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Clutch recommendation. I apologize in advance, but search has not turned up an answer

D

djohnson81

New member
I am a new member with a fairly new to me,2000 R1150GS. It now has north of 88,000mi. I noticed the clutch slipping when I really got on it the other day. There is no abnormal noise or vibrations so I think all I need is a new friction disk. I have watched videos on the procedure to replace it, nothing I can't handle mechanically, just wanted to find out what the best replacement part is and if I should be replacing the whole clutch pack rather than just the friction disk. Thank you all in advance!
 
I've been buying discs off eBay. Some guy in England has several different manufacturers of the discs available. All have been reasonably priced and continue to perform quite well.

As long as you don't have hot spots or a warp in the pressure plate or flywheel you can take a little scoring off at your local machine shop.
 
Is a place like Southland Clutch an option for Oilheads? They advertise in the Airheads Beemer Club magazine. Basically I think they take your "carcass" and refurb it and bring it back to spec. I'm sure there's a lot going on there, but you get to reuse parts of the original clutch and just have the wearable parts updated. I think that's it.

I don't see anything on their website that specifies models they work on. Might be worth a check?

http://www.southlandclutch.com/productsservices.html

In our magazine, they give the number 619-477-2105 and email dan at southlandclutch dot com
 
Since the OP bike is an R1150, and since spline engagement has been an issue with the 1150 bikes, the disk from Beemer Boneyard (see post #3) with the longer spline section is a very good bet.
 
Thanks for the input, I will probably keep riding into mid-December when the weather here in CT gets cold enough to make riding less fun, then dig into it to evaluate how everything looks. How do I evaluate the spring?

Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk
 
djohnson81 said:
Thanks for the input, I will probably keep riding into mid-December when the weather here in CT gets cold enough to make riding less fun, then dig into it to evaluate how everything looks. How do I evaluate the spring?

Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Replace everything. Spring, pressure plates and disc (purchase the extended hub type)

The pressure plates warp from inside to outside and will not contact the new disc properly and the result will be slippage on hard acceleration.
I have never opened one up that did not have warped plates.
FYI Dealerships will not warranty the job unless all parts are new for this reason.

Be sure to lube the little bearing at the end of the clutch slave with some hi temp wheel bearing grease while you are in there.
 

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20774 said:
Is a place like Southland Clutch an option for Oilheads? They advertise in the Airheads Beemer Club magazine. Basically I think they take your "carcass" and refurb it and bring it back to spec. I'm sure there's a lot going on there, but you get to reuse parts of the original clutch and just have the wearable parts updated. I think that's it.

I don't see anything on their website that specifies models they work on. Might be worth a check?

http://www.southlandclutch.com/productsservices.html

In our magazine, they give the number 619-477-2105 and email dan at southlandclutch dot com
Click to expand...

Southland will indeed rebuild all your original parts with a new friction disc. I've had them do three Airhead's and one Oilhead I've worked on. Their work is top notch.
 
Sounds like some good options

Good advice, I think I will replace it all. BTW, is the cost difference between Southland refurbishment vs. new parts from BBY significant? It looks like a PITA of a job, my time has significant value and would like to do the job as few times as possible.
 
djohnson81 said:
Good advice, I think I will replace it all. BTW, is the cost difference between Southland refurbishment vs. new parts from BBY significant? It looks like a PITA of a job, my time has significant value and would like to do the job as few times as possible.
Click to expand...

A Southland clutch rebuild runs around $200 plus shipping and consists of remachining to true your clutch carrier and cover plate then refacing the friction disk with slightly thicker material to make up for the machining. Your bike likely doesn’t have the extended hub on the friction disc, so to properly do a Southland job you’d want to buy the disc with the extended hub and send it in with your OEM carrier and cover. That expense would be in addition to the normal Southland fee and brings the total to within <$150 of the BB clutch pack set. Turnaround time for a Southland job is usually 10-14 days for those of us in the west.

Best,
DeVern
 
The refurb would be a decent cost savings if I didn't have to buy a long hub friction disk. I think I will get all new parts this time. Also, if machining the parts makes them significantly thinner, how long will they last before they warp? Years ago it was pretty standard to have brake rotors turned when doing a brake job, but they never lasted long before warping

Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk
 
djohnson81 said:
The refurb would be a decent cost savings if I didn't have to buy a long hub friction disk. I think I will get all new parts this time. Also, if machining the parts makes them significantly thinner, how long will they last before they warp? Years ago it was pretty standard to have brake rotors turned when doing a brake job, but they never lasted long before warping
Click to expand...

Hard to go wrong with all new parts!

The “dishing” seen on the carriers and cover plates normally isn’t from warping, it’s just a wear pattern. And the amount that Southland removes is pretty small in comparison to the bulk of the pieces, typically .025-.035” or less would be my guess- but I’ve never measured overall thickness when the parts came back, just installed them and buttoned up the bike. And the Southland-equipped bikes I know of have had good results and seem to be well on the way to a normal clutch longevity.

And with all new parts now, especially the longer-hub friction disk, in 80-100k if your clutch needs attention again you’ll have a solid starting point for a Southland repair then. :)

No connection with Southland other than being a repeat customer…
Best,
DeVern
 
djohnson81 said:
The refurb would be a decent cost savings if I didn't have to buy a long hub friction disk. I think I will get all new parts this time. Also, if machining the parts makes them significantly thinner, how long will they last before they warp? Years ago it was pretty standard to have brake rotors turned when doing a brake job, but they never lasted long before warping

Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I took the time to machine the plates on a project 1150RT.
There is very little material that can be removed without compromising the parts.
It was my own machine and I had little to lose except for time to re & Re again.
It was a success but I would not do it again, especially if it was handed to a customer that did not know how to operate a dry clutch properly.

Go with all new parts.
 
GS,

Would you please expand on the comment, “ how to operate a dry clutch properly.”.

What is the proper way?
 
Can’t speak for GSADDICT, but folks who are used to a wet multi plate clutch are used to allowing the clutch to be in the friction zone between engagement and not. Dry clutch doesn’t like to be there for long. Best to use a quick smooth transition from off to engaged.
 
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