Clutch Question...need a straight answer please

[jbandb]

Ok...I've been reading through old posts and doing search after search now for the past few hours, and all I've gotten out of it all is more confused.

So, I'm just gonna ask you all a question straight out.

I've got an '83 200E Big Red and it pulls great on bottom and through 1st and 2nd gears. It has no problems climbing hills or going WoT in these 2 bottom gears and shifts smooth and easy in all 5 gears both upshifting and downshifting. But when you get into 3rd, 4th, and especially 5th gears then it seems like the clutch will slip every time you try to go past about half throttle or so.

You can feel it start to slip and the engine will start to rev, but if you feather the throttle, it will slowly try to grab again but you still can't get it to hold much past half throttle in 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear.

Now...my question is...

What part of the clutch, or should I say which clutch would cause this?

I've read that it could be the centrifugal clutch shoes...then others say that's just for bottom end.

Then some have said that it is the friction plates in the main clutch....then of course someone else says that just for take off and shifting.

Which is it? Something has to grab in the higher gears, but what?

I've also read that the Big Reds have a different clutch set up than the standard 185/200 trikes. Is this true? Because I've got both the big red and a 185 and the cases both look identical on the clutch side.

Could this problem be due to the clutch just needing to be adjusted? (I've read that on here too) I've got the motor tore apart right now for a top end rebuild (just stock) and haven't tried adjusting it yet when it was running before, but could this be worth a shot or am I just looking at buying some more new parts no matter what?

Basically, what's most likely the cause of the problem and what's the most cost effective way to correct this?

Could someone please give me a straight answer on this one? I have no problem replacing whatever needs to be replaced, but my budget doesn't really allow for too much trial and error, so I kind of need to know what needs replaced before I buy any parts.

As always, I appreciate anyone taking the time to reply.

Thanks!!

[fabiodriven]

My theory has always been, when you're dealing with a 20-odd year old machine, just replace everything. I would do the centrifigal clutch and the main clutch, top to bottom. Frictions, steels, everything. Then you know what you have.

[Erics350x]

^good advice if you can afford it^ if not, you can prolly get by with just the fibers.

[atctim]

Hi - I wish it was easy to know which clutch is bad. But in reality - you'll need to replace one and see if that fixes it. I would start with the centrifugal clutch first. There is no sure fire way to know which one is slipping.

To answer another question - I would say no - a clutch adjustment will not help you out.

Good luck to you. These are pretty simple clutches to replaces.

[Gearheadtom]

I think it is the main clutch, I had the same problem on my 200e. I adjusted the clutch and that seemed to fix it, but may not completely fix yours depending on how bad the main clutch is wore.

[lndy650]

its the main clutch if the centrifigal clutch was slipping it would be hard to take off but once you got going it wouldnt slip

[Erics350x]

i've got a good used setup you can have if you pay the shipping.

[jbandb]

Thanks Erics350x.....sent you a pm....and thanks to the rest of you for all the other responses as well....

In response, I agree that replacing everything is the way to go, but with complete top end rebuilds on both my 185 and the big red going on, the funds are running too low for that. Which is why I wanted to narrow it down to which one was causing the problem.

If I can't get something figured out before I go back together with the motor, then i'll try adjusting it first and go from there.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks again!

[Daddio]

What type of oil are you using in it? If it isn't for wet clutch applications it could also cause slippage.

[Yamaha_Rules69]

You may want to take it apart and look at a manual. It will give you measurements for the plates and discs, warp measurement, and tell you what to do with the centrif. part of the clutch. Inspect the centrifical part for grooves in the drum and wear on the shoes, and the plates and discs for wear, burnt, or glazing etc. Good luck.

[Dirtcrasher]

From what you described, it's the main clutch. The more it slips the hotter it gets and more damage is done to thew plates (if your trying to get away just replacing the fibers).

The centrifugal clutch allows you to place it in gear without a clutch (it IS the clutch) it also allows you to stop in any gear and idle but if you try and take off in say 3rd or higher from a dead stop, you can hear it struggle to try and allow the main clutch to take over but you don't have the speed...

[jbandb]

As for Daddio's question about what oil I'm running? I have always used conventional oil, 10w30, in all my bikes and have not had any problems until this one.

I've heard mixed answers as to what is the best to use, conventional or synthetic, but this has always seemed to work well in everything I've had over the past 25 years, so I've just stuck with it. Plus I've heard more horror stories regarding synthetic oils and wet clutches than bad stories about conventional oils, so I figured why buck the odds. LOL

Dirtcrasher, I think you'd have to be right regarding causing more damage the more it heats up. When this problem started about 3 weeks ago, it was mainly in 4th and 5th gears. After one last full weekend of trail riding this past weekend before I tore it down to rebuild the top end, it started to slip in 3rd as well and is really bad in 5th now.

So, it is definitely getting worse, which is what promted me to research and post on here to try to find the best solution to remedy this while the bike was already torn apart for the rebuild.

Looks like Erics350x might be able to hook me up with a setup, so once I get the top end done, looks like I'll be swapping out the clutch as well....hopefully anyway.

In a perfect world, I'd just rebuild everything from top to bottom and be good to go...but reality doesn't pay as much, so this looks like the best solution for the time being until I can rebuild the clutches later on.

I guess one good thing about having another set is that later on I can rebuild the old set while the trike is still together and then just swap them out.

Thanks for all the replies and if anyone has anything else to add or something else to check or watch out for, I'd appreciate the info.

Thanks again!!