This is great timing for me. I've been having problems with my clutch disengaging on my '85 XV750. And was actually thinking it might be a friction plate issue. 😉👍
Yep, this one had sat with fuel in the oil and condensation so the plates would stick even though the pressure was off of them. When the plates get rusty they won’t let go of the friction disks it seems. She’s been perfect after changing them out 👍
Hi Steve, Thanks for the starter clip which I just installed yesterday. Then I opened up the other side of the engine, and pulled the clutch plates out just like this, but found that the wire which holds the last plate in had snapped, and was in several small pieces. Question : Is this wire absolutely necessary, and is it a huge pain to get it back in there ? How does it attach ? Might pull it all out again today if I get a chance and investigate more.
Hey ! Thanks for buying one of the clips👍. For the wire that holds the last clutch plate right against the wall, I’m really not sure if it would affect the clutch operation to have it or not as I’ve always clipped it back in with the wire. The wire retainer just slips into the groove in the clutch nest and the ends go down into the holes that the s at the beginning and end of the groove so they are not hard to put in. It may be hard to find a replacement wire though, but you could probably find the part number out on cmsnl.com as they have schematics for the Yamahas by year and model with the part numbers. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
Mate, I have a spare motor just sitting idle. After watching this video, I'm assuming that filling an unused motor to the brim with oil (I'll use old oil) will hopefully save the clutch plates and the rest of the motor? the motor will be sitting around for....years....
Hey man ! Yep, that would probably be a great idea to help keep the clutches from rusting up in the areas that don’t normally get to be below the oil height. For the ones I store up in the attic, I wire the clutch lever so it’s pulled so the plates are slightly loose. This way the don’t sit tight in the plates and start sticking themselves together.
Got a question about the metal plates. When I look at an exploded diagram of xv750 83 I can see that the clutch contains plates with 2 partnumbers. 4X7-16324-00 and 4X7-16325-00. Do you know the difference between them by any chance? And do you think the wire is necessary? Thanks, very informative video.
Hey ! I’m not 100% sure of the difference in the one special plate (the #16324 one) and the 7 of the #26325 plates, but I believe only one side is ground and scored for the friction plates on the one special one since the back of it is up against the clutch body. For the retaining wire, it doesn’t look like it actually does much, but I believe it is there to be sure the one special plate doesn’t move so oil or debris can’t get behind it and dampen the engagement of the clutch (oil couldn’t really get out from between the plate and wall very quickly I’m thinking).
@@StevesDIYs Thanks for the reply. Got another question. So the friction plates has notches at the top and the bottom. Do you need to align the plates with the clutch housing ? Not sure what they are for?
@@kt-lg5md Hey again, for the little notch orientations, I always stagger them as I put the disks on, but I’m not really sure that it matters much. I’ve thought about this as well and the only thing I can think is that they either put the notches on for the machine that puts the rectangular pads on at the factory to align with or that they were thinking there would be slight variations in the metal teeth in the stamping process so staggering them when installed would allow for a more even distribution of load onto the aluminum clutch housing. Just in case it was for the 2nd reason….I stagger them. One note when assembling the steel plates that go between the clutch disks…if you take your finger and feel the edges of the metal disks, one side will be sharper due to how they got stamped out. I always put the sharp edged side the same way (outward when I do them, but it’s probably not an issue if all are inward). Having them all the same direction allows the surface grindings to all go the same way so the clutch disks wear evenly on both sides. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
That wire that held the last disc in place, do you have to replace it back? And how easy is it to get it back in place? Thanks, very informative video.
Dennis Tang , hello. I’m not really sure why the last disk is held by the wire unless there was some issue with it sticking to the friction disk in the design or they thought there might be a potential of getting contamination behind it since it would not be cleaned off by the normal spinning. The wire is like exactly the width of the thin groove it sits in so it has to be poked back into the groove all the way around until the end clips will pop back into the holes...it does take some time to get it into the groove completely all the way around so the end will pop in the hole. I would use something plastic to push it back in so the aluminum is not damaged. If there was any slight damage to the sides of the groove it might not push in the groove all the way...then it wouldn’t clip in right. I put one end in the hole and then pushed the wire into each section of the groove as it hits the spline teeth...then after about half way around, I checked to be sure the wire was fully seated in the grooves and continued on around. Hope this helps 👍, Steve
@@StevesDIYs Taking everything part was pretty much spot on as detailed in you video. That retaining ring/wire did test my limited mechanical skills. But I get it out. However I am not able to finish, was hoping to wet sand the drive plates down. But they are rusted and pitted fairly badly. All the pitting is located in one spot. Once again thanks for the video and the information!
Dennis Tang , yep, if they have sat for a while it seems the area that wasn’t in the oil rusts up (mine was that way too). There should be a pattern of little indents in each of the metal plates...if you can get them smooth so that these show you may be ok for a while until you can order a new set or something. There’s a Facebook forum called Virago Nation if you haven’t found it, where other owners talk about their bikes. I’ve seen posts were people need parts and others have parts bikes that they sell stuff from. Might be a way to get another OE set of plates that are in good shape at a reasonable price or other owners might be able to suggest where to buy a set from. Hopefully you’ll get it going your way 👍. Steve
Hey man ! Did you check the diaphragm on top of the slide to be sure it didn’t have any holes in it? Also, I found out the hard way not to restrict the air flow of the tubes that connect to the upper side of the carbs (I put little air filters on one time versus the elbows as the material in the elbows had eroded away). Restricting the air to these will also prevent the slides from lifting correctly it seems. If you can move the slide up me down easily with your finger, it’s most likely something to do with it not being able to lift correctly with the pressure differential created when the throttle is opened I’d say. Hope this helps and all the best ! Steve
Hey ! If you go out to somewhere like Yamahapartsnation.com on the web and look up your model, it will have an exploded diagram of the clutch setup with the order the disks go many times. If you buy a used clutch basket someone pulled off a bike, most times it comes with the Seat Plate, Clutch Boss Spring (If equipped), Clutch Plate 1, and the Set Ring. The Set Ring is just a thin wire that goes into a groove that holds the 1st Clutch Plate and the others into the basket which is why a used basket typically has those since the wire is kind of hard to remove. If you look to the inside of the clutch basket and don’t see a thin wire in a groove with a plate behind it or you can see a thin groove with nothing behind it, then they have been removed. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
Hi, Steve, As I am rebuilding my 82' Virago XV750. After cleaning my Friction plates, I found 'N' marking on all Friction plates. What does this 'N' indicates?
Hello, I don’t think I’ve ever noticed an “N” marked on them before so I’m not really sure what that would stand for. I wonder if it might be noting which side the desk is as when they are stamped, the metal has a natural burr side away from the stamping die. I always be sure I put the same sides in the same direction out of habit.
Hey man, it’s pretty tough to get back on the groove for sure…I think this little wire and groove are the tightest toleranced parts on the whole bike, lol ! When I put mine back in, I use a tiny screwdriver and start on one end and carefully press it back into the groove.
@@StevesDIYs I just tried for about an hour and a half and couldn't get it in. Ordered a new one because the ends are all bent up and it got warped pulling it out and doesn't want to stay seated now.
@@StevesDIYs I got it in.. ended up using toothpicks wedged in to hold it in the groove as I worked my way around. Getting it all the way in that groove is critical, also pulling from the bottom once it's close was what got it to lock in for me
@@willsheehan2975 👍. Glad you got it sorted out 👍. Yep, it has to fit all the way down for sure or the little loops won’t make back to the hole again. Good idea to use toothpicks as it does seem to want to pop back out and get really frustrating.
Chiefpep , lol, yes for sure...I was in the middle of turning it into a bobber so that’s the factory harness all loose. I learned along time ago to put everything back together and get a project running BEFORE cutting and cleaning up the wiring...too easy to make a mistake and then not know if it’s mechanical, electrical, or a misplaced wire from the clean up that’s causing the problem. It all had to come apart for painting once it was running again so it all got cleaned up then 👍. All the best, Steve
@@StevesDIYs I love wiring as you might have noticed in my series. The barebone wiring vids are actually becoming one of the best viewed video's of my series. But don't agree with you. You can perfectly build the bike and then, one by one connect each part. Actually in that way you are sure every component is connected and don't miss out on anything. But whatever works will do! 👍
Chiefpep , yep, that may be the difference that I’m not as good with the wiring as you 👍. Better for me to play it safe on my builds (based on past experience 🤣🤣)
![[Ep 02] Yamaha Virago XV920 Cafe Racer Project - Engine Disassembly](/img/n.gif)
This is great timing for me. I've been having problems with my clutch disengaging on my '85 XV750. And was actually thinking it might be a friction plate issue. 😉👍
Yep, this one had sat with fuel in the oil and condensation so the plates would stick even though the pressure was off of them. When the plates get rusty they won’t let go of the friction disks it seems. She’s been perfect after changing them out 👍
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the starter clip which I just installed yesterday.
Then I opened up the other side of the engine, and pulled the clutch plates out just like this, but found that the wire which holds the last plate in had snapped, and was in several small pieces.
Question : Is this wire absolutely necessary, and is it a huge pain to get it back in there ? How does it attach ?
Might pull it all out again today if I get a chance and investigate more.
Hey ! Thanks for buying one of the clips👍. For the wire that holds the last clutch plate right against the wall, I’m really not sure if it would affect the clutch operation to have it or not as I’ve always clipped it back in with the wire. The wire retainer just slips into the groove in the clutch nest and the ends go down into the holes that the s at the beginning and end of the groove so they are not hard to put in. It may be hard to find a replacement wire though, but you could probably find the part number out on cmsnl.com as they have schematics for the Yamahas by year and model with the part numbers. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
Mate, I have a spare motor just sitting idle. After watching this video, I'm assuming that filling an unused motor to the brim with oil (I'll use old oil) will hopefully save the clutch plates and the rest of the motor? the motor will be sitting around for....years....
Hey man ! Yep, that would probably be a great idea to help keep the clutches from rusting up in the areas that don’t normally get to be below the oil height. For the ones I store up in the attic, I wire the clutch lever so it’s pulled so the plates are slightly loose. This way the don’t sit tight in the plates and start sticking themselves together.
Thanks for the help 👍🏾👍🏾🙏🏾
Thanks 👍. All the best ! Steve
Got a question about the metal plates. When I look at an exploded diagram of xv750 83 I can see that the clutch contains plates with 2 partnumbers. 4X7-16324-00 and 4X7-16325-00. Do you know the difference between them by any chance? And do you think the wire is necessary? Thanks, very informative video.
Hey ! I’m not 100% sure of the difference in the one special plate (the #16324 one) and the 7 of the #26325 plates, but I believe only one side is ground and scored for the friction plates on the one special one since the back of it is up against the clutch body. For the retaining wire, it doesn’t look like it actually does much, but I believe it is there to be sure the one special plate doesn’t move so oil or debris can’t get behind it and dampen the engagement of the clutch (oil couldn’t really get out from between the plate and wall very quickly I’m thinking).
@@StevesDIYs Thanks for the reply. Got another question. So the friction plates has notches at the top and the bottom. Do you need to align the plates with the clutch housing ? Not sure what they are for?
@@kt-lg5md Hey again, for the little notch orientations, I always stagger them as I put the disks on, but I’m not really sure that it matters much. I’ve thought about this as well and the only thing I can think is that they either put the notches on for the machine that puts the rectangular pads on at the factory to align with or that they were thinking there would be slight variations in the metal teeth in the stamping process so staggering them when installed would allow for a more even distribution of load onto the aluminum clutch housing. Just in case it was for the 2nd reason….I stagger them.
One note when assembling the steel plates that go between the clutch disks…if you take your finger and feel the edges of the metal disks, one side will be sharper due to how they got stamped out. I always put the sharp edged side the same way (outward when I do them, but it’s probably not an issue if all are inward). Having them all the same direction allows the surface grindings to all go the same way so the clutch disks wear evenly on both sides. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
That wire that held the last disc in place, do you have to replace it back? And how easy is it to get it back in place? Thanks, very informative video.
Dennis Tang , hello. I’m not really sure why the last disk is held by the wire unless there was some issue with it sticking to the friction disk in the design or they thought there might be a potential of getting contamination behind it since it would not be cleaned off by the normal spinning. The wire is like exactly the width of the thin groove it sits in so it has to be poked back into the groove all the way around until the end clips will pop back into the holes...it does take some time to get it into the groove completely all the way around so the end will pop in the hole. I would use something plastic to push it back in so the aluminum is not damaged. If there was any slight damage to the sides of the groove it might not push in the groove all the way...then it wouldn’t clip in right. I put one end in the hole and then pushed the wire into each section of the groove as it hits the spline teeth...then after about half way around, I checked to be sure the wire was fully seated in the grooves and continued on around. Hope this helps 👍, Steve
@@StevesDIYs Thanks Steve! Wish me luck.
Dennis Tang , you’ll get it no problem I’m sure 👍...it will all line up once the wire is fully down in the groove on each spline. All the best ! Steve
@@StevesDIYs Taking everything part was pretty much spot on as detailed in you video. That retaining ring/wire did test my limited mechanical skills. But I get it out. However I am not able to finish, was hoping to wet sand the drive plates down. But they are rusted and pitted fairly badly. All the pitting is located in one spot.
Once again thanks for the video and the information!
Dennis Tang , yep, if they have sat for a while it seems the area that wasn’t in the oil rusts up (mine was that way too). There should be a pattern of little indents in each of the metal plates...if you can get them smooth so that these show you may be ok for a while until you can order a new set or something. There’s a Facebook forum called Virago Nation if you haven’t found it, where other owners talk about their bikes. I’ve seen posts were people need parts and others have parts bikes that they sell stuff from. Might be a way to get another OE set of plates that are in good shape at a reasonable price or other owners might be able to suggest where to buy a set from. Hopefully you’ll get it going your way 👍. Steve
Hey man the slide in my carburetor for the front cylinder won’t open when throttle up
Hey man ! Did you check the diaphragm on top of the slide to be sure it didn’t have any holes in it? Also, I found out the hard way not to restrict the air flow of the tubes that connect to the upper side of the carbs (I put little air filters on one time versus the elbows as the material in the elbows had eroded away). Restricting the air to these will also prevent the slides from lifting correctly it seems. If you can move the slide up me down easily with your finger, it’s most likely something to do with it not being able to lift correctly with the pressure differential created when the throttle is opened I’d say. Hope this helps and all the best ! Steve
My engine came with no clutch or clutch side cover so how do I know what order the disks go in?
Hey ! If you go out to somewhere like Yamahapartsnation.com on the web and look up your model, it will have an exploded diagram of the clutch setup with the order the disks go many times. If you buy a used clutch basket someone pulled off a bike, most times it comes with the Seat Plate, Clutch Boss Spring (If equipped), Clutch Plate 1, and the Set Ring. The Set Ring is just a thin wire that goes into a groove that holds the 1st Clutch Plate and the others into the basket which is why a used basket typically has those since the wire is kind of hard to remove. If you look to the inside of the clutch basket and don’t see a thin wire in a groove with a plate behind it or you can see a thin groove with nothing behind it, then they have been removed. Hope this helps a bit and all the best ! Steve
Hi, Steve, As I am rebuilding my 82' Virago XV750. After cleaning my Friction plates, I found 'N' marking on all Friction plates. What does this 'N' indicates?
Hello, I don’t think I’ve ever noticed an “N” marked on them before so I’m not really sure what that would stand for. I wonder if it might be noting which side the desk is as when they are stamped, the metal has a natural burr side away from the stamping die. I always be sure I put the same sides in the same direction out of habit.
How are you supposed to get the piano wire back in?!?
Hey man, it’s pretty tough to get back on the groove for sure…I think this little wire and groove are the tightest toleranced parts on the whole bike, lol !
When I put mine back in, I use a tiny screwdriver and start on one end and carefully press it back into the groove.
@@StevesDIYs I just tried for about an hour and a half and couldn't get it in. Ordered a new one because the ends are all bent up and it got warped pulling it out and doesn't want to stay seated now.
@@StevesDIYs I got it in.. ended up using toothpicks wedged in to hold it in the groove as I worked my way around. Getting it all the way in that groove is critical, also pulling from the bottom once it's close was what got it to lock in for me
@@willsheehan2975 👍. Glad you got it sorted out 👍. Yep, it has to fit all the way down for sure or the little loops won’t make back to the hole again. Good idea to use toothpicks as it does seem to want to pop back out and get really frustrating.
Those wires need some attention too... 😉
Chiefpep , lol, yes for sure...I was in the middle of turning it into a bobber so that’s the factory harness all loose. I learned along time ago to put everything back together and get a project running BEFORE cutting and cleaning up the wiring...too easy to make a mistake and then not know if it’s mechanical, electrical, or a misplaced wire from the clean up that’s causing the problem. It all had to come apart for painting once it was running again so it all got cleaned up then 👍. All the best, Steve
@@StevesDIYs I love wiring as you might have noticed in my series. The barebone wiring vids are actually becoming one of the best viewed video's of my series. But don't agree with you. You can perfectly build the bike and then, one by one connect each part. Actually in that way you are sure every component is connected and don't miss out on anything. But whatever works will do! 👍
Chiefpep , yep, that may be the difference that I’m not as good with the wiring as you 👍. Better for me to play it safe on my builds (based on past experience 🤣🤣)