1997 Intruder Clutch

[bohod]

I have a 1997 VS1400GL Intruder with a slipping clutch.
I purchased third hand in 2002. Prior owner says he replaced the clutch at 7800 miles. I now have 15000 miles on the bike and it slips in 5th gear. I read the article on replacing the springs on the 1500 could this be the same solution? I have 2 questions: Does this bike have a bad rep on clutches. Does anyone know if there is an after market clutch out there. My first time on a chat site Thanks for the help. Bob

[Mike Burnham]

First I would get the shop manual. I have never had a clutch were that fast before. The reson to get the shop manual is sometimes it will give you pointers on other problems that could complicate your situation. I know about car and truck clutches and know some bikes use a grou of clutch plates to engauge and disenguage the clutch. I know if you have these plates they have to be in a certain order, or they were faster. I know in a car or truck you have a plate that must be turned when clutch is changed of the pads were fast. For the information you need you need the manual. Sometimes it can make repairs cheaper.

[Uncle Bob]

Some Suzuki's are said to need stiffer springs but I've also heard of people with similar problems eliminating the problem by changing oils.

Apparently Suzuki oil ( at least a batch that was around for the last year or two ) was too slippery and caused clutch slipping .

I'm not going to recommend any specific oil but why not try an oil change to see if that might not cure the problem before gettin into any major cluch work.

Stick to a motorcycle specific oil by a major manufacturer .