Lifetime of a clutch

[Mgajohnson]

How many Km's or Miles should someone expect the clutch to last under normal on the road riding?

 

[L.B.S.]

I can only speak for myself, but the earliest mileage I've needed to replace a clutch was about 50,000 km's and that was years worth of severe and deliberate abuse by me with constant wheelies and general disregard for it, in my race bike. At that, it only cost me about $60.00 dollars to put in a set of heavy duty Barnett friction plates and springs, and all was perfect again. Note the dollar amount was many years ago, it's more than likely a fair bit higher than that nowadays, but I don't know.

I've never had another bike with any need for a new clutch, and many of my bikes were sold with well over 100,000 km's and a perfectly nice clutch still in them. While I didn't abuse them like my race bike, I still wheelied and rode the heck out of all of them though.

Being very easy on my NCX, I would be very surprised indeed, if I didn't see well into the multi hundred thousand km mark, myself.

 

[dduelin]

I'm at 135,000 miles on the ST1300 clutch and I do alot of slow speed work in the friction zone dragging the rear brake against the engine. I expect the NC clutch to do as well.

 

[itlives]

That's good to hear. I was wondering the same thing. I've been practicing going slow and keeping my balance. You have to slip the clutch a bit for it.

 

[SergeantChuck]

I've never had the need to change a clutch in over 30 years and I've owned a few high mileage second hand bikes. I've snapped a few cable though.

Samsung Galaxy S4

 

[showkey]

That's good to hear. I was wondering the same thing. I've been practicing going slow and keeping my balance. You have to slip the clutch a bit for it.

I have seen a few new riders trash the clutch in a few thousand miles of unsupervised "learning" use. Excessive slipping and starting out in second gear was the primary cause. The worse case was a new rider that did not understand that first gear was one down (they thought one down was reverse).......scary.......so they started out in second gear every time and for a new rider skills that's not a good thing for the clutch.

Normal use what the others said ^^^^^^^^^^

 

[StratTuner]

Modern clutches amaze me!

I put 300,000 miles on a Honda Civic with no clutch replacement.

 

[BerndM]

I've gotten into the habit of using the Sport mode on my NCXD thinking it would create a LOT less wear & tear on the DCT clutches by shifting way less often, especially in stop & go traffic. My main concern was not the actual clutch so much as the DCT shifting mechanism itself.

 

[Vescol]

I've gotten into the habit of using the Sport mode on my NCXD thinking it would create a LOT less wear & tear on the DCT clutches by shifting way less often, especially in stop & go traffic. My main concern was not the actual clutch so much as the DCT shifting mechanism itself.

5 year unlimited milage warrenty, so i dont mind using 'D' mode primarily
13 month old and 23.000 km / 14.000 miles

 

[wozza]

I wouldn't like to say what the lifetime is for the DCT clutch, but I bet it's a l-o-n-g time.....

 

[Spaceteach]

As other posters have said, modern clutches hold up really well. I'm sure someone who likes to rev the bike to redline and then slowly let out the clutch could burn one out rapidly, but outside of some serious abuse they seem to have a long lifespan.

I've only had to replace one motorcycle clutch over the years and that was on a 1962 Triumph Cub. The Cub did not have a reputation for reliability. The only part on that motorcycle that lasted over 5,000 miles was the clutch. It made it to 10,000 and even then I didn't actually replace the clutch. I just took the basket containing it and all the other parts that needed replacement (AKA a complete but un-assembled 1962 Triumph Tiger Cub) and traded it in on a Ducati 250.

Bob

 

[happy]

I went out with my son today who is about 50kg.
After 4 hours of spirited riding, all was good.

That is until we reached home after say 100km, I noticed that the clutch could be slipping.
At the normal half clutch position, the bike doesn't want to pull.

Oh well....i will check this next weekend again.

Looks like another nail in the coffin for the NC700X.


Bike is at only 15500km. Maybe it is something else?


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[670cc]

I noticed that the clutch could be slipping.
At the normal half clutch position, the bike doesn't want to pull.

Looks like another nail in the coffin for the NC700X.


Bike is at only 15500km. Maybe it is something else?


Sent from my LG-D955 using Tapatalk

It sure sounds like you're trying hard to justify replacing the NC. If you want it to be the last nail, then it can and will be. Otherwise you can probably just adjust the cable and ride it another 100000 km.

 

[happy]

It sure sounds like you're trying hard to justify replacing the NC. If you want it to be the last nail, then it can and will be. Otherwise you can probably just adjust the cable and ride it another 100000 km.

Seriously do you think it is just the free play adjustment of the clutch cable?

I do think I would like to ride it a while longer.

It was kind of shocking to me that this suddenly happened right after I was considering to change bikes.



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[Old Can Ride]

If ridden the in dirt often, then about 50,000 miles per clutch. Make sure to replace the springs also. Fairly easy do it yourself job.

 

[happy]

If ridden the in dirt often, then about 50,000 miles per clutch. Make sure to replace the springs also. Fairly easy do it yourself job.

Thanks. So my 16,000km is way too little for clutch failure, right?

Any video on how to change the springs or check clutch?

How do I ascertain the life of the clutch, whether it is burnt or still serviceable?



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[b_rubenstein]

The clutch lever should be adjusted so that there are several mm of free play in the cable. If there isn't, then the clutch may not full engage which will cause premature wear. Since this bike has a wet clutch, if you drain the oil and it has a burnt smell or bits of material in it, then the clutch is damaged. The right hand cover has to be removed to examine and change the friction and steel plates. There's an exploded view of the clutch here.

 

[Old Can Ride]

I just followed the Honda NC7 service manual. I have changed my clutch twice now. The middle time was because I could not get all the parts when the clutch went out in Mexico, nor did I soake the plates in oil before installation as is required. However, I did get out of Mexico and that improperly installed clutch did last 6 months. When it did go out again I was dead center of the Mississippi bridge at rush hour in Baton Rouge, now that was a real adventure. So, after that I made sure to change the springs and all plates. The NC has 95000 miles on it now, with no clutch problems. You can install the oil pressure sending unit backwards when installing a new clutch. Fairly easy to do as it looks correct either direction installed. Make sure to mark it at the correct side when taking it off. You will know quickly if you put the sending unit backwards, as the bike will not start. That is about the only thing that average folks can do wrong when intalling the new clutch. As there is not gasket on the side engine plate, make sure to put the Honda bond sealer on real thin, as if too thick you will have a oil leak.