Topic: Clutch rattle - with a twist

[Tower]

The newer clutches were quiter.  If you have all the parts, you can swap. Don't forget the lifter piece. 

As long as there is any asymetry in the outer basket, there is wobble.  Every plate rattles.  But, the further from the attachment point you go along the outer basket, the greater the distance each plate can wobble, and hence the greater the rattle.

Also, F2 clutches had longer and stronger springs which made a big difference to rattle and performance.

If your bikes are really noisy, it may not be the clutch per se.  Cam chains stretch.  Although the slack can be taken out to mostly eliminate chain noise, it does effect valve timing which contributes to idle and rattle problems.

[JohnG]

I will give it a shot as soon as I get the black paint stripped off.  I do have the complete F2-3 assembly - lifter and all.

Cam chain is new.   Primary chains passed inspection, tensioners are new for them.  Same  clutch sounds I heard in 1976 when I bought it....

I also send an email to a balancing shop  (EE LIndskog) to see if they could balance the basket...

[Tower]

Balancing the outer basket will improve your engine performance and it will contribute to a quieter clutch.  Please note that another key aspect of the outer basket which adds to clutch chatter, is the spacing between the outer clutch fingers.  A worn basket has small indentations from the force of the disk tabs.  The increased tolerance this creates can't be repaired. Since Honda's quality control in this area of clutch design was less than perfect, many factory baskets were installed that began life with a clatter. 

The effect of spacing tolerances also apply to the lands and grooves of the inner drum - worn by the teeth of the clutch plates, excess tolerances make excess noise.

Many times transmission noise can be mistaken for clutch rattle.  Specifically, and usually, noise from the shift drum.  The drum was design to run "loosely" with large amount of possible movement along its longitudinal axis (between 1/8" and 1/4" in some cases) and along its rotation.  Add to that any wear to transmission shaft bearings and on the whole, you have a pretty noisy transmission.

[JohnG]

Interesting remarks about the tolerances!  Since my current basket has 80,000 miles, those could be significant.

When I do the conversion to the F2/3 parts, I will take some feeler gauges and see how the tolerances compare.

Thanks for your help!

       John