Katana Owners Club U.K.

Hi...Any help/advice on following.
I was overhauling the clutch on my '82' GSX 1000 Kat. The six springs on the back of the outer clutch basket need sorting. The 3 lighter springs seem in good condition and tight...the 3 thicker ones are much looser, two rattle around and one is broken, sheared in middle but still in place.
Are these serviceable and how the bloody hell do I get them out

there are sellers who have these listed as spares, you can get ally buttons that go in the end of them too to take the rattle out of the basket. the basket is a bit of a weak spot on the gsx motor. its not that its a fault, but they do get worked hard, and as more folk keep these bikes on the road, clutch baskets are becoming a consumable part.
you need to remove the basket and then grind off the heads of the rivets inside the basket. this will release the backplate holding the springs, the primary drive gear and the basket. the kits you buy tend to include the springs backplate and the rivets which will need holding together tightly and welding in place. its a simple job if you have a welder and a small die grinder like a dremmel or a powerfile.

a quick check on ebay reveals a few of the kits and replacement baskets fitted with them. dont be tempted to buy an efe one though. whilst they look identical, the efe basket has one tooth more on the primary drive gear and as such wont fit on the kat engine. it might actually go on, but it will lock up solid as soon as you try to turn it over.

Thanks John...not a quick fix then. As you describe it, I can get as far as the rivet weld, but will need to have that bit done. I've seen the kits, so I better get grinding . Cheers

well the kits for doing it yourself seem to start at 140 quid, and the baskets having had the kits fitted are starting round 180 quid, to be honest, for the sake of 40 quid id just buy a basket thats been done rather than wasting a day getting my own hands dirty doing it myself.

[image][/image]hi all,
i went the cheapo route. i ground off the rivet heads but found i could not budge the rivets, so took it to my local bike guy who pressed them out.i then found some washers the right size to take out the slack on the loose big springs,enlarged the gear plate rivet holes slightly so i could reassemble it all with the help of some clamps and took it back to the guy to weld back together.total cost a couple of beers and some stainless washers i had.

Thanks for that...did you have to replace any of the springs?. I can only seem to find them in kits at silly money........

no just packed the gaps at the ends of the big springs to slightly compress them.

This has the potential of being a very naive and stupid question. Going to replace my clutch basket but...in the meantime broken spring out and no nasty bits lurking around, apart from a reduced cushioning will it cause any other damage if put back in and ridden?

well yes, you risk damaging the transmission and the gears on the crank and the clutch, these springs are there as shock absorbers to protect the primary gears and gearbox. running it without one may damage the remaining springs, backplate and the rest of the transmission. that seems a lot to risk for saving a few bob.