Dished Clutch Intermediate Plates ???

[phil_h]

I have a 1930 vintage Rudge, and it has crap clutch plates, and the Rudge club have never got round to getting any more made cos that clutch was only used from '29 - '31.
The plates are quite like Royal Enfield plates, but dimensions are too different to adapt some of those.
So I wondered what else has dished plates

The dimensions I need are:
Plate thickness 1/16" (of course !)
155 od
87 id
Dish is 1/16" from 108 to 115
There are 4 holes on the inner section at 98 diam centre

All ideas welcomed

[mark2]

is this the splined main shaft clutch ? could you not make/have made a centre adapter and fit a triumph clutch , also get shut of the crank shock absorber unit at the same time .

[mark2]

sorry the one I have is rudge to Burman clutch not triumph

[chaterlea25]

Hi mark2
Could you post a picture of the Rudge to Burman adaptor?
I'm suffering for a long time qith my 1931 Rudge clutch,
I found and rebuilt a later Rudge one but it will not fit inside the primary cover?

John

[cardan]

Hello. Or should I say "Hello?"

The vintage Rudge clutch is a pretty simple affair, and in 1930 it was used to gain 1, 2, and 3 in the IOM Junior TT and 1 and 2 in the Senior. The only difference between the racing clutch and the standard road-going clutch is that the ribbed backing plate is 0.020" (0.5mm) thicker than standard, and is stamped "TT". This clutch was used on the racers up until 1933/4. I reckon that, properly restored, a vintage Rudge clutch should be OK.

If you have a vintage Rudge with a vintage Rudge clutch and are considering replacing the whole thing with a Triumph clutch you are a nutter, at least in my world view!!! A vintage motorcycle is a lovely thing, and if you don't want to accept a few foibles it might be better to sell the whole bike and get something newer. That way there is still a proper vintage bike around in the future so that we can genuinely sample what motorcycling was like in 1930.

OK. Done with rant.

Phil, if your clutch plate is only 1/16" thick it is completely worn out. I have just measured a few in the shed, and with light rust (par for the course these days) they are all around 0.115-0.117" which is probably some sheet metal gauge or other, just under 1/8". The Rudge Enthusiasts' Club have drawings if you want to get serious. The four drive holes elongate with time, but the fix for this is to re-drill all four rotated by 45 degrees.

Yell if a slightly rusty plate with elongated holes would help. $A20 + postage from the antipodes, which may not be too bad if it can fit through the letter slot at the post office. Otherwise expensive.

By the way, there is a very active community of Rudge enthusiasts at http://rudge-whitworth.com  Amongst the technical help offered there are several PDF documents about Rudge clutches.

Cheers

Leon

[mark2]

So don’t change a part that you cannot even see as it might ruin the true experience of riding the machine? I can also recommend changing the BSA clutch to a triumph or better still a belt as some of these cluthes do not stand up to modern traffic conditions well ,also parts are cheap and easy to obtain , that’s if you are intending using the machine regular, will take some pics of the rudge conversion

[mark2]

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[phil_h]

Wow, I don't look for 2 days and there's an explosion of content !

Leon - thanks for your offer, but I have several plates, all rubbish because the part that should be flat on the outside of the dish is... you guessed it - dished itself.
Now, I might be old fashioned, but when a steel clutch plate has to contact a flat friction plate, I prefer it to be flat too
In my opinion, it is a design flaw to make a steel plate that will distort when it gets hot so that it is no longer serviceable, and all the plates I have show that sign. So the plates might have been very clever to fit into a small space, back in the day when you could get new ones whenever you wanted, but today they are crap.
Also, I am a rudge club member, and I have the drawings for M2062x5 and its design thickness, from the drawing, is 16G = 0.064"
So !
Eureka !
I think you may have some that were made such that they resist heat distortion !
As in exactly what a race dept would do without telling the public
1/8" nominal will definitely be more robust than 1/16" nominal !

And as far as swapping parts from one manufacturer to another goes... back in the day, they would do just whatever they thought might be helpful... just as we should be prepared to do today if it means keeping an old clunker on the road rather than as just a pretty museum piece

I'd still 'just' like to get some new standard-ish steels though 

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
mark2, thanks for posting the photos, I have not seen such a conversion piece before

Like Phil, I believe the source of my troubles are distorted plain plates?? I have relined the chainwheel and friction plate and made sure they are flat
I fitted a later adjustable spring thimble assembly to get the lift even
All burrs and wear ridges removed,
It still slips and drage at the same time

I have seen some Rudge race bikes that look to have "speedway" style or similar "modern" clutches
Again the problem would be to get it to fit inside the original primary cover

Regards
John

[phil_h]

So how much _would_ you pay for a brand new clutch plate ?
(I've had a quote back at last)

[chaterlea25]

Hi Phil,
What thickness have you requested the new plates  to be made ?
Leon has the 1/8th nominal plate which sounds like the way to go if getting them made?


Regards
John

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
Phil
Any news on the Rudge clutch plates?

Leon,
Did you get my PM?

John