do you always carry spare clutch?
 

Just curious, after my recent two burnt clutches mostly because riding in deep sand I guess for longer trips I will always carry spare clutch plates.

Yes

http://www.thebrightstuff.com/Moroc2...oc37_Brian.jpg

On the bus. No spare clutch plates, Morocco 2005. Vor you zee trip iz over....


http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ia2013_080.jpg

Blown another one, BAM Road, Siberia 2013


http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ia2013_086.jpg

Yevgeny and Todor helping to change said offending article. I was carrying a spare.BAM Road, Siberia 2013. 5 hour delay and the journey continues....

Having had it happen once I considered it for the next trip but concluded the risk was low on this occasion. So I guess it kinda depends on the expected terrain you will encounter on the trip, length of trip etc.. I just hate carting around anything I don't need, but as soon as you don't, you need it! It's down to a "risk assessment" per trip for me and knowing you bike's limitations helps with this.

So ......... NO - not always.

wow, you have loaded that bike nicely :) great shots.
Good to have bike that parts are available in most countries when you don't have spare...
BTW I was wondering, so many years of motorcycling and they still did't get better idea for clutch then plates...

I've always carried a spare clutch cable.

Yep, carryin a fair bit of stuff in the picture, but the red bag should be tied on the back properly.... :nono:, it fell off in the river :mchappy:.

From experience, carrying lightweight specific bike show-stopping (if broken) parts like clutch plates and cables is a good idea.

But it depends on where you're riding. If you're going on an exclusively pavement trip, then spare clutch plates might be OTT, but if you're on on a Honda V twin (Transalp/Africa Twin are well known to have chocolate teacup clutch plates) and hitting the dirt, then I strongly suggest you should carry a spare.

My views, of course, count for nothing in the big scheme of things. Everyone should make their own experiences.

In something like 300-400,000 miles I only ever had a clutch start to slip once—on a Tenere—and I got it replaced in Casablanca (Morocco) with no problems. So it depends where I was headed.

I killed the clutch on almost new tenere in sand so I guess factory plates are made from paper...Will be replacing aftermarket stronger ones.

Didn't know honda twins had also weak clutches.

I don't think either bike has a weak clutch but more down to the rider and how hard you drive the bike, I have never had to replace the clutch on any bike. My GS has now done 170,000 miles on the original and that bike has taken me many places and in most conditions, I have met riders of Japanese bikes with similar high mileage on them who have had the same long life.
If you do ride your bike hard and expect to wear out a clutch it would be a good idea to carry spare plates.

you probably right, if you don't ride difficult off-road terrain only tarmac clutch wear is not a problem. I have never kill clutch on the street either.

My experience is that Chris is right:

https://keithooper.smugmug.com/Trave...P1000778-M.jpg

The snapped clutch cable on my Honda XL650V Transalp.

From that moment onwards I fitted a spare cable - threaded (lazy) alongside the active one.

Hasn't snapped again since that incident - 80,000 km ago - but I've had peace of mind.

I have never needed to replace clutch parts on the road but always carried a spare clutch cable. The closest I came to it was in the winter of 1962/3 riding overnight from Norfolk to Cornwall (UK).

Going through Wiltshire I noticed that when climbing the north east facing hills that the engine revs kept increasing but speed remained constant. In those days there was a wooden hut opposite a layby on the old A303. Inside the hut would be a fire and hot drinks, which were very tempting as it was really cold. I pulled into the layby only to discover I could hardly stand due to frozen ice on the layby and road. I then realised that I hadn't been getting clutch slip but wheelspin instead. Any way, had my hot drink in the shed/cafe and continued on my way, a little less heavy on the throttle. The up hill parts of the road faced the cold winds and were totally covered in black ice.

Probably a good idea! OR .... ? :innocent:
Amateur sand riders typically burn up clutches riding deep sand. Too much "slipping" of the clutch. They'll do this until they learn how to ride sand.

Chances are good you're riding too slow and constantly slipping the clutch in 1st gear. Which means short life for clutch plates ... and Springs too!

Solution? RIDE FASTER! :scooter: Don't touch the clutch. Pick a gear and TWIST that throttle, get OUT OF 1st Gear and stay off that clutch! Your bike is not a 125cc Two Stroke Moto Crosser!

Use the torque, LOOK WELL OUT AHEAD and gas it! :thumbup1:
Get moving fast and stay "On Top" of the sand.

Easier said than done of course, depending on the bike. But if you work at it ... you may get better. Should be good incentive to cut luggage weight down?

My DR650 is brilliant at this, easy to ride even loaded in DEEP SAND. Other bikes not so easy. Earlier XT600 were good in sand too, no idea about the much heavier XT660 Tenere.

I learned to "baby" my clutch decades ago riding clapped out Triumphs in the California Desert at age 14. (1960's) I learned well how to nurse a slipping clutch home and not overheat it or BLOW it. I never abuse my clutch.

One KEY POINT you are missing regards carrying spares: SPRINGS!
Once you've properly COOKED your clutch you may have also ruined the Springs. Take them out, measure spring length against a NEW spring! COOKED springs will be much shorter. Replace them.

Also ... OIL! Once you've burned the clutch you may have released a bunch of clutch debris/particles into your oil. Not good. So do an oil and filter change ASAP after "burning" the clutch. :nuke:Particles can clog oil lines and cost you an engine. :nuke: Serious. :nuke:

Conclusion? If you are taking clutch plates, carry a set of springs along too! :thumbup1:

My DR650 is now approaching 65,000 miles. (90K km.) Still on original clutch.
But before next longish trip I will do:
1. New clutch plates 2. New clutch springs 3. New Pressure Plate 4. New Clutch basket. 5. New Clutch cable.

My DR650 clutch is working perfectly but I'll do the switch just a preventative maintenance.

No spares taken here. No spare cable either, just install a NEW cable before departure. A properly routed NEW OEM cable should last at least 40,000
miles or more. I'm still on original, but time for a change.

Good luck, work on your sand riding technique, in a few HARD days of sand, you hopefully will get better, fall less and go FASTER! bier

exactly, easier said then done - have you actually ridden difficult terrain in deep sand? :) not on the flat beach, but on curvy, narrow, hilly trail?
You cannot go fast all the time, slipping the clutch is the basic technique
for getting traction back. No other bike gave up clutch on me so quickly as xt660z.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I...93_UKNNH-L.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...09_dyKh6-L.jpg
Narrow rocky canyons present challenges avoiding rocks, hard to maintain momentum. The silt beds of Baja are some of the worst (think Fesh Fesh)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c...38_Tip6L-L.jpg
Many twist and turns lots of Whoops through the Desert. Secret is to keep speed up.
https://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/p.../i-sHNWVCg.jpg
Flat Beach? Yea but with 1/2 meter deep sand! doh

Yes in Africa i was carrying a spare clutch. You only need it if you dont ;-)

Mollydog, nice shots but look what bikes you have....light DS...
try the same with 210kg plus adventure bike. Way easier to kill the clutch
when you get buried in sand.

Sometimes I think bike makers have entirely missed the point. or at least they don't ride bikes habitually.
For instance my Triumph thunderbird has a six speed gearbox supposedly an improvement from the old 5 speed. But the thunderbird has an immensely flexible engine and does not need six speeds so going up through the box wastes time and makes the ride much more "busy" than it needs to be. what would be good would be to have neutral between 2nd and third and set the rest wider apart. top gear is fine, it does not need all the intermediate gears.. use 2nd as a "normal first gear and the 1st as a super low first so you can creep at tickover without slipping the clutch. Why such a piddly little battery ? especially as it has no kickstart.

Tremens, perhaps thats the problem, 210KGs adventure bikes perhaps adventure bikes should be smaller and lighter ???

or, clutches should be more robust and durable? :)

Well lets see - I carry clutch cable, throttle cable, rear brake pads, front brake pads, a sprocket set, cush rubber, rear wheel bearings, front wheel bearings, steering bearings, light bulb, all 4 levers, spark plug, innertubes front and rear..... but no clutch plates...doh

It's true, some lightweight bikes in my shots but some XR600's too ... and my DR650 was there too on other trips shown.

210 kgs. is just TOO MUCH (for me). (see fallen R1200GS below) Expert level riders can do it but not me.
I've seen guys ride loaded GS's in sand and were able to make it through most times. It's all technique. I believe your 660 Tenere' may be right at the limit for doing deep sand.

My advice? If you can, ride very early in the AM ... sand is damp, not so soft.
Low pressure in tires. Helps!

https://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/p.../i-HBwJ5hq.jpg
My DR650 and friends XR600. I also rode a KLR650 around here ... not good! doh

But my friends XR600 and my DR650 did OK in the deep sand. A little faster pace is better, and tires at low pressure helps too! Stay in right gear and you may not have to slip clutch too much!

Most riders look down at their front tire ... doing that will have you on the ground or stalled, buried in sand! :nono: If you look WAY OUT FRONT ... it really helps! :D

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1...26_XKBCH-L.jpg
Another fall in deep "Bull Dust" in Copper Canyon. (an area there where NO ONE HAS BEEN!) After 5 falls I took over riding the GS and guy in Yellow Aerostich rode my DL1000 Vstrom. He did better on the Vstrom ... no more falls. I rode the GS and it was TOUGH. I nearly killed myself a few times. The Bull Dust was created from HUGE logging trucks. The "Fesh Fesh"
was about one foot to 2 feet deep in places. You could not see your front tire at all and the deep dust created a "Wake" like driving a boat through water. Very strange! You could not see ROCK, STUMP, HOLE ahead. Very dangerous.

What bike are you traveling on?
I guess if you're traveling for a LONG LONG TIME, and never plan to stop in a place where parts are sold, then I guess you NEED all that stuff.

For me, I like to REPLACE some what you listed above with NEW parts before departure. Cables last years (on my bike), so do wheel and head bearings. Bulbs are sold in any medium sized town. I always begin trip with NEW Battery, new tires and NEW tubes as well. Cush drive can be "improvised" with bits of old inner tube. :thumbup1:

I DO carry a spark plug, sprockets, levers (2) and 3 tubes.

Other than starting off the clutch should be either in or out.

Rather than 'slip' the clutch.. 'fan' it - rapidly in and out ... thus the clutch is on and off quickly. 'Slipping' the clutch will rapidly ware it out.. don't do it! 'Fan' it instead.

Sand ... the faster you go the easier it is. There are limits .. but they have to do with the terrain and your confidence. If your slipping the clutch .. you can probably go faster ... more engine power and clutch out. Fuel consumption will be half what it is on sealed tar.

not true.

And that way the bike weights more .. so you'll need a stronger frame, bigger engine, stronger gearbox (heavier) ... so so it goes.

If you want something that you cannot break ... think tank.

If you want to use what you have ... and have it survive ... learn to use it within its capabilities.

Most, if not all, clutches are not meant for continuous slipping. They will ware out fast, over heat with this kind of abuse. It is far safer for the clutch to avoid slipping it.

The above is pretty much how the old guys I learned to ride from explained about how to use the clutch. Basically, don't use it other than starting from a stop. Let it out quickly, don't slip it.

Anyway, that's how I learned. But tough terrain can mean more than normal slipping, especially if riding Trials type obstacles like in the video.

I'm betting that same Aussie guy who makes those fantastic videos would also
recommend carrying SPEED when riding through deep sand. He will also talk about "Vision" and how so many riders get that bit wrong.

I must admit to have done 170,000 on the same clutch on a gs from new is unbelievable,
I think 60,000 miles is the norm maybe 80,000 at a push if its not thrashed