Hi there,

Not sure if this is a unique problem or not. I see alot of "slipping clutch" posts, but nothing really describing whats going on with mine.

When I trail ride in my area, we ride river hills. So, there are "many" trails that are steep, wind in and out through trees, and over
rocks, logs, water ditches, mud etc. ( All while going straight up). 1st gear is actually way too fast alot of the time on certain parts, so
I have to use the clutch alot to keep speed down, while keeping the traction and keep moving too, or be stuck or roll.

Well...

What Ive been running into lately is really frustrating me.. I dont know why or whats going on, but after few minutes on some of these
trails, it becomes impossible to ride/feather the clutch. Ill come to a difficult sidehill ditch, going uphill , between trees, and have to
slow down of course... so I feather the clutch to keep moving, but slow it down.. then I try to navigate through and start releasing the
clutch, and it feels like it wants to react normally, then BAM, clutch off and tires fly up... then I re-feather and come to almost a stop,
to regain control, and when I start to release again... nothing... nothing.... move a little.. BAM.. clutch off.

In a nutshell, its like I have full engagement, or no engagement - no feathering ability in the middle.. which is TUFF sometimes.
Sometimes I adjust and fiddle, and think I got it right, and it still does this during "hard" use.

Afterward, on flats and normal trails, it seems back to normal. What do ya think. Will an aftermarket clutch fix this headache ?

Also - would an exhaust header pipe thats really close to the clutch cable alongside the case cause any trouble ? Or is that not a big
deal.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks !

 

That could possibly be the problem. If the outside of the cable melted it could possibly be trying to "grab" the actual cable....its possible anyway.

Try what Airraptor said, and drop a couple teeth on the front sprocket if you haven't already.

I think it could also be from a worn clutch basket. The fingers of the basket will get grooves in them from the fibers rubbing/hitting them. You would have to pull the clutch side cover to see if this is the problem.

 

yeah, I think the basket is spent. The grooves Ward is talking about will make it real hard to feather the clutch properly.

You might wanna try a 12tooth if your not already running one, especially on a 2001. I think we ride the same trails!

 

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it.

I think I will check the basket, and probably just get an aftermarket setup anyway for piece of mind.

I'll also get a 12 tooth and give it a try for the trails, and stay with the stock sprockets for the weekend
drags [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Thanks for the recommendations