Triumphrat

CharlestonRider

Hello All,
I am in the process of putting my clutch back together on my 1998 Trophy 900 and I noticed that the outer clutch basket has a noticeable amount of play even after I have tightened the inner basket nut. I would estimate the amount of play to be about 2-3 mm in which I can grasp either side of the clutch basket and rock it back and forth about 2-3 mm. The reason I ask is that my bike is making a "knocking" noise throughout the early rpm range and I was wondering if this may be the cause of the noise. Is this amount of play normal? If not, are there (inexpensive) ways to remedy the situation? I have read about a clutch shim kit for the Hinckley Triumphs...Is this what the shim kit is for? Thanks in advance.

John

watty

Hi John, you are correct about the shim kit; with the clutch stripped just add the shims one at a time and torque the basket up with an impact driver so the yaw completely disappears but no further. The play at the clutch basket is the primary source of the triple grumble around the 3-4000 rpm point and you may find the grumble through the footpegs shifts slightly to another close rev range, this is quite normal; if you're lucky it might almost go altogether. Good luck from Washington, England, Derek.

CharlestonRider

Derek,
Thanks for the response. I really appreciate it. You wouldn't happen to know the part number for the shim kit, would you? Also, there is already 1 shim between the outer and inner clutch basket (the shim that goes behind the large washer). Are the additional shims added to the existing shim to help "fill the space" behind the large clutch washer? Thanks in advance.

Cheers.

John

watty

John, I won't be able to get the part no. for you till I speak to my mechanic on Monday, I'll check fitment with him and get back to you; off the top of my head I think it's just a question of guestimating the next size step and trying it torqued up, as far as I can remember the pack contains a selection so a single shim will probably sort it, cheers, Derek

CharlestonRider

Thanks again Derek. I just took a quick look through my parts fiche and I noticed that Triumph has multiple listings for the shim that goes between the inner and outer basket. So, I ordered 1 of each size between .10mm and .30mm. Hopefully I should be able to mix-and-match the shims to create the size that I need.

Cheers.

John

CharlestonRider

Here is an update on what I have learned about the play in my outer clutch basket. Thanks to Derek, I learned that the side-to-side play in the outer clutch basket is not normal and that the play can create some of the "normal" noises associated with Hinckley Triumphs. If I understand Derek correctly, the shim kit is a series of shims (of various sizes) that are to be used to eliminate the side-to-side play in the outer clutch basket. There is normally a shim between the inner and outer baskets, and so (as I understand it) the shim needs to be replaced with a shim of a different size to eliminate the play. I discovered that the shim in my bike is the .25mm shim. At the moment, I haven't received the replacement shims (they are on order), but it seems to me that I will have to go down to (at least) the .1mm shim (the smallest Triumph offers). What causes the play is that there is a shouldered collar that the outer basket rides on. The shim goes on the end of this collar and the large retaining washer goes on next. The retaining washer is what is supposed to prevent the clutch from rocking back and forth, but if the shim is to large it actually creates a space between the outer clutch basket and the waher. So, to eliminate this space, the shim size has to be reduced (thus reducing the space between the basket and the washer).

For my case, I am wondering if the smallest shim (i.e., .1mm) will be small enough to completely eliminate the side-to-side play. The reason I think this is that I was playing around and removed the shim entirely and it seemed to remove (most) of the play. Does anyone know if the shim can be removed entirely?

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Is what I have reported above correct? As I said, this is what I have deduced from the information that Derek (thank you Derek!) has provided me. I am trying to do my best to eliminate as much of the annoying Triumph engine noises as I can.

Thanks in advance.

John