Clutch BTL Mod

[Bill Gaheer]

Excellent explanation Astro, Now I need to find some one in Sydney to get this mod done. Can you guys recommend some one.

My K1 busa had the welded clutch when I bought it 2nd hand and I'd never experienced riding a busa without the welded clutch until I bought the K4.

The K4 felt 'wrong' when I first go it. Take offs felt spongy and vague compared with the K1. I found that even when using exactly the same rpm / clutch inputs under controlled conditions, I couldn't get a consistent result at 'every day riding speeds'.

When doing U-turns, negotiating roundabouts, pivoting between cars in peak-hour traffic (eg: going between stationary vehicles), lane splitting (where legal of course!) or executing any other low speed manoeuvre, I found it difficult to be precise with power delivery. Bleeding power on/off seemed to be a real hit and miss affair. I thought it was just a matter of getting used to the bike, but after a while I found it very tedious.

I mentioned it here on the forum and discussed it with Col @ 10/10ths and the feedback at the time was very consistent - weld up the clutch.

Once done, the K4 felt exactly like the K1. More positive power delivery, especially at normal (sane) daily riding speeds. You'll notice this especially when doing lower speed manoeuvre's such as U-turns and roundabouts. It's much easier to be precise - but more importantly - response to the same rpm / clutch input was immediately much more consistent and reliable.

Now, I'm a pretty conservative rider - certainly not up to the riding standard of Spaman and Loafie who have already contributed to this thread. The likelihood that I'm going to be slamming her down into 2nd at some insane speed is very very low. So, whilst I can describe what I feel are the advantages of a welded clutch under my riding conditions - I have no experience of the downsides associated with riding a busa at it's true capacity.

For me and my riding style, the welded clutch transformed the bike and I've been very happy with the results. But heed the input of the more knowledgeable and experienced guys when making your decision.