Ceramic clutch?

Richard Stallard

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I was wondering if anyone has used the touratech Ceramic clutch plate? If anyone has is it any good and would you recommend it most of my riding is off road mountain and sand. Thanks Richard.
 
Although I have no experience of the Ceramic clutch as I understand they take approximately 500 mile to ‘bed in’ and, are virtually bomb proof….will probably out last the rest of the GS :D
 
thanks

Thanks Paul, I admit they sound very good if the sales talk is to be belived, But I've not come accross anyone who uses them I'm back in Cornwall next week so I'll go and see the guys at John Deakon's shop see what they say regarding this. what I can't understand is if there so good how come not may people use them??
 
Richard, a sidecar riding R1100GS guy in outback Australia has one fitted to his bike. His bike is pretty much a rat bike but it goes like stink.

After he had done his second clutch by glazing the pressure plate side for the second time he heard about ceramic clutches from rally car people.

His clutch came from Sth Africa as far as I know. It may not be the Touratech one as I'm sure there is more than one manufacturer of this kind of product in the world and they would more than likely source theirs from Germany or similiar.

I know that he had to change all 3 plates and bits and seals as well (probably because he found stuffed stuff). It caused a bit of consternation at first as it apparently slipped because it was a tight fit. But now that it is run in after a very long run in period of about 3,000 to 5,000 Klm's I last heard that it's the Bees Knees!

As he rides and lives in sand hill territory and his shopping is a round trip of 600 Klm's or a couple of hours in an aeroplane, the bike does get a terrible caning when he uses it.

I last spoke to him in October last year and he had had the clutch in for about 1 year then. He was quite chuffed with it but as the clutch didn't break now, the subframe and the aluminium seat spar had broken badly in several places as a result of the caning in the bush it received.

I think the cost would have to one factor and the availability when one needs a new clutch plate is another factor, after all I don't think there are many sitting on workshop shelves and if my clutch goes I want the bike back on the road ASAP instead of waiting a couple of months for a Ceramic job.

Mick.
 
Know what you mean.

Hi Mick, thanks again for your reply. I know what you mean when you talk about waiting for parts, the dealer in Dubai don't even have tyres, last trip to the U'K I brought back 2 sets of TKC80's and I'll probably bring back some more this trip. But then again when I had my 10 year old GS100PD some of the parts they had in stock where very suprising? never can tell over here. Thanks for the info on the clutch just wondered if it was werth my while getting one as a lot of my riding over here is in Deep soft sand, guess I'll wait and see how long the standard clutch lasts. Keep in touch mate cheers Richard.:beer:
 
Just to set your minds at rest, these plates are in stock in the UK
 
Ceramic clutch

OK John,

Now we know they're in stock and I know they're in the Touratcech catalogue, the big question is are they worth fitting?

Most of us are'nt canneing it through the outback, but as you know, my bike and Lisa's will be put to the test over the next few years. What are your thoughts on fitting a ceramic plate when attempting a global ride!!!:D

One less thing to worry about? Or an uneccessary spend???


Cheers
Simon T:beerjug:
 
Standard v ceramic

We're 13,000 miles into our RTW trip. Two up with BIG luggage we weigh well over 500 kilos and have not had any trouble with our GS's standard clutch.

We contemplated the ceramic jobbie but cost put us off.

If you're going to be in the arse end of nowhere in circumstances where a break down could prove life threatening it's probably a good idea, other than that it's a bit of an extravagance.

Goose
www.gooseontheloose.com
:beer:
 
Does the reference to glazing the pressure plate give me a possible hint as to why my 1150GS at only 17,000 miles has a clutch that smells very hot at the slightest opportunity? Hawes was a particular trial. I've been told by Steve Smith to look at the grubscrew pre-load on the clutch lever to ensure that there is no partial application of pressure to the release bearing and by SLM to on no account touch any part of the clutch as it is factory set.

That's all well and good but I was extremely hesitant about some of the hill starts around Hawes even though my pillion is very slim. Incidentally, SLM told me that the 1150 should happily pull away on steep hills from 1,000 rpm. Any comments welcomed.

Richard
 
smelly cruches

Hi there Richard it's Richard here, Know what your talking about when you say smelly!! I noticed my clutch slipping a bit while I was trying to get my bike out of an area full of rather big rocks, a bit like trials riding and at the end of it she seemed a bit hot. And as for pulling away on steep hills, off road anyway, she's a bit of a pig and take a bit of getting used to, I do believe that's why they changed the gear ratios on the Adventurer to make it better at pulling away on hills. Cheers Richard..:beer:
 
If your planning a trip and you need a new clutch anyway, go for the ceramic one. Also, if you do lots of hill starts off-road or plan on getting stuck in sand on a regular basis it's worth having. For the rest of us in normal daily life, it's a chunk of moeny that could be better spent down the pub!

How's that for an honest opinion.

John Hill
 
:thumb YE REALLY GOOD NO MORE BURNIN SMELL OF CLUTCH BE VERY CAREFULL WITH THE WASHER 2M AND 5MIL GET THEM IN THE RIGHT PLACE GOOD LUCK..
:thumb
Richard Stallard said:
I was wondering if anyone has used the touratech Ceramic clutch plate? If anyone has is it any good and would you recommend it most of my riding is off road mountain and sand. Thanks Richard.
 
Richard Stallard said:
I was wondering if anyone has used the touratech Ceramic clutch plate? If anyone has is it any good and would you recommend it most of my riding is off road mountain and sand. Thanks Richard.

a question of clutch, ...do clutches wear out only as a result of using them too much (in..out..in...out, etc), or they can also wear out purely due to mileage? What I'm trying unsuccessfully to say, is that, do the plates wear out when the clutch is engaged?
I know for example, most my mates who are engaged do wear out.

ag1s
 


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