Not Just another DR350 Clutch.........!

ok..so, i purchased a used 1991 DR350 dirt model about 3 monthes ago, and in that time i have a been extremely pacient with it but im starting to get near the end of my rope.....let me explain.

When i first bought the DR it shifted into 2nd pretty hard, just like you had to pull it and it would all of a sudden click in.
Needless to say you couldnt find nuetral and the clutch stuck a little soooooooo i figured id get it buy a new basket do the work on it and end up with a beauty of a DR for pretty cheap (i had done my Homework in the DR thread )........Well..

I replaced the basket with a Billet one from Jesse, aswell as a throttle tube and clutch are. Closed the case back up started it ect..... and Nothing had changed. So i figured thrust washers and a primary spacer might help, got all of them new OEM and put them in. But there was a catch this time i opened up the case........

Im sure all DR owners have seen and heard of the infamous shift drum bolt...Gets loose you loose your transmission, Gets loose you split your case, Gets loose your beautiful bike turns into one big peice of metal.. i digress. Well this said bolt was not loose on my bike, it wasnt there at all :eek1. I found the bolt in the bottom of the case all gashed up, no threads left and resembled a peice of rebar more than its original self. So needless to say i added one of these to my OEM order. Got it in and Blue Loctited it in with 8lbs of tourqe..... FINALLY i most be done .....right???

Well aparently not. i started my bike up let it warm up for a couple minutes made sure the oil level was good ect. and put it in to first...and what do you know its dragging still, but what about the shift problem....STILL feels like im going to break my foot in half.

So now that i have rambled on and on and on, i can only hope that one of you brilliant people can help me out here with probably quite a simple problem, i was thinking just about the only thing left to replace is Clutch plates and rings... the cable is adjusted to pull the farthest distance it can (just to test if the clutch will not grab ofcourse) and it still does.

Please lend me a helping hand, any advice, pictures, or even spare parts would help me tremendously so i can FINNALY just go riding

I woulda done it all at the same time....as a matter of fact I did.....

I pry for you the shift drum aint beat up, or worse.
Wait til you get the new goodies in and then report back

There is a lot of right up's and how to's over on maximum suzuki.

Ok, ill definitly check that out. all i can think is that my plates have gone bad...ive heard that aftermarket plates might cause the problem as well, should i go OEM or risk the aftermarket?

Ian

I will be following this thread as my tranny is a bit stiff on my 94 dr350se. Not fubar'ed like yours but it needs attention. Please keep us updated. You might try giving Jesse a call, he is a top notch guy and I am sure he will give good advice on getting your bike back on the road.

John

this may or may not help.


http://www.suzukidr350.com/images/dr350/scottentoptics/Clutch_Overhaul.pdf

Remove the clutch cover, grab the clutch basket and try to shake it back and forth... If it's totally tight and has NO play, it's too tight and will never work right. Start there and report back.

hahaha thank you for the .pdf but ironiclly ive already read through that one. And i think i might just give Jesse a call and seen what he has to say about my less than forgiving tranny

Also make sure that you haven't over adjusted the cable to compensate for the stiff shifting. There MUST be a very small amount of slack in the cable when the clutch is out. Also... I've never seen one of those billit baskets; do they have enough lubrication holes drilled in them? Have you ridden the bike for any distance since all the work, it takes a while for the new plates to soften up with oil. When I did mine it took a couple days to feel just right and it felt like crap just after I did all the work too...

i havent actually put new plates in it yet, and as far as the billet basket it works great for the part that i can tell (masked by the shifting) it is amazing. And not though it matters in the slightest but it looks quite pretty to haha .......And this is going to be a stupid question but the plates and disks cant go in wrong can they? Ive always put them back in exactly how they came out but didnt know if it made a diffrence. thanks for all the replies i hope with some help i can get this figured out

Edit: (had one more dumb question, first time for so many, im starting to feel like i just started doing this haha)

anyway, what is the reason for the reason for a slack. Ive always left some on my bikes but not knowing why just by principle.

Slack... If the cable's adjusted too tight then the clutch is being pulled ever so slightly, If it's being pulled it's not disengaged all the way. This will casue drag and/or slippage. There's probably a much better way to word this but I understand me.

Are you sure that there is a small amount of play in the basket when tight? This is the most important aspect of getting the clutch to work correctly on the dr350!

Soak those new friction plates in oil and put them in. It could be exactly what you nees to get this working right.

I've been through this on 2 dr350's. Be patient and take it apart as many times as you need to. You'll get it right.

Definately make sure you have proper clearance as suggested by others. This is a MUST for the DR350. You can get a bolt and build the clutch on teh bench and tighten to spec there and measure without re-installing. If you don't have enough clearance you will need to mill (or sand/file) a little off the back of the clutch basket. I'm not sure if this could be an issue since you ahve the billet basket (man I would love to have that myself!) but you should probably call Jesse and discuss with him, first.

Also look at the shift drum and forks. Could be a shift fork bent when the shift drum bolt was loose, or some of the other shifter parts are worn or damaged.

Definately join over at Maximum Suzuki and do some searching and/or ask the question there. Lot's of DR gurus there!

I've been there with my wife's DR350 too.
Things that especially helped me, after new clutch plates, drum bolt & the usual stuff:
- basket clearance, must-do, you just gotta do it.
- thrust washers, even new ones go bad very quickly without the basket clearance

Then one issue I very often forget myself: the gear shifter lever gets loose after a while, this is a known issue. Results in very sticky lever movement = be sure to tighten the gear lever bolt, and maybe drop it down or up one notch where you're currently at. Made a big difference with mine.

And playing with different oil is another thing. For our DR350 clutch, Motul 20W-50 mineral did not seem to work too good, but 10W-40 semi-synth was much better. Go figure.

hmm ok well it sounds like i should clearance my basket.......

Any chance somebody could give me a really thourough walkthrough on this and what its really trying to acomplish. im very firmiliar with the name, not the concept. thanks for all the help from everybody. i know ill get this figured out

Remove the clutch cover and before you loosen any thing else, try to move the basket back and forth on the shaft that it spins on. If it has a little play, it's probably not a clearance issue. If it has NO play in it, pull it off.
On the back of the basket, there's a gear attached. You'll have to grind a very thin layer of metal off of the thickness of that gear so that when you put it back on and tighten it, you'll have a little play. I've see a very detailed thread or instructions as to how to do this... I'll try to find it and post a link for you. Just start by checking for play as it is now. Or just call Jesse at Kientech and he'll happily walk you through it.

Definitly will do, and now that im thinking i dont rember having any clearence of that at all. Could that attribute to rough shifting?

Yes, that is a problem. You must have some play in there or the clutch plates will just bind together.

http://www.suzukidr350.com/images/dr350/scottentoptics/Clutch_Overhaul.pdf

Picture #6 is a visual on clearancing. Read the whole thing, this should help.

ok, thatll be the next thing i check. i plan to pull her apart tomarow. ill let you know how it goes, maybe even pics...

ok well its quite strange, it has seemed to work it self out slightly. i just went out started her up, first kick ofcourse and rode he around lightly just to shift through and it shifted pretty darn smoothly, not buttery but 100% better, only thing i still encounter is when im sitting still it is rediculously hard to shift through the gears, a task now much easier when riding.

I went through all the same measures. I ended up clearencing my hub 3 times with little success. I then installed the oem friction plates and the issues of the bike pulling in gear and hard to find neutral were gone. Now that you have already clearenced the hub try oem plates, they worked for me. This is my post over at max. suzuki on this topic. http://www.maximum-suzuki.com/forums/index.php/topic,59352.0.html