Gas Gas Pampera - wanted.

[Hugh]

Greetings,

Last time I actually rode the bike the clutch drag was quite bad. I fired it up yesterday to check the run out of the new wheel and chain, all fine but the clutch drag annoyed me. I had been invited to join some folk for a run next week so I thought it might be best to inspect the clutch to save possible embarrassment. Two problems hit me, first I live in a tier 3 area so can't go and second I opened up yet another can of worms

Oh dear, I found the surfaces of the metal drive plates corroded; the gaps between the friction plate pads were clogged up solid with debris; upon further inspection one pad is insecure and one simply fell off! Good news, at least all of the clutch springs are of equal length. What really concerned me though was that the 5mm ball which should fit between the push rod and lifter is missing !!!! This could well be the cause of the drag because the plates will not have been separating fully.

Well tomorrow I shall have to put my hand in my wallet again and try and pick up a new clutch plate pack, oh and a 5mm ball.

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TTFN

Hugh.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

A new clutch pack (plates and springs) is about £100. You have to buy a complete set of plates.

Don't bugger the new ones up by using anything other than a mineral oil: they swell up in synthetic...my old clutch pack was thicker than the new one!

[daveuprite]

What really concerned me though was that the 5mm ball which should fit between the push rod and lifter is missing !!!! This could well be the cause of the drag because the plates will not have been separating fully.

Yep, that 5mm ball is vital, Hugh. I'm a bit surprised you've had any kind of clutch action at all without it. The throw must be all wrong. Best thing would be to blueprint the whole clutch. Go back to how it should be from new. New drive plates, new friction plates, new springs, new 5mm ball (!), new thrust washer/s if you have them. Triple check you have the friction plate / steel plate order exactly right - and then torque everything down to workshop manual spec. Clean the whole thing out nice and stick in fresh standard recommended oil. Soak the plates in the oil for a while before installing. As Richard says, the right oil is vital, or you might bugger up the new plates. If necessary fit a new cable and check the play at the lever carefully. It may need a little bedding in, and you could try the 'up against a wall' trick to help with that (put the front wheel at 90 degrees to a wall, let out clutch in first gear until the back wheel wants to spin but doesn't, and don't let the engine stall. Do that for a few seconds a few times).

I had to do all this on my Beta when the clutch grab/judder/stalling got too much to bear. It was worth it. Then if you still have a problem it's easier to trace the reason. In my case, with a hydraulic clutch, I have realised how critical it is to bleed the line and the slave perfectly leaving not a single bubble in there. It's worked well ever since.

[bill_qaz]

The Pampera is a hydraulic clutch, I made a guard for the slave cylinder when it was mine

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[daveuprite]

Didn't realise that. In which case, bleeding it all properly is the essential last step.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

I hate hydraulic clutches, but every bike I now own has one (same goes for liquid cooling).

Here's how I 'improve' my Pamp clutch.

Remove final-drive sprocket.

Slack off the bolts holding the slave cylinder a few turns (equal for both bolts).

Squeeze clutch a few times.

Tighten bolts

Repeat a few times.

This is probably a shocking bodge. But it's what I do after changing the fluid and bleeding the air. I think it forces any remaining air out of the top of the system and ensures the slave piston is correctly positioned.

[Hugh]

Greetings all,

Bill, the guard (and reserve tank) you made is still fitted, I removed it to check for any possible fluid loss from the slave cylinder and to check if the missing ball might have been inserted before the rod up against the slave cylinder - it hadn't so bit of a mystery

Gave the gearbox a good flushing with fresh oil, what had been in had only done about 60 miles anyway. Nothing untoward came out, originally the oil was slightly water contaminated so changed the water pump shaft, bearing and seal when I replaced the clutch cover following the engine lock up experience.

The clutch centre hub nut was loose by just short of 90o. The fingers all looked good though and the bearings felt fine too.

Off to Buxton this morning to pick up new parts, the new clutch plates then got soaked in oil. I know that Richard suggested using mineral but GasGas use Putoline 10 and others have told me to use the higher Nano specification. Release push rod inserted followed by new ball bearing fitted under the lifter, fresh oil poured through the hub and then the plates fitted. I have used 700ml. Clutch fluid replaced again, probably bleed it yet again after a run. I bought a slave cylinder kit just in case but I will keep it for possible future use.

All back together again, the bike started second kick, the clutch felt lighter, smoother, although there is some slight drag I can select 1st without any grab and generally find neutral on rolling to a stop. Only rode it on the path so yet to have a full test run.

I'll keep you updated after going for a decent run at some point. Fingers crossed

TTFN

Hugh.

[bill_qaz]

Two more pics, dash switch to turn off lights as permanently on when running, and thermal strip on radiator to monitor temp. Never had any clutch issues.

[Hugh]

Greetings,

Quick update on progress. Well the side stand broke whilst out the other week but fortunately no harm done. I couldn't locate a hollow tube to slide over and make a splint but I did find some square section tube which fitted quite tightly around the original shaft so I had that welded to the fork end and left the other end with a hose clip to let me adjust the angle of lean before finally getting that welded too. May not look pretty but better than the bike falling over

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The engine performance, gear ratios and fuel economy I found really good but kickstarting left me with cramp in my right thigh after the day out. On Boxing Day I went to Observe at a trial and the indicators would only blink once, so today I took the flasher unit off and a load of water came out when I turned it upside down. Prised the item apart, drained, dried and sealed around the top where the innards fit in and now they work again, fingers crossed. Drilled a couple of small drain holes in the base just in case.

Father Christmas left me some handlebar muffs so I fitted them as well today ready for 'our' next adventure.

The rear wheel was converted to tubeless so when parked up over time the pressure leaks away and I need to remember to reset it before venturing out.

TTFN

Hugh.

[bill_qaz]

Hi Hugh, the kickstart is why I sold the Pampera, hip arthritis coupled with its high short kickstart became too much. I used the square tube method when lengthening my crf side stand due to slightly raised suspension to achieve a better lean angle.

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