I appreciate you chiming back here to clarify, enwri. I've studied the parts diagrams for the clutch assembly long enough to know that the aluminum washer really does not belong there. It was more my attitude of "there's gotta be another way to go about this" and frustration that leads me to try these foolish things.
The aluminum shim, where it is now did indeed move the clutch pack out toward the adjuster, enough to do away with the 0.1mm washers and allowing the circlip to barely catch in the groove of the shaft. The circlip did not make that usual "click" sound though so I fear that it's actually not properly on there. I suppose that while I have the assembly on the way that it is, I can try the kickstart a few times to hear/see if there's any contacts or weirdness going on, but I won't.
A Honda bike mechanic I spoke with the other day basically said, "Those aftermarket clutch parts, like, what are the ones, Barnett? Those are the worst!" And when I told him I have EBC, he said, "Those are #$%* too! If you're gonna use aftermarket parts, you're prolly better off sticking with using ALL aftermarket parts - don't mix and match!"
Hondaman has said in another thread:
I was going to suggest: measure the thickness of the plates. Reason: I haven't found any EBC plates yet that were the correct thickness. Most are too thin. This means you can possibly add an extra steel plate (this works on the 750 to some extent) to make the whole pack thick enough again.
The issue we are seeing is: the steel and fiber plates in the market are getting mixed up with some more modern ones. These newer ones are typically the same thickness as worn-out OEM ones in our bikes. So, if you install a whole stack of them into the clutch, the total height is too low. Then, the lifters cannot lift them far enough apart to stop the drag. Even if you can finesse the lifter to a point where it sorta works, after the plates wear in a bit you can't anymore. With the 750, I get this same e-mail about every 2 months from someone!
On the bikes with the extra-thick first steel plate in the back: you cna install a steel one on top of that, then the new plates. You'll need an extra steel one for this.
If you have the old plates: stack them all up together with a brick on top and let them sit a couple of hours. Then carefully measure the height. Repeat with the new plates. You may well find the new ones are about 0.5mm to 1.0mm thinner stack. That makes 'em drag because they sit too far away from the lifter.
I'll be pulling that aluminum washer out today. Thanks again for the warning, enwri. I'm expecting the Barnett metal plates to arrive tomorrow so I'll be slapping those in and I'll be reporting back.
