Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

You are here: Home / GreatRiftValleyTrip / A clutch is a clutch, is a clutch.. right?

A clutch is a clutch, is a clutch.. right?

Entry 6 : So we received our "new" used clutch on Friday, fitted it on Saturday morning, and by Saturday evening we were half way to the Malawi border.. however all is not well..

As mentioned in the previous post, all clutches for the F800 seem to be ex stock Germany... 4-5 weeks and then we still need to get it to where we are... so graciously I was sent a used clutch.. hey, if it gets you going, it's worth as much as a new one!

Having gotten to Luangwa (Bridge camp) - looking onto the border of Mozambique across the river... I had lost some more free play in my clutch... We discussed the options for quite some time, but eventually decided that the ..ughm... can't remember how many G&T's Will poured us, were just to many to make a rational decision... so we put it off to morning.

The truth is, we both knew what the rational decision is... we need to turn back home... the closer we get to ZA, the easier it gets to get a non-moving bike somewhere that it can be attended to... In contrast, the ONLY other place that could probably help us up north, would be Nairobi.. and that was quite a distance away.

So, with the rise of the morning sun, depression of a prematurely ending trip was emerging... we had come this far... this stretch we referred to as the commute... we were only about to enter the countries we set out to see: Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda...

We had wanted to do this trip since 2002 and eventually starting planning after making the commitment early in 2009.. and now it was over...

We packed up our tents - slower than ever before.. in no real hurry to start the homeward journey... We contacted some friends that still regularly work in Zimbabwe and have family there, to get an update on the situation in the country.. We obviously did not plan to cross Zimbabwe... the country is in ruins with more often than not, the shop shelves are filled with emptiness and fuel is a luxury...  if the only filling station in town is out... then it's anyone's guess when the next order of fuel will arrive... however this is the shortest route (by far) in ZA... and Keith (our friend) has contacts to a trucking company... if needed we could call on them and truck the F800 down in ZA..

Around lunchtime we arrived back in Lusaka - We decided to do lunch before heading on toward the Zimbabwe border.. While having lunch, I phoned a couple of friends, including colleague Zoöl, who had organized and shipped us the used clutch. Somewhere in the conversation he mentioned that the clutch came out of a F650GS, which he queried and he was assured they are identical to that of the F800GS!

 A light went on!

Somewhere in the searching through the RepROM, I read about a difference between the 650 and 800 clutches... I just couldn't remember what is was... so I got out the netbook and started searching.. Nothing like a flicker of hope to brighten your day...

We also started searching the net, and found an alarming number of F800GS' with failed clutches at around 3000-5000 miles... hmmm...

Searching through the RepROM, we also found that there were 2 versions of the clutch - and old discontinued one and a newer one... The old one has a longer pull arm with thrust washer and the new one has a shorter pull arm without thrust washer... they boiled down to the same thing... but if you stick to then older, longer pull arm, you should use a new (seems to be modified) thrust washer... 

And then for the difference between the F650 and F800 clutches: The washers that hold the clutch springs in place differ, and the RepRom clearly states: "Note: The stepped washers of the clutch springs are not the same for F 650 GS and F800 GS. It is very important to install the correct washers." The F650 has a higher step, which means the springs cannot be fully compressed as with the F800 washer, which effectively means that the springs are exerting less force on the plates... which of course is a problem for the higher powered F800! And would/could cause partial slip, deteriorating your friction plates a lot sooner than intended!!!

So, there we were with a glimmer of hope! By now it was almost 3pm on a Sunday afternoon - I phoned Ray (Wilson) where we had replaced the clutch to see if he still had the old parts - we needed those F800 washers!

Ray is a fantastic guy, with a heart of gold! And although he is the local KTM dealership, is always willing to help overlanders! He invited us in for a couple of cold ones while the let the bike cool down, then we replaced the washers.. checked everything else again...  And made a bush jimmy to get me some more free play...

Of course Ray now owns a GS-911! So all you Beemer overlanders, feel free to pop in at Ray's place : S 15.51155, E 28.27191 or plot M, Mukwa Drive, Eureka Park, Lilayi, Lusaka (Mukwa is off to the right, opposite Sandy's Creations & Garden Center, about 10km south of Lusaka, as you are coming in from the Livingston side)

So, today is Monday morning... we are newly invigorated about our trip - I took the bike out for a 60km test ride, working the clutch - taking pre- and post-trip freeplay measurements... We having breakfast, updating the blog... and once again heading east!

We might need to reevaluate our route, due to the time lost as well as a clutch that I don't have 110% confidence in... but fingers crossed... here we go!

till next time!