Hi all just wanted to get a second opinion on my 2004 250 pro. When riding around in first, second or third its ok but fourth or higher and give it some welly and the clutch is slipping badly. My question ,is my clutch gubbed right enough or is there some adjustment . I read that you can adjust clutch pull weight but I assume if its slipping then I need new plates.

Any opinions welcome .

Cheers

Oh and im using atf in the gearbox.

Things that can matter on the pro:

oil (ATF or gearbox oil 75w, lots of discussion about this, I use the latter of putoline (light gear))

plate thickness (wear).

Also if you had water (coolant) in the box the plates could be ruined.

You want the package thickness spot on, such that the clutchfingers are on the right amount of mm's.

Another problem could be the positioning of the lever itself, but then it would also have problems in 1rst gears.

I would take the clutch out, clean it and start measuring...

Edited December 17, 201411 yr by crazybond700

The only adjustment you can do is with the lever/master cylinder The size of your hand and the biting point where the clutch starts to engage.

It is possible that if the lever is badly adjusted when it is fully let out the master cylinder can hold a bit of pressure in the system and the clutch appears to be slipping.

The pull weight can only be altered by changing the clutch spring!

Try setting the lever so it has plenty of play in it when fully out and ride the bike,

if it still slips then I would look towards replacing the clutch plates.

Ok I had a look at the gas gas USA sites clutch video which was a good help.

Upon measuring the gap from finger to clutch hub the gap is 18mm which is bang on according to the video. When I stripped the clutch down the friction material looks thick enough but looks as if its starting to break up in places.

I also noticed some small metal fragments embedded in the outer friction plate and consequently some fairly deep scores in the corresponding steel plate.

I also noticed that there are a couple of damaged teeth on the kick start idler gear ,hence the metal fragments.

So does anyone reckon the fact that the clutch plates are scored could cause the slippage?

Or I also thought could someone at some point have used synthetic oil and maybe that's causing my woes.

As ive only had the bike for a month I don't know what oil was used previously.

As ever thanks for any advice in advance.

Cheers

18 is on the side that makes it slip. So chances are the plates are worn. If you are lucky enough to have a dealer or friend that has a 1.3 plate, that would fix the slipping. The damaged friction plates will need to be eventually replaced. Lots of metal around the spring is normal. The starter gears all wear and break. The synthetic woes are a myth. Gassers which sit for long periods of time always had the friction material come apart.

Atf in the gearbox sometimes helps with clutch slip,some synthetic oils seem too slippery and improve the gear change but make the clutch slip

Ok troops quick update on the slipping clutch. I ordered a new clutch and using the ace video on you tube

from Gas gas usa I fitted it last night. Fired the bike up ,clutch in , into gear , clutch out feck all. No forward

motion what so ever " bugger". Ok maybe I should have measured the clutch pack as per the video. Ah well

you live and learn so I tore it back down and measured the clutch pack to find it was too thick. It was out very

slightly so I begged a loan of an engineers flat plate and some wet n dry sand paper and light oil then

commenced rubbing my finger tips to the bone.

Eventually ( after a couple of hours ) I had the disk down to the right size. Reassembled the clutch ,filled

up with ATF and tried again. A lot better this time but clutch pull was still a bit heavy and there was no freeplay

in the clutch lever so I backed off the lever adjuster and whadya know , a fully functioning clutch.

Leason learned " if the video says measure the clutch pack then you can bet its a good idea". I thought I could

skip this stage but learned the hard way to follow the instructions to the letter.

Anyway all good now and my bikes ready for the holidays so now I can stop shouting at the dog and stomping

round the house in a huff

Cheers

.

Oh no, the clutch pak and the finger height is the key. You can also cheat this on a new bike by using forth gear against a wall. I usually tell the owner to look away.

Can you explain this procedure in better detail please?

This is how without any parts.

This was the first vid on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjoj7n74G0s

Here is another. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0adW9BsAN4

This is how without any parts.

How about the 4th gear against the wall? That's what I'm interested in.

As in the OP got a new clutch that was too thick. You could just burn the clutch in a high gear, might take a couple tries to get the clutch broken in instantly.