Mechanic Monday tip of the week... Tune-a-clutch

Mechanic Monday tip of the week... Tune-a-clutch
You already know that you can tune a piano or a guitar. Heck you can even tunafish. But did you know you can tune a clutch?
Most (but not all) of metal clutch plates are fabricated in a die cutting press. Of this type of metal clutch plate the press typically leaves one side of the plate with a very tiny soft radius edge on the inner circle teeth and the other side with a sharp 90 degree edge.

If you place the radius edge facing the center of your engine your clutch will engage smoother and will be less likely to slip.

If you place the radius outward toward your footpeg  the bike will be easier to find neutral and save you from a couple of missed shifts, but it may slip a tiny bit more as you let the clutch lever out. It only takes a couple of minutes to swap these plates around so be sure to experiment.

Now if you have one of the few brands where the metal clutch plate is cut out of a metal sheet with a laser or water jet. You will see there isn't any soft radius edge. You can very carefully smooth one edge with some abrasive paper. This will likely take a chunk of time to do but might correct a clutch issue you are experiencing.

Stay greasy my friends