01-02 Whizzer auto clutch slipping

L

likemyspoiler

Guest
I have had a Whizzer auto clutch that I bought a while ago that was supposed to be NOS. It's the huge big heavy one used in 2001 & 2002. I was waiting until I finished all my engine mods so I would have enough power to turn it & keep the RPM's a little lower at cruise speed. Well I installed it & it will move, but never gets close to full lock. I took it apart & inspected it. I have never took this model clutch apart before, but the clutch material is paper thin. the shoe material looks worn thin however everthing looks new inside like it was never used. It doesn't look like somebody pulled a fast one & cleaned it up, the clips & shoes look like new. Thats the weird part. I can't imagine the shoe material is supposed to be that thin & it also has almost an 1/8 inch of clearance from shoes to drum surface & I would think they should almost be touching. Has anyone ran into a problem like this. The big problem is I don't think any replacement parts are available since theese clutches haven't been sold since 2002. I really had my heart set on using this sucker, so if anyone has any ideas I would be greatful!! Thanks
 
No Problem! I have several of the 2001 clutches. Most look at the material on the shoes and think it is thin, however that has nothing to do with how the clutch works. The thin material only acts as an area to "mate" the shoes to the interior of the hub. The clutch , because of the size, will always "slip" a little, but will lock completely at higher RPMs. I used this clutch to set the 68 MPH speed record, so it is possible to achieve total lock at high RPMs. Just take a Dremel grinder and a sanding drum and rough the surface that is "glazed". Do this several times and the shoes will make more contact with the drum. When they first start the break-in process about 20% of the shoe surface contacts the drum, if you keep working with it about 95% will end up contacting with the drum. Always remember the ratio is very high, and if you take off too quickly it can glaze the shoes when new, but after you make more of the shoes contact the hub, it won't slip as much and won't "glaze" the shoes as easily.

Hope this helps,
Have fun
Quenton
 
Thanks so much Quenton! I thought you ran this clutch & thought you would have the answer. This is good news. I will give it a try. I didn't think the clutch material would be that thin. I thought it needed to break in, but even at high RPM's it didn't even get close to lock up. In fact I had a hard time getting it to 20 MPH when engine was at high RPM's. I put the manual clutch back on, I can't wait to swap it back out as my 05 Whizzer has auto clutch & after riding with auto clutch it's hard to go back to manual. I deal with it on my 48 Whizzer, but I almost never ride it. Thanks again!!
 
I can give you a faster way to "break-in" the clutch. Simply remove the "glaze" from the shoes, install clutch on bike, open throttle wide open [hold the brakes on] for approx. 30 seconds. Remove clutch , remove "glaze" from the shoes. Repeat this process 3 or 4 times [or untill 85% to 90% of the shoe surface is touching]. Then ride slowly for the first 25 to 20 miles [let off throttle to allow clutch to "catch" if it slips very much].
Have fun,
Quenton
 
Back
Top