I have an '03 Z400 that developed a problem while I was out riding this weekend and was wondering
if anybody has any ideas what is wrong...I was riding up a very steep rocky incline(which I didn't want to in
the 1st place but my buddies all on 4 wheel utes talked me into it)...I got about half way up and got wedged
on the face of about a 2 foot high boulder...With my buddies pushing(with their hands) from behind I was
really reving the heck out of it in 1st gear working the clutch so I would n't wheelie the bike over on myself...
Afte about 5 minutes we finally got me over the rock and headed the rest of the way up....When I got to the top(and
cleaned out my drawers!!!), I noticed the problem...The bike will go into gear and will begin to roll, but when
it needs more torque to continue going faster, the engine just revs and no drive is going to the wheels(it does this
in every gear..when I got to rolling down a hill and shifted into other gears the same problem exists)...Here is
the weird part...The front sprocket is spinning and spins appropriately with the throttle, but there is no or very
little torque being generated to drive the bike.....I took the chain off the front sprocket and revved the bike and the
spocket spins like it should when the throttle is pressed....The sprockets (front and rear) are in great shape....
I assume there is either a problem with the clutch or the transmission...Does anybody have any ideas???
Any help would be greatly appreciated.....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Sounds to me like your clutch is slipping............ you might have burned it up while trying to get over the boulder.

 

sounds like you smoked the clutch, time for a new one. if its still a stock clutch it might be ready to change anyway. the plates may look fine but the springs wear out, happened to me over thanksgiving at the dunes

 

Clutch is gone. My '03 z-400s clutch just croaked recently too. I got one from Rock Mountain ATV, it's a Tusk Off-Road for around $45 with heavy duty springs & steel plates included. For the money you won't find a better one. IMHO. Be sure to soak the fiber disks in oil for 1 hour prior to installation.

 

yep smoked the clutch .or glazed it up from slipping it .

 

Like everyone said your clutch is sliping. The front sprocket will spin with the chain off because there is no load on the clutch.

The 2 clutch setups I hear work good are either a barnett carbon fiber clutch, or get honda trx450 fibers and use your stock plates. I have the barnett clutch kit, happy with it so far.

I dont hear many good things about EBC or Tusk clutch kits.