The Knowledge - Velocette Owners Club

ecome sloppy in use. finally , a gentle sanding,( 250 grade wet and dry on a flat peace of glass). The
main thing is to use FLAT plain plates, most become dished with use. A little extra throw at the lever ,till
the clutch is bedded in will help eliminate the drag.
#425 I agree with Chris replace them alternatively from opposite sides; you will need to file the inserts
with a taper to make them fit the holes. (Use gloves and a mask). Inserting them will require some form
of press, I used a fly press but you may be able to do it in a vice. You will need to find a spacer so that
the insert can protrude through the plate –some people use wire. To calculate the wire thickness, take
the thickness of the plate away from the insert thickness and halve it. Remember there is two thickness
of inserts 0.195 thick for the seven-plate clutch and 0.155 thick for the nine-plate clutch..
#428 Why not send them to Saftek, 1 Rawfolds Ind Estate,Bradford Rd,Cleckheaton, West Yorks.
BD19 5LT.Tel 01274 862666 Web site www.saftek.co.uk and have them bonded, saves a "pig of a
job"
L #451 I do have a running long term test question; I have had two of the new 'Canadian'
clutches (with bonded linings from an automatic trans - I think Goodman makes a version now) in my
bikes. They have failed within 3000 miles each, with proper adjustment even. Anyone else out there
have the same experience? My Thruxton, a week before our annual ride, has terminal clutch slip.
Time to go back to standard
#480 I think you will be surprised to find that the 'demonish' clutch you took apart is identical to the one
in any Venom, MAC, KSS, etc! All Velo clutches work beautifully if they are set up according to 'the
book', and in this case you could use the Red Book (factory service manual for Venom etc) to set up
the clutch, or ask any knowledgeable Velo enthusiast; they could help you set it up in a trice, as
undoubtedly they have done it themselves many times. There are several sources these days for
improved clutch parts, i.e. bonded linings on the friction plates, slotted plain plates to obviate warping
(not so likely with such an, er, understressed engine as the model U), most of which were developed
to handle the power of a Thruxton engine on that same little clutch. As for you overhung crank, many
prewar two strokes used them, including Scotts, and while yours will likely do an 'end to end' run with
no problem, the advantage of this design is the ability to replace the rollers without removing the
engine! That's what that round door on your crankcase is for. Not your grandson's Yamaha... By the
way, after surfacing my plain and friction plates on my Thruxton's 'Canadian' clutch, it has improved
dramatically, and after some adjustment on the first day of our annual Velo rally here in Washington
stage, went perfectly the rest of the week/1100 miles or so
#481 I agree with Paul, with the exception of the thrust and chain wheel bearing you cannot use any of
the modern parts as the clutch while operating on the same principle needs components of different
dimensions..
L #529 I have a 1970 Venom Clubman, and could use some advice about the clutch. I've done
the clutch adjustment drill as carefully as I can, and my clutch still slips under power. Should I dig in
and take the clutch apart to see what's going on, or should I try adjusting it further to increase drag?
Since this is essentially a new bike, with just 12 miles on the clock, and sat for 30 years, could it simply
be that the clutch springs are sacked?.
#531 Now I don't know if this will help but I had bad clutch slip on my MAC after replacing the main
bearings (I also took the clutch apart). Turned out that I had replaced one of the plain plates the wrong
way round. That’s all it was. It was preventing the plates being sandwiched together.
L #1041 In this cold period, I decided to keep my sundays busy in replacing this felt seal on my
Venom, you know which I mean. Opening the primary case, I saw the following problem I never
experienced : The primary chain has seized links, some rollers are broken. The chainwheel is out of
alignment, outside 2.5 or 3 mm. There is no sensible end play on the sleeve gear. I'm puzzled as there
is no provision to shim neither the drive pinion nor the clutch or the sleeve gear. Where could this
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