Once again the clutch gets noisey.

[desliderman]

Hello all, I'm here to discuss a problem that once again, I'm faced with.

Some I think have refered to it as the "Elephant trumpet?".  I call it a squealing / groaning.  My dealer calls it clutch chatter.

I have a 2012 Xciting 500ri w/abs. I have about 14000 miles on it.  Pretty much from the start I've had this noise.  The first time the dealer looked at it they noticed the clutch pads were impregnated with grease.  It was changed out under warranty.

The noise returned.

Once again, the clutch was changed out under warranty.

The noise returned.

This time, not only was the clutch changed out, but they put a new drive shaft on it.

The noise has returned.

There is a preliminary approval for the 4th clutch pack (counting the original), and I have no doubt it will be approved.  Frankly, I'm getting tired of this same problem creeping up.  I'll gladly have them change it but have my doubts it won't come back.

Has anyone had experience with this noise?  Has anyone had their clutches changed out because they were noisey?

Inquiring mind wants to know.


Don

[MotoRandy123]

In general chatter is a stutter taking off. It is caused by the clutch grabbing and letting go.
Some people hold the brake and rev the engine to smooth out the lumps to fix this.

A squeal or groan is caused by some kind of flexing in the drivetrain. It generally cannot
be fixed. I had that in my Aprilia 500. It seems the bigger bikes can have this problem.

[koutsouk]

Hello from Greece my friends. We also had this terrible noise in the clutch section. We solve the problem without the dealers help. You can change the clutch as many times you want. The noise will appear again.
What we did. We send the bell and the clutch to a brake shop and put instead of the original clutch pads , pads from Ferodo that are softer than the oem. Then we took the bell to an iron factory and drilled ten holes on each outer space . Internally of the bell we cut some lines for the pads to breath and remove the used pad materials easily. I have done all these on my xciting 500 2005 and I am a happy user for 15000klm !!!

[BigOrange]

i would never drilling holes in the bell. You compromise the structural integrity and gain only ventilation.  Try cleaning the clutch "glaze" off and cleaning the area around the CVT from the black dust from the belt.

[Vivo]

i would never drilling holes in the bell. You compromise the structural integrity and gain only ventilation.  Try cleaning the clutch "glaze" off and cleaning the area around the CVT from the black dust from the belt.

+1   If drilling holes is good, Kymco would have made it already... If you want holes, look for after market or performance clutch bells with holes already... they were made with "structural rigidity" in mind...  The stock clutch bell was designed without taking holes into consideration...

Our scoots only need TLC and good maintenance...and they will last...

[MotoRandy123]

He was trying to solve a problem with noise.
The holes in the "bell" stops it from ringing as much.

Many people do this emulating the aftermarket ones;
http://scooterdoc.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=techtips&action=display&thread=2486

[koutsouk]

Whatever you say boys. I told you my experience and how I solved the problem. And believe me I solved it. Now believe me once more that my scooter use is very rough and there is no problem with the bell. I took my chances and I succeed , you can try cleaning your pads every 500 klm if that is good for you. Simply it was not good for me. Now why Kymco does not make a good pads - bell combination , if you know the answer please notify me.

[MotoRandy123]

Hey if it breaks you walk home. I'd have tried it on my Aprilia if I had know about the fix!

[koutsouk]

Well if the bell brakes down I do not think that the things are so simple. Probably all the parts in there will brake down. The worst scenario is to get stuck and block the tyre! If that happens you will can hurt yourself! It is the risk I and many other guys have took. Since now non of us have any problem! I hope everything continues that way!!!

[BigOrange]

That what it looks like when a clutch bell explodes. 

[desliderman]

Hey all, thanks for the input.

The dealer seems to think this is a problem and Kymco apparently seems to think it is or they wouldn't have ordered and replaced (free) what will be my 4th clutch assembly and at least 1 driveshaft.

I don't know, call me cautious, but I don't think that clutch pads should be getting grease in them.  Grease is a lubricant and has no place all mucked up in clutch pads.  Cleaning the pads or changing them out still doesn't keep the grease out of them, neither does drilling holes in the bell housing really fix the problem as I see it.

I really like my Xciting but don't think I would buy another if this is a recurring problem.  This may be apples to oranges but I haven't heard of Suzuki / Honda / Yamaha or Piaggio Maxi Scoot owners I know complaining of this noise.  I know because at least one of each is in our scooter group.

Ride safe.

[MotoRandy123]

My clutch works better with a bit of grease in it. Last time I used boron on it to
allow for some limited slip to get rid of the chatter on takeoff...

[Vivo]

My clutch works better with a bit of grease in it. Last time I used boron on it to
allow for some limited slip to get rid of the chatter on takeoff...

Yes, and the grease also protects the bell from bits of corrosion when the scoot sits for even just overnight... 

[ahonekal]

My clutch works better with a bit of grease in it. Last time I used boron on it to
allow for some limited slip to get rid of the chatter on takeoff...

What kind of grease do you use? Does it help with this sound issue?

[MotoRandy123]

Mine was greased by accident. I had lubed the rear pulley and some leaked out!
It was a moly grease. It made the clutch very smooth but I didn't have the groan
on this bike. My older Aprilia 500 had that problem but I never tried to fix it...