Clutch Friction Disk Disintegrated, Why?

[Igofar]

I cleaned out the friction plate crap, got the new clutch friction disks in (replaced all friction disks plus the one plate that welded to the other disk), new springs, cleaned the drain area and vacuumed out the stuff from the channel and put her together again. Everything seems to be working, no leaks. Went on a 20 mile ride and it all feels right. In fact I think it might be shifting better now, perhaps the clutch was never fully disengaging? I've herd from other forums these bikes don't have the sportiest of transmissions, and I always thought the shifter required a bit on manpower, but I suppose it could have just never been working right. Thanks for the help.

You will find it will shift smoother when you shift slower, not with force.

 

[ST Gui]

I've herd from other forums these bikes don't have the sportiest of transmissions,

I'm not sure what that is supposed to mean unless someone is considering STs for F1 competition.

I always thought the shifter required a bit on manpower, but I suppose it could have just never been working right

Getting it working right is the key. I've never found it to need more than typical pressure. I generally lightly preloaded the shifter and when dropping the engine RPM and working the clutch just snick the ST into the next year. Upshift is easily done without the clutch with that method though I don't do it often.

There are no doubt causes for hard shifting but that because the transmission needs maintenance. The simplest maintenance is cleaning and lubing the shift linkage.

 

[Nightmare]

For me, going from my Kawasaki ZX14 to the ST1300, I found the kawi would very much let you know when you are in gear (a bit of a "clunk" or feel when you change gears) the ST1300 is MUCH quieter.

Also, the big one is the amount of shift lever travel for the ST1300 is quite a lot comparatively to the point I looked for aftermarket shift stars (not really any out there that I could find), with the ST1300 there is a fair bit of "play" in the shift lever before engaging the shift star to move to the next gear, this is where preloading has helped me (I did remove, clean and lube the whole shift linkage which helped a lot more than I expected) .

I also probably just need to unlearn my muscle memory as I've only gotten a couple of weeks of riding in after I bought the bike before parking for the winter.

I am curious if this "play" in the shifter is normal for the ST1300 transmission or if others here have a different experience.