Topic: Cleaning stuck clutch plates

[gregk]

1976 550K 

The clutch was stuck last year when I brought the bike out in the spring.  A little rocking in gear and everything seemed ok, shifted into first gear without too much of a clunk and went through the gears effortlessly.  So this problem is back with me again this year with the exception  that i can't get the plates unstuck by gently rocking the bike back and forth. 
I've read alot of the material available on the search with respect to 'stuck clutch plates" etc.  My question is what do I need to clean up the plates after I remove them?  There is also the question of 'soaking the plates in motor oil for 24hours.  Is this for new plates only? 

[HondaMan]

Soaking them for at least a couple of hours will refurbish the cork.
If the bike has/had been run for lots of time with the Pennsylvania oils, like Pennzoil or Quaker State, the paraffin from those oils will make the plates stick together like they were glued.
In the end, this ruins the surface of the cork, too. So, don't use those oils (lest I start an oil thread...).

[gregk]

So just soaking them in motor oil (less the paraffin) will clean the discs? 
i've run into another small snag, the cover gasket is unavailable in canada and is back ordered in Japan but, apparently due to the earthquake etc, parts are slow to reach our shores. 
Yes, I see that there is some available thru e-bay but, at the moment the postal workers in Canada are on strike!!!  It's always something, as Guilda Radner would say.

[HondaMan]

So just soaking them in motor oil (less the paraffin) will clean the discs? 
i've run into another small snag, the cover gasket is unavailable in canada and is back ordered in Japan but, apparently due to the earthquake etc, parts are slow to reach our shores. 
Yes, I see that there is some available thru e-bay but, at the moment the postal workers in Canada are on strike!!!  It's always something, as Guilda Radner would say.

Yes: you don't want to apply solvents to the cork, or it will let go of the bond to the metal disk. Some high-detergent oils can cause this, too, including STP oil additive.

If you opt to make a gasket yourself, use the "rubber/paper fiber" type, a dark grey color. It's available at most auto stores. This type will be thicker and will conform to the slight irregularities in the case faces better than the plain paper types. I've had good luck with it when gaskets were unobtainium.

[gregk]

Yes: you don't want to apply solvents to the cork, or it will let go of the bond to the metal disk. Some high-detergent oils can cause this, too, including STP oil additive.

If you opt to make a gasket yourself, use the "rubber/paper fiber" type, a dark grey color. It's available at most auto stores. This type will be thicker and will conform to the slight irregularities in the case faces better than the plain paper types. I've had good luck with it when gaskets were unobtainium.
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Thanks for the help  Hondaman