04 Clutch starting to catch, but outer basket isn't grooved very much??

[jimmxz]

I have an 04 CRF450 (approximately 80 hours on it) and at the last race, the clutch started catching and lurching when I let it out evenly . I checked the outer basket and there are some grooves in it but very slight (on the order of a 1/2mm). Will this still cause it to catch and lurch the bike?

Plates look OK, but I did not check the thickness yet.

Thanks for your help ?

[biketrdr]

yeppers that's enough. you can dress it up and get by once or twice

[mhraxo]

Not to be a dick but you running enough oil in the tranny?, My 05 went about a bugs nut low on oil and did the same thing, i drained refilled back to level and it was tits again

[moto863]

My 04 did that after a hard day of racing, I pretty much cooked the clutch. Even after an oil change I found the clutch to be grabby and I just replaced the fiber plates which solved my problem. My basket at the time was only lightly notched as well.

[punkrock MX]

did you try taking the clutch apart and getting all the oil off the plates and putting it back in? i know they can stick together sometimes, especially if the bike has sat for an extended period w/ the same oil

[jimmxz]

I change the oil (Mobil 1 15W50) every 5 hours religously and put in at least the right amount, typically 0.05 Liter more. I pulled off the first two clutch plates and they looked good. The oil is always coming out dark and shiny looking, not sure if this is any indication.

I really have done the same thing for the past two years without a hitch and then last weekend at the races the clutch started to grap on the start. I typically rev the engine to about 1/2 - 3/4, hold the front brake and slip the clutch until the rear end loads up. Once the gate drops I let go of the brake, hammer the throttle and slip the clutch as necessary. Last weekend, as I was slipping the clutch with the front brake on, the bike would not load up without lurching as I slowly released the clutch to the point where it would normally load up.

Thanks for the help!!

[skthom2320]

My inner hub was notched worse than the basket. I had to replace that at 40 hours!! Take a look at yours also...