Clutch Motor squeals when clutch is engaged

[Frankenstein]

it is also often the case that crappy chinese factories get half the pads a bit thicker than other half, this means that for a while you're running on just some of the pads until they all wear down to equal heights

Yerp. I've noticed they aren't the same size/thickness/shape basically at all, I often need a thin blade to remove them and a hammer to put half of them in...

The inner plate doesn't move either, so the pads actually move a tiny bit inward as they are pressed by the clutch plate, until they actually settle and find a good seat expect plenty of clutch fiddling. Just adjusted my flower nut an additional notch in as the pads are still seating from when I installed them not long ago. Evident it was needed as the last couple tries to start I could feel the clutch slipping when I used the pedals to start the engine.

 

[danlandberg]

Iv'e had this GT5 for three years and it has screamed loud every time I slip the clutch to take off from a dead stop. So I have to peddle help on take off, still squeals. I thought that it would quite after break in, but it's still as annoying as h3ll. I pull a trailer when I go shopping and it is even more annoying. I got new pads for it, but they are thinner than the originals. I got 30 pads. Should I measure the thickness of all and use the 15 closest to the same? Thats My thought anyway.

 

[crassius]

peddling to get rolling is required

 

[danlandberg]

I always peddle on take off. This is the first of the five I have had that squeals when slowly releasing the clutch while bringing the RMPs up to get into a good power band so it doesn't stall.

 

[crassius]

that is how one does it with cars and motorcycles - it doesn't work on these - instead of bringing in power by upping motor revs, our power comes from pedals so we increase pedal speed while motor idles until the clutch starts to speed up the motor - just backwards from what we're used to

 

[danlandberg]

Iv'e been building and riding these things for about 9 years. I peddle to take off 98% of the time but on accusations I can't peddle because I have something on my tank and lap. So I feather the clutch and gas to get moving. I know it's not good on the clutch pads but this is the only one that screams at me when I do that. It even does it when peddling. It squeals the secant the clutch is engaging. Just wounding if it's the clutch plate or pressure plate or the clutch pad cage.

 

[crassius]

kind of rare, but I've seen badly trimmed pads fail to reach all the way thru the slot to make good contact on both sides

 

[Frankenstein]

The engine gives off plenty of torque, but with the extremely high first gear that torque won't do crap, try starting a manual from a stop in 4th gear.. The engine will stall, that's just how it works, same deal with the China girl.

If you use a jackshaft you can just slip into first gear, I usually just give it a quarter of a turn shove with my legs, it's the literal embodiment of pedal assist lol... That minimal effort makes it very easy for the motor to catch up the drivetrain in first gear, at least with normal or 'common' first gear ratios, if you had a really large first gear then I would see the motor having virtually no trouble. Also I'm a large rider and use fat tires, the extra rolling resistance probably defined my motorized bike experience, I guess if you're as light as a feather then slipping into first is going to be significantly easier.

My sister, who would weigh something like 110 pounds if loaded down with a hundred pounds of sand, could slip into drive on a regular motorized bike easily, on mine she could definitely do it too, though never tested, apparently my bike was too big and scary for her (her words exactly) which is somewhat understandable for the previous experiment..

Doesn't a greasy pad squeel more than dry ones? I think a tiny bit of squeel is relatively normal, we are talking about dry clutches after all, I figure if it's constant for you overany engines it's probably just rider habit.

You can always make the rear gear bigger and loose top speed but reduce squeal more, again a tiny bit is kinda normal, it's the pads and plates that are ringing, the cage is not in constant rubbing friction with any parts, only being driven by the gear on the crankshaft and pushing the pads forward. The pads slip on the plate behind and in front and that is where the sound will come from. These bikes are loud enough that squeaky clutches are one of those backburner issues, as it has been for you for 9 years and only coming out now to mention it lol..

 

[danlandberg]

In those 9 years, this is my 5th build for myself. This is the only one that has sounded really loud. Iv'e had this one for tree years, have ridden very little except for the last 9 months. One town I lived in did not like these things. I got a ticket for no DL and no insurance. Iv'e moved and no problems with the po-po so far. I avoid them as much as I can.

 

[Frankenstein]

In those 9 years, this is my 5th build for myself. This is the only one that has sounded really loud. Iv'e had this one for tree years, have ridden very little except for the last 9 months. One town I lived in did not like these things. I got a ticket for no DL and no insurance. Iv'e moved and no problems with the po-po so far. I avoid them as much as I can.

OK so maybe try frying the pads a bit, it could be grease or oil in the pads, what I do is put the front wheel up against a wall, give it light to moderate gas and slowly let the clutch out to purposely slip the pads for 30 seconds or more to make them really hot, grease and oil will boil out if you heat them enough. Partial choke if you are afraid of cooking the motor or just adjusting from cold to help protect it a bit more under load. Weird stuff can make pads squeak, like odd contaminants in the surface they are rubbing on, or the surface of the pad itself, something in the cheap stock grease they put in there could even be a source of weird stuff.

Or just an accidental contamination, or a preventable one that wasn't considered (like any unwitting victim who uses a grease gun to grease a zerk fitting and then fails to wipe the excess grease off with a clean rag, the next time a gun is placed on the fitting contaminates that have adhered to the grease will get injected with the next round of grease, even wiping off a dirty zerk can accidentally press some contaminants past the ball seal,) it could be anything really, you kinda have to problem solve it a bit. I know whenever I switch pads I take a paper towel with brake cleaner and clean both the inner and outer plates really well (like you'd do for new rotors and drums on a regular vehicle before installation) to make sure I'm starting off with a good surface, and really really try not to get anything on the pads, especially grease.

I know if I really wanted and the oil or grease situation was bad I could take these little things and pop them in a toaster oven outside at 500° for a couple hours, that would virtually eliminate any possible oil except for a few specialized greases that probably wouldn't be used on one of these cheap bikes anyway..