'81 GPz clutch is apart, take a look.

I'm still chasing down a problem where my clutch slips on upshifts but not on roll on in higher gears.
Adjustments to pushrod freeplay have been done to verify that it's engaging all the way, cable has been lubed, cable length and freeplay set.
Those adjustment did reduce the amount of slip bit its still not right.

I've got a couple questions here, please take a peek at the pics.

Do the friction plates look like stock oem parts?
How about the springs?
What would cause that wear pattern on the ears of the friction plates?
I don't know the history of the bike so I'm just trying to figure out what I'm dealing with.

The friction plates are in spec, I've got ebc springs in the mail and could also come up with shims for the stock spring if need be.
There was no noticable metal in the oil or oil filter when drained.
Bike has 12k miles on it and I use 10w40 conventional motorcycle specific oil.

Side note to Loudhvx, the steel plates were arranged to promote smooth clutch engagement, as in the rounded sides of the stamping facing in toward the engine, I've not rounded any edges yet.

Thanks!

The spring looks like it's sagging. Is it painted or is that yellowish tint from oil the PO used?
Steve

The yellow appears to be paint, just sprayed on one side of the spring, as a spring rate identifier I would guess but don't know.

You have new springs coming that's good. Are the old springs square to the table? Could be the problem. When I did my bike after the wreck, I had a Z2 clutch set. The springs were red. I didn't use them being they were in a 750. (might have been a mistake) I used the ones from a KZ 900 doner bike I had. The plates were like new so I used them. That was in 86. I just changed out the whole Magula with a fresh KZ 900 unit I won on eBay.
Not too bad if you ask me.
Steve

Those look like factory springs. They had yellow paint on them.
Aftermarket springs I've seen were all black. (But that doesn't mean some aftermarket springs can't look like factory springs, obviously.)

The disks look like factory disks, but aftermarket look similar. The factory disks usually have a "3" or "4" stamped into one of the tabs. Aftermarket ones did not have stamping.
A better way to tell is to measure the thickness of the aluminum tab on the disk.
Factory disks base metal is .110" to .114" thick.
EBC aftermarket disk base metal is .105" to .108" thick.

The wear on the tabs is normal. I'm not sure what it's from, but there really isn't anything that would cause that on the bike. I think it's part of the manufacturing process. You do seem to have more that what I'm used to seeing, so maybe you have aftermarket disks.

I have had bad experience with aftermarket. Nothing is as nice as the factory clutch for the 550's. Most aftermarket clutches will need godawful hard springs.

If the clutch is not letting loose at WOT, high gear, near redline, then I still wouldn't suspect the clutch itself, necessarily. In my experience, that is usually where I notice slippage first. That is, assuming, the motor is making the power expected.

If there is noticeable slippage in lower (first or second) gear, then it's more likely to be a release/engage issue. I know you already went through all of that, though, so I'm not sure what else to suggest. Is the clutch easy to actuate with two fingers? Have you tried to roll the clutch push rod on a glass table, to check for wobble (bend in the rod)? Does the actuator unit seem to move totally freely? (I assume you cleaned the whole thing, but sometimes a buldup a grease might slow it down.)

Obviously, just because I haven't experienced your symptoms, doesn't mean it can't happen, so try what you think will help.

I've gone through a few sets of springs over 25 years, but I still have not worn out an actual set of clutch disks. But I have installed new ones over the years to try to solve some slippage/grabby problems, but it never helped. Always turned out to be something else. If the steel plates look burned, then there might be some warpage issues. You will definitely want to check for that. I think the manual lists a limit for warpage to check for.

My steel plates have no signs of being hot, i did find the warp tolerance in the book but not a surface flat enough to check them on yet.

I've not had the adjuster apart, the clutch pull was fairly easy and smooth but did improve a bit after I lubed the cable at the bars and the adjuster midway down.
I suppose I need to free up both ends of the cable and check for drag and clean and relube that adjuster.
I'll probably get into that tonight.

Can I pull the pushrod out of the clutch cover side (right) without the adjuster falling apart?

I was afaid to remove it from the right side, I pictured little steel balls falling out and evaporating, lol.

At any rate I'll pull and relube the adjuster.

My aftermarket springs showed up today and are waiting for me to get off work (they were cheap and shipped very fast from amazon so I figured no harm in trying them) it's going to be about 62 degrees here tomorrow and I want to get some riding in.

Since my first post on this I've also ordered oem friction plates from partszilla and will try to track down some NEW oem springs in case the aftermarket springs are too stiff, which sounds like the likely outcome.

I would put the springs in, put it together then take the sprocket cover off , clean and grease the actuator. Chances are that's the culprit.
Steve

If you have a bathroom scale and some bits of wood etc, you can verify the spring rate.
If the clutch side is currently together, I would mess with the actuator side first. You want to totally rule that out before playing musical parts on the clutch side. In my experience, the aftermarket disks slip more, so their solution is to use much heavier springs. But using much heavier springs on the factory disks will stop the slippage too.

The actuator will have ball bearings that can fall out etc. The actual push rod can slide out, but sometimes needs some jiggling due to wear patterns. But you don't really have to pull it to check for straightness. Just spin the rod and see if the end wobbles in a circle. Then you know its bent. If it does not wobble, then leave it in there so as to not promote an oil leak in case the seals are shot.

(The main ball bearing for the clutch rod is captured on the clutch side, so it can't fall out on the actuator side, in case you pull the rod out.)

BTW, the push rod will come out the left side without the pesky ball falling out. Roll the rod on your sliding glass door to see if it's bent.
Steve

9 times out of 10 a slipping, but not abused, clutch will stop slipping with a new set of OEM springs. A new clutch cable is a thing of beauty and of course, as the other have said, grease the actuation mechanism.

Thanks guys, I've got a couple beverages cooling down in the fridge, I'm off work amd will be in the garage soon.
I'm going to reassemble the clutch with the old friction plates and fresh from the mailbox springs.
I'll pull the adjuster/ actuator and clean and relube and check the cable for binding and the pushrod for bends.

Ruling out any major disasters I'll know tomorrow where I stand and will have new friction disks in the mail that might get returned.
Thanks for the help, I'll see how it goes.