TOPIC:

But, Wheww (sighs of relief) No fake bombs for me, I'm not important enough. lol



... it was just the Kz1100 clutch springs I ordered from Partzilla last week. I know if I still drank liquor, I'd be a flaming alcoholic if I used those "$100.00 off" coupons on $160.00 order, that they keep sending me (WHO buys $160 bucks worth of ANY alcohol a pop?).

I ordered the new OEM 92081-1114. My clutch stared slipping again when rolling on the coals, after I put the Delkovic SS exhaust on my bike. With the cool weather, my butt dyno tells me i added ~10 ponies with the new header and cool crisp air.


I took the clutch apart again yesterday and inspected the frictions that all measure at .115" (.110" is service limit per manual) They are hardly worn, but looked glazed. I soaked them in Zep citrus degreaser overnight, rinsed and dried, and they still looked glazed, so I laid a piece of 400 grit 3m sandpaper on a flat piece of plywood and scuffed both sides, then scrubbed them again in the degreaser. then I rinsed and air dried them again. After all of that degreasing my hands are completely void of any oil, I sure hope the clutch frictions feel the same.


I inspected the springs, but I don't have a spring scale, so i have no way of checking how weak or strong they are. I had already replaced the springs and did the degreaser thing on the clutch ~ a year ago, and had ordered the Kz1100 springs thinking that they might be stronger than the K&L springs I bought from Z1E the last time, BUT, I started measuring the wire diameters and found the new Kz1100 spring wire diameter to be .105". ,, The original stock springs wire diameter measured .110" , and the K&L springs wire diameter measures .115". I realize none ot this means squat, without being able to measure the spring tension. I reused the K&L's based on them having the largest wire diameter. I need a spring scale!

Pardon the glare in the pic from the sunlight.



I also changed the oil and filter and went from T-6 full synthetic Rotella to T-4 Rotella dino oil.

The 1100's require 6 springs, but 5 with the 1000's. I don't get why, considering how much the J-engines are identical.
Also there are two different Kawasaki clutch cover gasket designs that will fit either engine. The 11060-1070 shown in your pic, and 11061-1126.
Is there a particular reason to use one gasket vs. the other?

That makes sense Dave. I didn't know the Kz1100's had a 6 spring clutch basket. My Kz 1100 / 1000 service manual doesn't show it, but I might have missed it too, That would explain the weaker springs. Know anyone that needs 5 springs for a 6 spring basket?

In thinking this problem over, and considering the age of the frictions, the correct solution to a slipping 37 year old clutch that has been glazed, run in non-JATSO (sp?) auto oils, and god knows what in the past would be to replace the entire setup. 9 new 13089-1013 plate-frictions from partzilla @8.22 each are $73.98, would be the minimum.. The 8 steel plates @ 8.03 each = 64.24 plus whatever freight is involved, since steel plates can become "coned" one way or the other from slipping and heat. Sooo the bare minimum on repairing this properly is ~150.00 for frictions and steels. Less new springs which would also be a requirement IMHO.
Although buying on eBay with free shipping could save some freight, most of the cheaper listings on the clutch plates say "original packaging is missing".. that kind of indicates to me that they are counterfeit parts being sold as OEM parts.


Soaking and de-greasing these clutch parts is only putting a band aid on a problem that will continue to happen until the friction parts are replaced. I haven't ridden it yet to see how much difference it made, but the slippage did seem to subside after the bike came to operating temperature.

I'd run those cleaned up disks and steels, with a brand new set of OEM Kawasaki springs. IMO, your slippage issue may be the combination of weak springs and the slick synthetic oil.

daveo wrote: I'd run those cleaned up disks and steels, with a brand new set of OEM Kawasaki springs. IMO, your slippage issue may be the combination of weak springs and the slick synthetic oil.

That's what I was going to do Dave. BUT, being the genius that I am, I ordered the Kz1100 OEM springs of which are weaker than the stock springs. The K&L springs should still be good since they are almost exactly one year old. BTW, the above pic is from a year ago when I cleaned them up the first time. I didn't take a cleaned up close-up pic this time around. They didn't get better looking in the past year, unlike myself.


I am going to take it for a spin in a bit here . Temps were in the high 30's last nite, but it's showing 62 F here now. However the clutch works, it's gonna be an animal in this weather.

At any rate, looking at the cleaned up frictions closely with magnifier on, they should be replaced soon.

I'll bet your ride was nice...60's
Been stuck in the low 50's for highs here in SW Michigan.

I was under the impression that the KZ1000j and Police clutch springs were the exact same as the KZ1100 models, but that one additional spring was required for the 1100 engine. Hmm.

daveo wrote: I'll bet your ride was nice...60's
Been stuck in the low 50's for highs here in SW Michigan.

I was under the impression that the KZ1000j and Police clutch springs were the exact same as the KZ1100 models, but that one additional spring was required for the 1100 engine. Hmm.

Yes! Beautiful cool fall weather it got to 70 F with clear skies. The bike ran great. No slippage, but I didn't hammer it too hard. With the new header it's not as quiet as it used to be. It is wicked LOUD. lol

I'm just guessing here without a spring scale, that the different part number for the Kz1100 is a different spring. Since it uses 6 springs, using the same spring would make the lever pull too hard for most. (pure speculation on my part) Kawasaki probably used 1 more, yet slightly weaker spring on the 1100 models.

The Kz1100 part number is 92081-1114 The wire diameter is .104" measuring the new partzilla springs
The Kz1000 part number is 92081-1033 The wire diameter is .110" measuring my original springs
The K&L aftermarket springs from Z1E pictured wire diameter is .115"


They are all identical in every other aspect.

I snapped a pic just before I hopped on it last nite.