Clutch Restoration- Part 1

Taking advantage of the Thanksgiving Holiday to get things done on the Model 7, I took the clutch apart mostly because there was some slip and the adjuster didn't seem to work. The plates are pretty knackered particularly the pad material which is considerably thinner than specified in the manual.

The pad material consititutes a hazardous material situation because they are a composite of cloth,steel, and asbestos. I highly recommend wearing a mask when initially taking apart unknown clutches and brakes because of the deadly health risk. I love dismantling the bike because it's often like an archaeological expedition. You get to see the handiwork of previous owners- the good, the bad, and the ugly. In this case, I noticed the clutch mushroom which is a difficult and expensive part to find was replaced at some point by a valve that fits and works perfectly. Genius!

I plan to beburr the plates and replace the asbestos pads with cork. I run a dry primary case with an IWIS self-lubricating primary chain so I have a some doubts about the durability of the cork. The experiment will be an interesting one. More to follow.