Parts have been accumulating on my bench, and the last and most important package will be here today, which is the OEM stuff. Got a pretty good deal from ProCaliber.com $173 for all the fibers & steels. I spent more to get a new judder spring, washer, and an extra 2.9mm steel plate....$197 ish for everything all said and done.

Does anyone know if I will need to bleed the clutch once the engine is buttoned back up? I have had the pressure plate off for several days now, with all the old plates out. Center hub and basket are still in place and bolted in. I stupidly pulled the clutch lever in 1-time almost entirely to the handlebar not thinking about it, and there was obviously no pressure since it's all apart, but I don't know whether that will have screwed things up or not.

Pictures of the Factory Pro EVO shift-star replacement and the new clutch install will be posted as I go for your entertainment

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No need to rebleed the lines. What I experienced was to press the brake pads in so the pistons would retract. Pressing the slave back into the housing would purge the air up higher in the master as it did with the brake pistons. You could push the rod in; this pushes the slave in; this pushes up any air, if any found its way in; I doubt it; but no harm no foul. The only caution is the liquid out of the rez does not happen; rather the diaphragm collapses as the fluid rises.

First install the clutch and then worry about the bleeding of the fluid changes.

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Your good as long as you haven't broken the lines on the hydraulic system Bradley. Once the clutch pack is installed you can push the pressure plate in like Hub said and everything else is self adjusting.

I finally installed the whole lot of it yesterday. As soon as I got home from work I opened the UPS box and threw all the fibers into a fresh bag of Rotella T6 5W-40 oil, and started working on the bike. The plates got to soak for a good 3-4 hours before I put them in.

Started by removing the rest of the clutch basket/hub assembly. HOLY CRAP THAT NUT IS TIGHT. I have a Mac 1/2" air impact but I'm currently without a compressor so I had to use hand tools. I had a 1/2" breaker bar on my 27mm shallow impact socket, then a 4' cheater pipe over the handle, using my home-made welded tool to hold the clutch assy in place. I had a buddy pulling on the bar as I had my hands holding all this stuff onto the bike, with my right foot behind the front tire since the bike was rolling backwards under the force it took to crack it loose. Once off, the rest of the removal was by the book. As soon as the main shaft was exposed I recognized some serious heat marks on the splines and threads...this thing has been nearly red hot before to make this happen, no??

Everything comes out easy, and suddenly you're looking at the shift star/arm/fork area. Here's the old setup before removal:

They ask you to block off the sump in case you drop something, and a milk jug works perfect for this:

All the old parts out:

To all the folks who don't think this mod makes any difference in the second gen (2012+) Kawasaki Ninja ZX14R's...please take a close look at the outer profile of these lobes, the OEM star is on the left, and the FactoryPro EVO is on the right. I didn't know this before doing mine, and I was prepared to install the part and potentially not even notice a difference based on what you guys were saying. However, once I set them side by side, it's clear as day! Pretty dramatic difference between them, and combined with a stiffer spring and the micro-bearing on the arm, it seems to me that this really does improve the 2nd gen shifting beyond stock.

Once that stuff is all replaced the clutch assembly goes back in in the reverse order that it came out. All 9 of my steels are now 2.6mm as per Kawasaki. The fibers are all new and installed in the order specified by the book, with a new judder spring and washer as well. I noticed the fibers had a color marking on the outside of one tang per plate. I don't know what it means but I aligned those together for the install.

Stamped text on the fibers all facing the engine, as before. All steels with their sharp edges facing out away from the engine. The last plate is a fiber, and it gets clocked one tooth off from the rest of the fibers. Once I had the plates installed I put Brocks clutch mod under the nut and torqued. The plunger and pressure plate go on being sure to line up the features that engage the basket. Brocks base washer, HD spring, 0.180" spacer, top-hat, and OEM bolt installed in that order. I used the 0.180" spacer on all 6 of the springs. I will measure the clutch lever pressure later and post a comparison pic like the 'before shot' earlier in this thread. I will be filling the bike with oil today and perhaps taking a test ride if the rain holds off.

Is there any sort of break-in to these clutch plates? I've heard to slip the clutch a little, or do some clutch up wheelies, or lots of stop-and-go riding for the first xx miles before hammering on the bike. I also figured I would run this oil a bit shorter than normal, changing it at 600-1,000 miles instead of 2,500 or so, does that sound like overkill?

I haven't ridden it yet, but I feel confident in all this work that I've done...so a preemptive THANK YOU to all who helped me out here....greatest bunch of guys who all just LOVE these scooters

* Last updated by: Bradley427 on 4/18/2015 @ 12:06 PM *

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Is there any sort of break-in to these clutch plates?

Fallacy as far as I'm concerned.

I've heard to slip the clutch a little, or do some clutch up wheelies, or lots of stop-and-go riding for the first xx miles before hammering on the bike.

Think about it. I want less slip so no wear. I want full contact so heat is transferred out of the pack. Last thing I want is to cook the plates and set the warp... Dumbshits!; who told you that? My riding around and all that stop and go is going to cure my race pack is hardly use the clutch even then. Make sense now?

I also figured I would run this oil a bit shorter than normal... does that sound like overkill?

Not in my book of clean out the floating debris as fast and as often as I can, no, no overkill but keeping from killing it too soon.

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You don't have to break in a new clutch pack. I've taken a fresh pack straight to the strip more times than I can count. Works as it should right out of the box. I also don't soak the fibers before an install. Simply smear oil onto the face of each pad so they aren't completely dry on the first slip. Never had an issue and I promise that there isn't a soul here who is harder on this clutch system than me.

Well I rode her yesterday. 49 degrees outside and windy as hell....but I still put a few miles on. I rode like normal from my driveway to a friends house 10-15 miles away, let it cool down for 15 minutes while we talked, and then stopped for fuel on the return trip home.

I can confirm that the clutch starts to engage as SOON AS the lever is released off the left handlebar. This is quite different than before, where it used to engage halfway out or so. I also made a conscious effort to get the clutch lever all the way out more quickly and not let it slip so much when taking off from a dead stop. I did most of the test ride in 3rd gear just sweeping the RPMs up and down to vary the load, and one hard acceleration pull from the bottom of 3rd gear through halfway into 6th. I could not detect any slip. (new shift star works good too, but I'll save that review for the other thread). I still do a lot of clutchless upshifts and downshifts when I ride. Like this: when accelerating normally, put a small amount of pressure on the shift lever, then roll off the throttle a touch, and it basically sucks into the next gear quickly and easily. Sometimes there's a jerk when you do this at lower RPM's or on really slow acceleration. It works smoothest when accelerating briskly and at mid-to-high RPM.

The lever pressure (measured the same way as before) is now exactly 16.5 lbs of force on the ball end of the OEM lever. This is with Brocks HD springs and the .180" spacer on all 6 springs.

I'm still thinking I'll do this next oil change earlier than usual.

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