what kind of bike ya have?

 

I have a 1996 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic.
The shop I take it too indicated that the clutch springs are going bad and I took a long trip the other weekend and notices it myself near the end of the trip.
Thanks

 

Not a hard job at all. Suggest you have a look at http://www.gadgetjq.com/clutch_spring_replacement.htm it will guide you thru it. The hard bit is the 27mm nut an impact wrench makes this a breeze. While you have the side cover off check whether it has a plastic or steel oil gear it is behind the clutch basket, if it is plastic it would be very wise to change to a steel gear info here http://www.vroc.org/faq/jopg/jopg.html. Use plenty of vasaline to hold the limiter springs on at assembly.
You can do this job on the side stand without draining the oil but be sure to stuff a rag into the oil return hole at the bottom to stop anything falling into sump.

 

Thanks for the help, your pictures are better than the book I have, but I do have two questions, one is when I look at the pictures I have I see 4 springs, do they get replaced? Also will I need to replace the clutch or is the spring the all I need to change out.

Thanks for our time.

 

You have one large spring replace this with a meanstreak spring and you have 3 limiter springs (like large concave washers)these MUST be installed the correct way see pics use vasaline on these to hold them together. I recommend installing judges washers also these make clutch more responsive and stop the teeth wearing out on clutch spring. REMEMBER that the last clutch plate is offset to the others when installing. see adgets site for all the info.It is usually only the springs that need replacing but look at the plates while you have it apart.
Please check that oil gear if it is plastic it will break causing thousands of dollars damage . Judges oil gear is a cheap reliable replacement (JOG) without having to split the cases.

 

just for referance, the 27mm socket is the same as a 1 1/16 6 point.
I have both and they fit about the same. The imperial is a lot easier to find than the metric.

 

This is not a big job. I will pass on a few tips

1) When taking the outer case off make sure you know where the screws have come out. There are a few different sizes. If you take off the screws then put them in a piece of cardboard. I made a mark that represented the Oil Window, and put them in order so I did not make a mistake putting them together. (the second time, dont ask) It can save hours looking on the web trying to figure out which one goes where.

2) Get an Impact Gun and a socket. You can find them at Home Depot, they have a great return policy.

3) I did not change the friction plates, upgraded to the Mean Streak Spring 7000K and still good

4) The Judge washer was a nice idea, except he was on vacation that week and by the time he got home I was done already, not doing it a 3rd time

5) It can be done in a few hours the first time. Much quicker the 2nd time, (again dont ask) Oh yeah make sure when you oil down the friction plates, the last plate is not hidding in the bottom of the oil bucket. (again dont ask)

6) Make sure you torque everything to spec... The instructions on Gadget's site were excellent.

7) Last thing... Check the bottom of the oil bucket.. I might have said that already...

 

Thanks for all your help and i will be getting on this very soon.

 

How can you get the bolt off if you haven't got and impact wrench.

 

Put it in gear and make sure somone's holding the rear wheel otherwise the bike can move forward when you start reefing. THis won't work if your clutch is slipping too much though so an alternate method is to wedge a copper penny inbetween the gears. (and don't let it fall anywhere it shouldn't - some folks drill a small hole in the penny and attach it to a string).

 

One tip I'd add to cjlam's...
Not 100% sure the older 1500 clutches are the same as the newer ones, but if they are, there's a large 'C Clip' that needs to be removed when removing the basket. When putting things back together, make sure you exercise the clutch thouroughtly before putting the clutch cover back becasue if the C Clip is not seated properly in it's groove it can pop out the first time you use the clutch, and you'll need to pull the cover off again to put it back on (and please don't ask me how I know this )

 

Dumb question. Is anything needed like a penny when using an impact wrench?

 

I haven't needed the penny when using an impact wrench to get the nut off but needed one to put it back on and torqued to specs.

 

Thanks.

 

If you don't have an impact wrench, head to Harbor Freight and get an electric one. Trust me, the cost is worth your sanity. I tried the penny trick and did nothing but damage the penny. The nut never came off until I went and got the impact wrench and it makes your life so much easier.