I finally installed the whole lot of it yesterday. As soon as I got home from work I opened the UPS box and threw all the fibers into a fresh bag of Rotella T6 5W-40 oil, and started working on the bike. The plates got to soak for a good 3-4 hours before I put them in.
Started by removing the rest of the clutch basket/hub assembly. HOLY CRAP THAT NUT IS TIGHT. I have a Mac 1/2" air impact but I'm currently without a compressor so I had to use hand tools. I had a 1/2" breaker bar on my 27mm shallow impact socket, then a 4' cheater pipe over the handle, using my home-made welded tool to hold the clutch assy in place. I had a buddy pulling on the bar as I had my hands holding all this stuff onto the bike, with my right foot behind the front tire since the bike was rolling backwards under the force it took to crack it loose. Once off, the rest of the removal was by the book. As soon as the main shaft was exposed I recognized some serious heat marks on the splines and threads...this thing has been nearly red hot before to make this happen, no??
Everything comes out easy, and suddenly you're looking at the shift star/arm/fork area. Here's the old setup before removal:
They ask you to block off the sump in case you drop something, and a milk jug works perfect for this:
All the old parts out:
To all the folks who don't think this mod makes any difference in the second gen (2012+) Kawasaki Ninja ZX14R's...please take a close look at the outer profile of these lobes, the OEM star is on the left, and the FactoryPro EVO is on the right. I didn't know this before doing mine, and I was prepared to install the part and potentially not even notice a difference based on what you guys were saying. However, once I set them side by side, it's clear as day! Pretty dramatic difference between them, and combined with a stiffer spring and the micro-bearing on the arm, it seems to me that this really does improve the 2nd gen shifting beyond stock.
Once that stuff is all replaced the clutch assembly goes back in in the reverse order that it came out. All 9 of my steels are now 2.6mm as per Kawasaki. The fibers are all new and installed in the order specified by the book, with a new judder spring and washer as well. I noticed the fibers had a color marking on the outside of one tang per plate. I don't know what it means but I aligned those together for the install.
Stamped text on the fibers all facing the engine, as before. All steels with their sharp edges facing out away from the engine. The last plate is a fiber, and it gets clocked one tooth off from the rest of the fibers. Once I had the plates installed I put Brocks clutch mod under the nut and torqued. The plunger and pressure plate go on being sure to line up the features that engage the basket. Brocks base washer, HD spring, 0.180" spacer, top-hat, and OEM bolt installed in that order. I used the 0.180" spacer on all 6 of the springs. I will measure the clutch lever pressure later and post a comparison pic like the 'before shot' earlier in this thread. I will be filling the bike with oil today and perhaps taking a test ride if the rain holds off.
Is there any sort of break-in to these clutch plates? I've heard to slip the clutch a little, or do some clutch up wheelies, or lots of stop-and-go riding for the first xx miles before hammering on the bike. I also figured I would run this oil a bit shorter than normal, changing it at 600-1,000 miles instead of 2,500 or so, does that sound like overkill?
I haven't ridden it yet, but I feel confident in all this work that I've done...so a preemptive THANK YOU to all who helped me out here....greatest bunch of guys who all just LOVE these scooters
* Last updated by: Bradley427 on 4/18/2015 @ 12:06 PM *
Sold: 2012 Kawasaki Ninja ZX14R
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