How to repair/replace a burned clutch!

Last month during a week long enduro/offroad trip in Rumania the clutch on my WR250R died.
The bike had at that time 4500km on the clock - all of it hardcore offroad.

I've never before burned a clutch on any of my bikes so this was the first time I was going to repair/replace one - it turn out to be a piece of cake.

To do the job I needed the following parts:
6 clutch plates (part number 3XJ-16324-01)
7 friction plates (part number 3XJ- 16321-00)
1 clutch cover gasket (part number 3D7-15453-10)

Step 1:
Put the friction plates in a small bucket covered in the same engine oil as used on the bike to let them absorb some oil - let them soak for some hours.


Step 2:
Drain the engine oil from the bike.

Step 3:
Remove the brake pedal to make some room (not absolutely necessary).


Step 4:
Remove the clutch cover protector:


Step 5:
Remove the clutch cover:


Step 6:
Remove the pressure plate by loosening the 5 spring bolts:


The parts now removed:


Step 7:
Remove the old friction and clutch plates (easy - just pull them out)


Step 8:
Put in the new friction and clutch plates alternately starting and ending with a friction plate.
The clutch plates have an sharp and a dull edge - mount the plates with the sharp edge turning outward - I don't know exactly why that is, but it's what any seasoned mechanic I've spoken to recommends..?


Step 9:
Reinstall the pressure plate - tighten the spring bolts in a star pattern to 10 Nm.


Step 10:
Reinstalling the clutch cover (using the new gasket) and protector (all bolts tightened to 10Nm) and install the brake pedal.


Step 11:
Put new oil on the engine (I changede the oil filter when I was at it).


The entire operation (from step 2 to 11) can easily be carried out in less than half hour - without breaking a sweat

The tools neded to replace the clutch (the allen key was for the brake pedal only):


NB. The friction plates were all worn under spec - the clutch springs were as new.

Nice write up. Thank you

Delta_T wrote:

Nice write up. Thank you

Agreed.

Good job. Bike clutches are really easy. Many people worry because they assume it's a hard/complicated job. But really with the proper tools it's an easy job.

Awesome write up. Never knew it was that easy on a bike.

I am now confident to do my own if I ever need to. Thanks!!

sweet....good write up, also check the fingers on the basket for notches where the clutch plates would "hang up"...

Thank you. Great step by step write-up and accompanying photos. Good job !

Did you need anything to hold the assembly from turning when loosening/tightening the spring bolts? On the WR250F, there is a special tool for holding everything in place. Thanks for the writeup!

You don't need anything to hold the assembly from turning - only tools needed is the ones mentioned above.

Great tutorial!

PS: 10nm (newton meters) is equal to 7.5ft lbs

much love!

As mentioned in the first post, the clutch died after 4.500km.
Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but compared to what I have exposed it to, it's very reasonable.

As I do a lot of hill climbing on small trails in the mountains, the clutch have been feathered A LOT - especially when the bike was new, before I modified it with, FMF Q4, FMF programmer, K&N airfilter, airbox mod and gearing (now running 13/50).
Besides that I rode with too little clutch free play for a while - I was not aware of how much the clutch expands during hard use.

I'm sure that the new clutch will last much longer than the first one.

Very nice write up.

I am curious what type engine oil you use. I have heard that certain oils can contribute to clutch wear, especially standard automotive oils that are energy conserving and have 'friction modifiers' in them.

Since first service after break-in I've been using motorcycle specific semi synthetic engine oil.

Depending of the riding I do, I change oil (and filter) for every 4-800 km.
For the first few oil changes I used Motul 5100 10W40, and for the last two I've used Motorex Topspeed 4T 10W40 - both high quality products.

Bottom line - choice of oil had nothing to do with the short live span of the clutch, it was only due to abuse and maladjustment.

Don T wrote:

Depending of the riding I do, I change oil (and filter) for every 4-800 km.

motokid wrote:

Don T wrote:

Depending of the riding I do, I change oil (and filter) for every 4-800 km.

Bear in mind that I don't use my WRR as a dual sport but as a thoroughbred enduro bike.