Clutch+Basket+Replacement

=Overview:=

The earlier model Dl1000`s may have an inherent issue with noise and vibration in the 3000 to 4000 rpm range. This is generally thought of as vibration in the clutch basket. Under warranty when still available, Suzuki will replace the clutch basket with, in most cases, and updated version but as a rule the issue returns in a short time.

Both of the following Stromtrooper members offer aftermarket repair to your existing clutch basket.

Email SVMan here - (located in the UK) Email RealShelby here -(located in Houston, Texas)

=Diagnosis:=

__SVMan`s explanation:__
This vibration has been given a name by many as it's a combination of a Shudder and a Chatter so known a CHUDDER. The last thing I want to do is scare every owner into thinking their bike must have this or is bound to get it one day. There is no evidence to support this. Purpose of my contribution is to help those who do have, or suspect they have the problem to identify it, understand it and then decide if they need to get it sorted out. If you are up against this suspected chudder then read on.

Over time and a hundred and fifty modifications, where I went through the diagnosis with owners and then stripped their baskets myself, I have found there are two distinct stages. The first will be present in some bikes after only 5,000 miles and becomes a real problem by as little as 15,000 miles. The second and more severe stage two chudder seldom shows before 15,000 and some owners told me it came on following a long sustained high speed run. The average mileage of the one hundred and fifty clutch baskets stripped and modified to date is only 18,000 miles. The spread of mileages being from 8,000 miles right up to around the 50,000 mile mark.

Some owners can't believe it came on so quickly and start wondering if the airbox or tank has worked loose.
 * Stage One ** - The symptoms are a noise and vibration felt throught the footrests, handlebars and frame. It's in all gears as you pass through the 3,000 to 4,000 rpm range and is often at its most severe at some point near the middle of this range. A few owners also report it starts up just below 3,000rpm with a reduction before starting again as they pass 3,300 rpm and upwards. This stage one is likely to be there in all bikes to some very small degree and it's only those it causes enough of a problem to that might wish to fix it. This stage can also start up at much higher mileages or it's crept in so slowly over the years of ownership it's only identified when you swap bikes.


 * Stage Two ** There is a more advanced version reported by some which makes the bike near impossible to ride at slow speed in first and second gears without having to slip the clutch such as when taking a hairpin turn or even a roundabout. No mistaking you have a problem when this starts up. These baskets often don't look any worse that those I strip at 50,000 miles. Problems with the Engine Control Unit/Module settings (ECU/M), sensors and throttle vacuum balance are also thought to cause very similar symptoms in earlier bikes. Plenty of owners have come to me for the clutch basket modification after they went throught a sometimes and often long and expensive process of eliminating these first. They write back saying the basket must have been the problem all the time and that many of the ECU and throttle adjustments and even dyno runs had little, if any, impact on their rideability issues. All too may owners just picked up a used bike and it turns out that the earlier owners had just given up on it. Some signs of this are new owners being told to keep the revs above 4,000 rpm and bikes with a lowered gearing in an attempt to make top gear useable. And makes the time the chudder lasts for as you pass throught the range ever so slightly shorter.


 * Test for the CHUDDER ** I don't make any claim for discovering this as it's widely documented on many forums and those who work with clutches in cars and bikes will try this as a giude to finding a problem.

Ride the bike up a long gentle incline and satsify yourself you can identify when the bike is about to vibrate as you accelerate at a normal rate through the 3,000 to 4,000 rpm range. You might need to practice but those with the real chudder will have a sixth sense by then. Ideal might be third, fourth even fifth gear and a pillion to make the time the vibration lasts for as long as you can. Now just as the bike starts to vibrate you need to pull the clutch lever in just a fraction. Just enough to take up all the play in the mechanism. Not enough to make it slip. If there is a significant reduction in the vibration then you have proved the vibration is caused by the clutch. Try a few more times and other gears and road speeds just as confirmation.

If there is little or no reduction then you might be looking to check chain and sprockets for wear or tension issues, engine and exhaust mount security and the ECU or throttle balance issues last of all. Rear sprocket carrier bearing can also be worth a check as a few owners had this mixed up with the basket chudder. Some crash bars have also been known to cause similar symptoms so might be worth a check too.

The chudder is a resonance. Its very engine and clutch speed dependent and is the weight of the clutch assembly flexing the gearbox input shaft ever so slightly.

__RealShelby`s explanation:__
Let me first say there is more than one "thing" happening. It is NOT clutch slippage in any form or fashion, so the term "shudder" ( shudder + chatter = CHUDDER ) and "chatter" may not be the best descriptions. It is a vibration in the basket assembly. We know the inner plate can work loose and be a factor. Power pulses transmitted to the basket from the steel gear are not smooth. The steel gear pushes on the springs, the springs compress to absorb the shock, the inner and outer plates should tranfer this energy directly to the aluminum basket. Somewhere along the way, the power pulses of the engine ( vibration ) don't get absorbed smoothly by the assembly. This gets all out of whack in the 3000 to 5000 rpm range. Call it a problem with harmonic vibrations as the out of control vibrations cause other vibrations and so on till you get "chudder". Because of wear, the plates can be off center and that contributes to the vibrations. I am doing some testing now to see if the needle bearings are a contributing factor, as well as testing to see if the aluminum basket to steel gear "bearing" is a factor. It is proven that fixing the inner plate is a big step in stopping the vibrations from becoming out of control, the shim mod controls these also.

Call it an out of control vibration caused by loose/worn parts and poor tolerances in the design.

=Solutions =