I have just rebuilt a 1973 850 Commando and owing to the fact I have a problem with my right knee I am about to fit an Alton Electric start kit. I their instructions they say that the clutch action can be lightened by adding an additional metal clutch plate. Mine has sintered bronze friction plates and metal plates. Has anyone done this and if so
Did it work?
How many steel and how many sintered bronze plates do you have?
Where does the extra plate go? Do you have 2 metal plates next to each other?
I would appreciate your assistance before I embark on the changes
Replacement clutch plates.
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Similar experience
I too fitted one of the 3mm RGM plates. The pull required on the clutch lever fell from 10kg to 6kg and is much more comfortable to use. I did find though that I had to reduce the free play at the clutch lever end to get the biting point in the right place (AN say 3/16”to 1/4” free play - mine is now virtually nil).
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Replacement clutch Plate
Thanks for the reply. So just to be clear all that you did was remove one of the standard metal plates and replace it with 3mm metal plate and hence reduce the level of dishing on the spring and so lighten the clutch. I will give that a go as I find that even with all new cables and set up the clutch is very heavy. I recall that years ago when I had my last Commando on long journey I would simply dispense with the clutch for up and down changes to save my wrist!
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3mm plate
Yes, just choose a 2mm plate and replace it with a 3mm plate. When installing push the stack into the clutch basket and see how much of a gap you have between the push plate and the circlip groove. There should virtually no gap.
Just as another thought. One of my Commandos had a very heavy clutch even after this mod and I found that the pivot lever in the gearbox had worn badly on its curved pivot surface. It looked ok but the amount of wear was shocking when I compared it to a new one.
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I have done this on 3 Commandos and my experiences have all been positive. I never liked the idea of putting two metal plates together but fortunately RGM sell 3mm and 4mm plates to replace one of the standard 2mm plates. In my own experience just replacing one of the 2mm plates with a 3mm plate is enough to give a real improvement. The first time I did it I spent a lot of time measuring clutch stack height to work out what I needed to do. What I did find is that many of the replacement clutch plates are actually a bit thinner than the originals. Only 15 to 20 thou per plate but cumulatively adds up to make the clutch heavier. For the lightest clutch put in the thickest plate you can whilst still being able to comfortably install the spring circlip. You need to make sure that the clutch spring tool is holding the spring as flat as possible to achieve this. In practice I have not been able to fit one of RGMs 4mm plates but the 3mm goes in easily. Shame they don’t make a 3.5mm plate……