23RD

I will have to sleep on it, early start tomorrow... Thankyou for your input, I am sure there is a perfectly logical answer here, just can't see it yet! Regards Nick.

Yes there is, but the pressure plate will only fit correctly with the dot and arrow aligned because the slots on the inner drum will only match the slots on the pressure plate in that position, allowing the pressure plate to seat properly. I do not think it has any connection with balance, but I may be wrong. If this was a significant assembly instruction, I would have thought the haynes book would have drawn attention to it, but it doesnt.

I am even considering whether I should treat the final pressure plate (which can only go on one way) as a 'Plain' clutch plate, that way I have 6 plates instead of 5 and I could distribute them evenly then...but..I have put the pressure plate on a balancer and it has no bias to any point which negates the point of it... just a thought though....

I have run out of straws...

Yes, all 5 Plain plates are identical, as are the 6 friction plates.

What a relief! I thought it was just me! Thanks for confirming there is at the very least a question worth asking. I just cannot bring myself to button up the clutch casing until I can be 100% sure I have assembled the clutch properly. I have had this bike quite literally down to the last nut, bolt and washer. Having spent considerable time, money and effort getting this far it seems mad to just take a punt that it will probably be right. The engine was partially in pieces when I acquired it, so I have no reference as to how it was assembled originally. Hopefully someone out there can shed some light, the answer is no doubt staring me in the face! Thanks again Paul, I shall patiently hope for some light.....

Hello Paul, thankyou for your reply! My apologies for not approaching the forum in the correct manner, I have probably irritated a few people.... In my defence, I have never joined any internet forum of any kind before, and I am learning and keen to learn the protocol. More significantly, after 2 years I have nearly finished rebuilding my MK3 RD, I am tantalisingly close to her first firing in many years and I feel like that mad 17 year old again, impatient and blinkered to the rest of the world at times... This issue of plate spacing has bugged me today, I understand your point and the use of the word 'approx' but can you confirm that is the way to assemble it, and that a small imbalance is accepted? At 6000rpm I would imagine it could generate some horrible vibes? (I am probably more anal about balancing than is healthy, probably due to flying model helicopters in my spare time, balance is everything there!) Thankyou for your help, when I get organised I will post a profile etc and hopefully become a regular user. Kind Regards Nick

Hi people! I am new to the RD forum, hopefully someone can advise on my specific problem! I am rebuilding the clutch on my RD125LC 1988, the clutch has 6 friction plates and 5 plain plates. The plain plates all have a machined off area which I understand to reduce clutch noise. My question is, how is it possible to arrange these 5 plain plates evenly around the circumference of the clutch as per Haynes manual? There are 23 'Splines' around the clutch drum, and no matter how you space them it is obviously not possible to make the clutch symmetrical. My concern is obviously vibration due to the clutch being imbalanced. I have all the correct parts, drawings numbers etc 100%. Is this a Haynes issue or am I being really thick! Any input much appreciated! Kind Regards Nick