CBR600 F3 (96) Clutch question

MowyTone · 9 Feb 2016 at 11:12

I've been told my clutch springs are going (will move the bike forward if I rev in first with clutch fully in). As I don't know what the rest of the clutch is like I was toying with changing the friction plates at the same time.

My question is what springs and what plates have people found to be good/bad? I can see there are several different types: performance, street racing, racing - but I have no idea which will be best?

Also it seems there are only heavy duty springs about? I know I wouldnt have used the heavy duty on the SV as people hated them, but I don't know if its the same for the CBR?

The bike is for daily commute and play

MowyTone · 9 Feb 2016 at 13:26

I was told that by a mechanic who watched me replicate the problem.

He explained that after a while the springs lose resistance under pressure and when revving (in my case to 6-7K) the springs cannot hold against the spin created by those kind of revs and the clutch starts to engage.

It seems to be slipping slightly at the top end of the revs as well. Probably going to replace the friction plates or all plates and springs while it's being done.

The clutch cable has about 1-2mm free play on the cable before pulling the cable. I don't know how old the cable or the clutch is as I've only had the bike a month and a bit. However I already have a replacement cable just in case.

I've cut a deal with this guy as he has taken my knackered SV engine in so will do the clutch work for £20 (I'm buying the parts).

Note he has already changed a rear tyre for me for free in the above agreement

edit : @ShakenNstirred so what you are saying is if the cable has stretched too much, and the clutch is not fully disengaging hence the drag?

MowyTone · 9 Feb 2016 at 13:54

ShakenNstirred said:
yeah but the rod holds the back plate out not the springs, the springs are there to close it, but only when you release the lever.
anyway. why you revving to that high with the clutch in lol , I see no need for it
as its slipping at high revs the clutch and maybe the springs need replacing anyway, as it will only slip more n more

I found the problem when a lorry was creeping next to me getting closer and closer at the lights. I revved up the bike to make my presence known

MowyTone · 9 Feb 2016 at 19:17

Bike has done 55K miles, so might be at the end of it's 2nd clutch?

I have some paper work with the bike, I'll see if any of it shows any clutch work

MowyTone · 9 Feb 2016 at 19:19

wazza300 said:
if its done 50 odd k miles just change it anyway,its probably due one by now

I was thinking it was worth doing the whole lot while I had it open (including basket)

MowyTone · 9 Feb 2016 at 19:32

wazza300 said:
might aswell,idk if its aftermarket clutch or genuine,from what folks have said on here the genuine ones last longest,but they might be more expensive

It's a Honda so genuine parts are easily going to be more expensive. But any time I've had genuine parts you can tell the difference, Eg brake pads

MowyTone · 10 Feb 2016 at 20:10

Well it's taken 2 and a bit hours and cost me 3 fairing bolts but I've changed the clutch cable. I'll have to test it tomorrow as I ran out of time tonight. Think it needed changing tbh lol

MowyTone · 10 Feb 2016 at 22:53

I bought the bike in a hurry as I knew the engine in the SV was dying. I was in such a rush that I grabbed something I could afford and in a hurry.

It's a CBR600F 1996 with 55K miles....no doubt by the look of her internals she has done every winter going. I'm counting her as a learning bike as she is my 2nd big bike and I;m doing as much of the work as I can myself.

There is no doubt that this bike as not been loved by it's previous owners, but still she goes really quite well for her age and I am chipping away at the issues that I find

MowyTone · 11 Feb 2016 at 07:17

ShakenNstirred said:
I see it has a manual cam chain adjuster, auto cam chain adjuster failure is common problem with the cbr6
mine failed at 37k

I'm going to take a guess that the manual adjuster is the bolt sat at the top of the thread on the right, slightly obscured by the clutch cable?

That's good to know as I think it needs adjusting as there is a ticking coming from the right hand side of the engine that speeds up with the engine revs.

Good news is I didn't balls up the clutch cable and I was able to ride it in this morning without making any adjustments at the road side.

Bad news is the clutch still drags

MowyTone · 11 Feb 2016 at 13:21

ShakenNstirred said:
Yes, you undo the lock nut and give bolt a turn, not much though, maybe a quarter if that and not with the engine running.

Bugger about the clutch still dragging
time to look in the case I guess

Fireskull said:
As above undo the lock nut and turn it slowly, you will hear the engine noise change, when it does back out slightly and lock the nut back up.

I would take off the inspection cap if it has one on the clutch side and play with the adjusters there to see if you can stop it dragging.

Im only up the road in Eastleigh if you ever need a hand mate,

One method with the engine running and one with not?

Cheers mate I may well take you up on that as I don't have any experience with clutches yet

MowyTone · 12 Feb 2016 at 14:48

leigh_boy said:
if it sounds tappy id start with an oil change after you change the clutch ( because oil will come out when you remove the clutch casing ) oh and get a new gasket.

Pretty sure the tapping is the cam chain though

MowyTone · 19 Feb 2016 at 13:03

Lost the neutral light at lunch. Not sure if its electrical or whether this is another symptom of something in or around the clutch

MowyTone · 19 Feb 2016 at 18:42

It's not the bulb. It was on as soon as I got to the bike after work, and continued to work all the way home. I think it's a connection as the side stand light doesn't always light up either. I'll consult the service manual.....

MowyTone · 19 Feb 2016 at 19:26

Craig321 said:
But it could blow at any point? Worth a try surely? Or do you mean you've checked that already?

I mean it can't have blown because it's started working again

Yeah I will be going over that spring when I tension the cam chain

MowyTone · 19 Feb 2016 at 19:29

Going by some of the other connections wouldn't be surprised if it was a corroded connection causing this

MowyTone · 20 Feb 2016 at 12:40

Well the good news is that I've fixed the the clutch issue! It wasnt actually being allowed to fully close. Turns out that although it felt like slack it was actually just very little resistance at the top and of the clutch. Once slackened off and tested the bike didnt creep forward!

I'll test again once warm to make sure though

MowyTone · 20 Feb 2016 at 17:11

I've never tested when the bike has been cold so it could be that. If that's the case it's back to square one.

Checked what service history I have for the bike and can see that the clutch plates were changed without changing the springs back in 2014

MowyTone · 20 Feb 2016 at 19:58

wazza300 said:
lets hope controller can sell you his downpipes,i think you'll have a right game undoing the studs/nuts that hold it onto the engine aswell,be careful not to snap any off

Yeah the one in the pic is the best looking one...others just look like brown charcoal. For this reason I will be taking it to a garage for them to extract the studs

MowyTone · 22 Feb 2016 at 12:24

Well On testing this morning it appears that the clutch drag is only present when the bike is warm.

MowyTone · 22 Feb 2016 at 15:06

Forums show people using 10w/40 for road and 10w/30 for track. most say to avoid fully synthetic. I don't know whats in there but I've topped it up with semi

Could this be mis-adjusted clutch springs?