Clutch judder squeal snatch 2012

[Peterp1per]

I bought this 2012 400 Burgman to ship to Portugal as it could go a couple of years without needing an mot. I was the second owner and the bloke I got it from was obviously totally fed up with it's general lack of refinement and let it go very cheap. It's on about 5K now as I remember.

In view of this I wasn't really concerned about the perstent juddery, squealy, snatchy clutch engagement but over here where the road surfaces are often loose and uneven it's a bit of a liability in any low speed manoevre. I will add that since I have owned it it has been dealer serviced, and have heard and read all the 'they all do it' and 'just strip the whole thing down weeky and sand the pads' arguments but I think it's time now the warranty is coming to the end to ditch the original clutch and fit something fit for purpose.
What would you recommend as an aftermarket fix? I would be most grateful for any advice, I can get the parts shipped here and perhaps find someone to fit them, I don't have the tools or space to diy here.

PS I have a 2002 400 Burgman in storage in the UK and used it on a recent return to base, oh what a lovely drive by comparison, smooth predictable and I think quicker. It was the basis for my brand loyalty to the newer one, but obviously newer is not always better.

[Ralph]

What I did with mine was strip it down clean the dust out chamfer the leading edges of the shoes off like you would new brake shoes
grease the bearings in the center, not had a problem in over 12000 miles.

[Dave Weller]

On the Burgman US site, a contributor is Quantum Mechanic, who has worked on and repaired many 400's, with this problem, if it is one.
He lives in the UK, is it anyone on here?
He makes the point of using a sanding block to prevent ridges and future problems when de-glazing the shoes. I don't find my K9 bad enough to bother with, and clears if a few fast take off's are carried out. It's a 400cc single, so will always be a bit lumpy, the earlier models produced less power, so may be smoother on pick up.

[Data]

Hello Peter,

Sorry to hear you have issues with the clutch Peter. It's actually not a problem once you know how to cure the problem. It's easy. And, yes it's me Dave! I'm Quantum Mechanic, a very different name on the Burgmanusa site. As some of you know, I've spent some considerable time on this clutch thingy and with the help of the guys who's bikes I've been servicing have concluded several things. It's taken several months but I think I have all the answers now. I've been meaning to post about it on here for some time but just haven't got around to it.

So here's a link to one of my most recent posts...

http://burgmanusa.com/forums/23-newbie- ... post901482" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have posted in several other threads on that site to try to help some individual overall. The USA guys don't seem to have as many dealers as we do so struggle to achieve the required results on several fronts.

Peter, if you read through some of my posts you'll see it's not too troublesome an issue once you know how to deal with it. I've done several thousands of miles now with no clutch issues because I found the proper way to clean and deglaze the clutch. There are some important things to do when you do that job. If you do it wrong the judder will come back early. But not if you follow my instructions. If you have further problems PM me for additional advice or just ask here.

[Peterp1per]

Thank you all very much for you help, I was aware of Dave's recipe for success from reading this board, but it's still a temporary diy work around which dealers don't seem aware of, or be willing to do.
If I have to live with the existing components I guess my best bet is to print out all Dave's posts and find an english speaking bike mechanic here on the Algarve to do the job to his instructions.
When I last visited the Suzuki dealer in Albufeira not one person spoke a word of english so I'm not too hopefull.
It's not that I am lazy, I could do it but it would mean assembling all the tools from scratch, making the holding tool then working outside under an improvised sun shade at ground level in 35 degrees of heat.
Still winter's round the corner.

[ken]

I too had this clutch squeal problem, which I think is mainly due to clutch glazing. Now, before every ride, I run the revs up to 5,000 momentarily while holding the bike on the brakes. That seems to work. I suspect that cleaning out the air filter would help as well. I believe that it should be cleaned every 1,800 miles but I must admit I have never done so yet and at the last service the service manager did remark that it was very dirty when they cleaned it. I must get around to doing it again ..... sometime!

[Data]

Yeah, it's important to clean that filter Ken. Transmission temperature goes up quite a bit when it gets dirty. Not good.

[Peterp1per]

Yes that filter is on my conscience, though the transmission is cold when it first starts and that is when the problem is worse, so i can't see that cleaning it would help.
Some of the plastic has to come off to get at it I believe, seems a lot of trouble for such a frequent job.

[Data]

It's pretty easy Peter. It only has to be done around every 1800 miles and takes about 10mins to get it out, 2mins to wash it, and then let it dry for half an hour or so in a warm well vented place. Reassembly is just another 10 mins. I just loosen the bottom plastic rivets on the rear of the lower panel and you can get into the area to undo the snorkel pipe clip. Next just undo the bolts that hold the filter cover in place and then the bolts that hold the filter to the tranny cover. WARNING: don't get the bolts mixed up. They are not all the same length. If during reassembly you put them back in the wrong holes then you can easily mash up your variator fan when you start the engine. That WILL be expensive.

Reasons to do it: it keeps the tranny cool and reduces the amount of dust the clutch and belt make during running. Also, the better airflow helps keep the dust in the tranny area to a minimum blowing it out of the tranny cover vent, so that when the engine is cold it won't judder...and when the engine is hot, it won't judder. Clutch judder is a maintenance thing more than anything else. That means keep the filter clean at all times. Clean and deglaze the clutch correctly following my advice on Burgmanusa to the letter. I'm Quantum Mechanic on that site.

http://burgmanusa.com/forums/23-newbie- ... post901482" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Maybe read the entire thread at that site paying particular attention to keeping the clutch shoes flat during deglazing. Even I did not realise just how sensitive these centrifugal dry clutches are to having the clutch shoes kept absolutely flat in all plains. Use only 80 grit paper on a sanding block to deglaze, don't use your fingers with 80 grit sanding paper, it exerts uneven pressure on the shoe material and buggers up the nice even shoe surface. It's only needs to be a little uneven for judder to start. Also make sure to chamfer the leading and trailing edges of the shoes. I'll post a new thread on here soon with some pics.

Do that and you won't get any problems. It will only need a deglaze roughly every 7500 miles. If you don't do much town work then around 10-15,000 miles is enough. Do it right and the judder won't come back for thousands of miles. It's proven, and if it does come back early, you are not deglazing and cleaning correctly.

[Dave Weller]

Be careful with the lower panel, it's designed to be popped off from the front wedge type clip, it easily can crack by the last rear fixing screw mount. Guess how I know.