C: Clutch Clutch Suggestions…

[Peter Holmes]

In the naivety of youth, if someone told me of any improvement to my newly acquired Vincent Rapide, then that improvement, if affordable, was immediately fitted, and this applied to the one piece Ferodo Lightning clutch friction plate, after that is I took a hacksaw and file to the clutch drum, and it worked fine for a while, I probably had little knowledge how damaging too much backlash between the clutch plate and drum would be, but that error came back to bite me, on a very cold Easter ride down to Cornwall on the A303 (from Wealdstone) I got as far as Mere when finally, after a few miles of clear warnings of impending failure, I suddenly lost all drive, fortunately I carried a reasonably comprehensive tool roll, which enabled me to discover that my one piece friction disc was now a ten piece and dust friction disc, if you do not carry a spare disc, then you will not be continuing you journey, unless you have a very good friend who is willing to come to your rescue, that friend was Marcus Bowden.
But there does not need to be any oil present, once that Ferodo plate gets a crack in it, it is only a matter of riding time before total failure, it looks to me like that it what has either already occurred, or certainly will do sometime very soon if you continue to attempt to ride the bike. I would purchase a Club one piece plate with bonded friction material, but also make sure that your clutch shoes are functioning well, because if they are engaging the drum, and then gripping the drum, you could scorch out your new new one piece plate. Sounds like you will have years of fun ahead of you, Good luck as you start your journey.
Peter

PS C24/1 in stock at club spares, but low stock!

 

[ossie]

Very strange - that looks like dirt, rather than residue from the clutch shoes.

Anyway, the original clutch works fine when it's in good condition and properly assembled and adjusted. Lots of detailed information in the Riders Handbook, Instruction Sheets and Richardson. Strip it down, clean everything and inspect for wear or damage; not a major task.

i have used a one piece fibre plate on my 49 shadow for 56 years it came on it, the only problem i had was oil on the plate. sylacon sealer has cured that problem. and don,t forget the washers behind the pilot plates .
OSSIE.

 

[Peter Holmes]

i have used a one piece fibre plate on my 49 shadow for 56 years it came on it, the only problem i had was oil on the plate. sylacon sealer has cured that problem. and don,t forget the washers behind the pilot plates .
OSSIE.

I believe the original one piece friction discs were far more durable than the later ones, I suppose it would pertinent ask how many miles has the bike done in all those years, quite considerable one would imagine, I would assume that in all those years your clutch shoes have performed well, and if the shoes perform well there will far less strain placed onto the primary clutch, probably back in the day I learned to live with a bit of clutch slip, and probably scorched the poor old disc to destruction. I certainly saw blued clutch plates before I learned the error of my ways.

 

[ossie]

I believe the original one piece friction discs were far more durable than the later ones, I suppose it would pertinent ask how many miles has the bike done in all those years, quite considerable one would imagine, I would assume that in all those years your clutch shoes have performed well, and if the shoes perform well there will far less strain placed onto the primary clutch, probably back in the day I learned to live with a bit of clutch slip, and probably scorched the poor old disc to destruction. I certainly saw blued clutch plates before I learned the error of my ways.

NEVER recorded the milage, the plates have turned blue ,ground them flat once on a surface grinder, never had the cases apart same big end assembly never seen it in the open so cant say what it is .I had rebore and valves and guides done by Conways at Shepards Bush... upped compression to 8.5 to one as was on a special by them. Wow that stirred the brain soup.

 

[Michael Vane-Hunt]

My reference to “new machine”, just means new to me. I purchased the machine a couple of weeks ago from a gentleman who purchase it in 2017 and did nothing to it. As the years before, I found a link to where it was sold on eBay, but other than that, the previous owner did not have any information on it. Here is the link from where it was posted. Any help finding out more info would be great.

1949–1953 Vincent Rapide Black Shadow Motorcycle

SOLD

www.classicmotorcycleconsignments.com

Try contacting Simon Dinsdale, the machine registrar. If you send him all your engine and frame numbers he may be able to tell you a bit about your bike.

 

[Simon Dinsdale]

Try contacting Simon Dinsdale, the machine registrar. If you send him all your engine and frame numbers he may be able to tell you a bit about your bike.

He has already contacted Jon Lambley the Machine Researcher and then contacted me for copies of the factory records but I've not heard back from him.
Simon

 

[50BlkShadow]

He has already contacted Jon Lambley the Machine Researcher and then contacted me for copies of the factory records but I've not heard back from him.
Simon

Yes, Simon. Thank you for the email and yes, the fee has been paid. I was referencing what had been done to the bike i.e. modifications, etc when discussing the history of the bike. My apologies, I should have been clearer.

 

[50BlkShadow]

He has already contacted Jon Lambley the Machine Researcher and then contacted me for copies of the factory records but I've not heard back from him.
Simon

Try contacting Simon Dinsdale, the machine registrar. If you send him all your engine and frame numbers, he may be able to tell you a bit about your bike.

Thanks, Michael. I have done that part of the process. In my previous post, I was referencing not knowing the history of the bike i.e. modifications, when it was shipped to the US, etc. It would be great to see if anyone has any photos or information about the machine. It had the UK registration PPF 536. (information courtesy of Jon Lambley)

 

[50BlkShadow]

Upon removing the the front plate this is what I found…. Super interesting. Seem like it just gave up over time.

 

[timetraveller]

Well at some stage in the past it has had an enthusiastic owner. Not only two front head and TT carbs but also a lightened clutch drum. The earlier lightened clutch drums made by the works had 'half holes', were prone to failure and were used up on Rapides. Your bike does not have the 'half holes' (i.e. semi-circular holes round the outer edge of the back of the drum) so the holes in yours were probably made at the same time as the other sporting mods. A new replacement drum will not have the same holes as yours. The linings on the clutch shoes look to be in good order so no need to replace those. So it looks as though all you need are a new drum, a new friction plate and my suggestion when putting it all back together is to do a small mod to the rear of the tube of the shoe carrier to take an 'o' ring seal (If you do this you do not need to use sealing compound on the splines) and fit a needle roller thrust race conversion in the centre of the outer plate. The latter is available from me or the Spares Company and is listed on line as C26 mod.