Anyone repalced their clutch in a 86 250R? What brand of clutch did you buy and how bad was it to change, the description in the manual doesnt look too bad... what do you think?

Mine is getting really hard to ride, its like a light switch, on or off- hard to get rolling smoothly from a stop- it still hooks up on the big end, but I can tell its starting to slip. New cable, levers and perches made it better, but I think its getting to be time for a clutch and springs...

 

Most builders recommend stock plates. I have tried most brands and these seem to take abuse better.
You many want to look into a Hinson basket and an 89 update kit.

I usually buy frim Craig at www.cal-atv.com

 

Hey Bulldog

Mike is right, but he didn't elaborate on a couple chronic problems with the Honda Clutch system.

Your "lightswitch" problem is probably due to the pivot shaft being worn. If you take your clutch apart, remember to pull out the shaft that runs through the motor. Once you do that, you will be able to pull out the pivot shaft (what your clutch cable connects to on the motor) You will probably see wear where the two shafts connect. Honda made an "89 Clutch Upgrade Kit" to help correct this problem. It should cost about $60. It isn't perfect, but it helps. I have it on my bikes. The old ball bearing setup sucks. Honda went to a needle bearing setup in 1989 and it slowed down the wear on the pivot shaft.

The next problem you will probably see is that your clutch basket is "grooved" where the clutch plates rub against the basket fingers. You can get away with filing them one or two times if money is tight. Use a flat file to smooth out the grooves. I've done it on my bikes and it works fine. I don't cheapout on my bikes, and have gone to a billet bakset on my 330R, but filing the basket works great and it will save you $200 for now. This should last another few years easily. I did it on my 85 woods bike a few years ago and it still works great. I still have the original plates in it from 1985. This bike is fully modded and it doesn't slip.

Another stupid decision by Honda was in some bikes, they used cheap aluminum plates between the fiber plates. Replace them with steel. It will make your clutch solid again. It should cost about $30-40 for the plates.

One final thing. You can get cr500 springs or do what I did. Go to Home Depot and spend 10 cents on flat washers that fit under the 5 clutch bolts. It will tighten your clutch for under 10 cents.

This may sound like you're rigging your clutch, but I learned it all from a pro Honda racer. It works and it saves you money.

Good Luck