the plates.

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On 07/03/2017 at 11:37 AM, dualta said:

I read somewhere, a long time ago, that if you remove a couple of springs from the clutch, it makes it makes operation much easier and reduces finger fatigue. Can anyone enlighten me further?

I tried this on the advice of a pal who had run like that for years.  I don't recall any slipping in sections but there may have been at speed.  Eventually I went back to the full set once my fingers were accustomed to the greater clutch use compared to my previous machinery.

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On ‎3‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 4:37 AM, dualta said:

I read somewhere, a long time ago, that if you remove a couple of springs from the clutch, it makes it makes operation much easier and reduces finger fatigue. Can anyone enlighten me further?

Going to 4 springs is not the answer. You can take a spring out and measure it and order a lighter spring from several spring mfg`rs. Inside, outside, total length, collapsed length, number of coils and spring diameter. Takes some experimentation, but worth it.  I just spent two days making the perfect clutch for me on my beta. I lost my tendon in the tip of my clutch finger at Christmas. After 40 yrs I just cannot get my middle finger to work instead of my index finger.  

Edited by lineaway
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It used to buy them by the hundred and sell packs of six....if I stumble upon the reference and spec I.ll post it up.....just find a spring maker or even seller and take a stock or oem Spring with you and ask for c. 20% lighter wire with same physical dimensions...should be a starting point....logically they won't put same pressure on the plates so if you have a need for gutsy motor and Mitch clutch dumping this may not be solution for you....maybe a diaphragm clutch?

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