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Thread: Tri-z clutch covers

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Antrim county, MI
    --
    53

    Tri-z clutch covers

    I know several people have looked into having the tri-z clutch cover reproduced over the years, but nothing has made it to market yet. I've been talking it over with the manager at the machine shop I work at, and I have a green light to begin drawing up a solid cad model on my own time(after hours). As soon as I can bribe our Q.C. guy to stay late for a little bit, I'll throw a good cover on the C.M.M. and beep in all the bolt and dowel locations, along with all major features and the the gasket surface profile.
    I'll be making these out of T6 or T7 billet aluminum. There will be quite a few revisions to the cover. I should be able to thicken all of the walls and increase all internal corner radii for strength. I personally hate the oil check bolt, so I'll likely install a sight glass from a master cylinder in it instead. To help eliminate extra set-ups and machine time, I won't be putting in any provisions for a powervalve(sorry guys).
    With the arrangement I have with my employer, I would be buying all material myself and pay the shop for machine time. I would have to do all machine work on my own time, and when there is a machine open/available. With all that said, I hope to be able to buy the material needed for fixture plates and a half dozen or so covers by spring. Unless complications pop up, the price for these covers would be $300.
    It will take a while before I have any finished parts. After 1 or 2 are made and I have a chance to streamline my program, I should be able to make around a dozen or so a month. I just wanted to give the tri-z crowd a heads up.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Antrim county, MI
    --
    53
    Click image for larger version. 

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    It's not much progress, but at least it's forward progress. I should be able to have my CAD model finished next week. I'm in the process of learning to use Fusion 360° CAD/CAM software after 10yrs. of using Mastercam.
    I'm still not sure how long it will be before I can order material, or how much it will cost yet. After some scrounging around the shop, I came up with some scrap steel that I can clean up and use to make fixture plates.
    I'll post more pics when the CAD model is finished, but I'll probably have to wait till after christmas to order material.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Columbia
    --
    5,131
    Hey that's fantastic. Good job on it man.
    My feedback: http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthr...k-for-ATC-Eric

    Survivor! TF: 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13 Sandpuppies: 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 Imperial Invasion 09, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Antrim county, MI
    --
    53
    Thankyou for the kind words. I just finished the cad model today. It's a big step in the right direction.Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Location
    WI
    --
    2
    This is awesome. I'm in in for one for sure. Maybe two.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Mexico
    --
    9,003
    Good on you for taking this on.

    If it’s not too late please allow for a little extra space for a Talon clutch basket to fit. The stock clutch can rub when it gets worn and the Talon baskets require that you grind the two ribs at the top of the cover in order to use it.

    Removing those ribs and extending the inside of the face of the cover 1 or 2mm would fix the issue.

    Good luck!!!
    It sucks to get old

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    N.E. Ohio
    --
    2,005
    ^^^I’ll second that and raise you a 2piece quick change cover. Site glass is a waste of time IMO. It’s a quart of oil and changed often(if you ride it). The ability to change the clutch without removing the kicker and the entire side cover would be the HOT ticket. Make it so #1

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Antrim county, MI
    --
    53
    According to all my measurements, the factory clutch basket has about .085in clearance to the two inner ribs on the clutch cover. This is the tightest point I can find. A Talon clutch basket would have about .04in of clearance at these ribs on a stock cover. This problem is made a little worse by the fact that both the factory clutch basket and cover have a taper, or draft angle built in so they can be pulled from the mold. Both the Talon basket and my cover will have straight walls. My cover with a Talon basket should have about .091in clearance to the tightest point, this point being one of the cover mounting bolt bosses in the basket pocket itself.

    As far as the sight glass, that's really my preferance. I hate having to pull out a bolt just to check the oil level. Draining and refilling isn't any better of a system when you just want to check the oil level.

    A quick change clutch cover would be nice, but will add to machine time, setup time, material costs and overall part cost. I may play with a quick change cover if I am able to get my own cnc machine in the next year or so. Due to paying the shop I work at for actual machine time, I need to keep my run times as low as possible.
    It may not look like it, but I currently have about 100hrs in dimensioning and drafting that cad model.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    N.E. Ohio
    --
    2,005
    Don’t discount expansion to the basket at running temps under load, might be slight. Just something to ponder.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Indiana
    --
    455
    I sure wish I had access to a 3D scanner or CMM. I use Solidworks every day for 3D CAD work, so it's no problem for me to do some 3D modeling. Reverse engineering some of these complex parts would be the big task, but it sure would be fun to reproduce some of these harder to find parts. I applaud what you are doing here.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Mexico
    --
    9,003
    Quote Originally Posted by Tri-Z 250 View Post
    Don’t discount expansion to the basket at running temps under load, might be slight. Just something to ponder.
    Yep, plus runout and deflection of the fingers, but if he has .09” clearance all we should need to do is not use trashed stock baskets, or let out bearings go out.

    So anyway, I’m read to pony up for one as soon as he’s ready ship, just let me know.

    A few months ago I thought I had five good covers. As of today I might have three. There’s no doubt in my mind that anyone with a Tri-Z is going to need one of these covers some day.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Arizona
    --
    844
    Very nice. Have you thought about doing the stator cover? I think it would be a straight-forward project with your skills. A billet cover would be sweet.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    N.E. Ohio
    --
    2,005

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Antrim county, MI
    --
    53
    This project is still moving forward. I've been staying at work late for the last week to get this programmed. Tomorrow is my day off, and I'm hoping to go in and finish programming everything. I told my manager to go ahead and order 2 pcs of aluminum, I'm still waiting to find out the exact price on stock.
    To clarify the clutch basket clearance issue a little further, when I drafted up the cad model I opened up the inner diameter of the clutch basket pocket by approximately .200in. If I calculate the talon basket diameter against the basket pocket diameter, then I come up with the .091in that I mentioned above. I cannot move any of the cover mounting bolt locations, and the boss around that bolt will be .1in thick vs .12in thick stk.
    This means it should have more clearance since I made the pocket larger and the boss thinner. That makes me believe that the stock basket isn't centered in the pocket from the factory.
    The plan is to use the first piece of stock to prove out my program and verify a good part. With the second piece of stock I'll try to streamline the program and shave off as much time as I can. I plan to keep the first two pieces(the first aren't usually the best). I'll have to start out making small batches, then use the money from those to make more.
    Now some bad news. The shop I work at is going through it's 3rd round of layoffs next week. I dodged the bullet this time, but I don't think the shop will survive round 4. We're pretty much 50/50 with military and boeing for work. If the new administration kills my job, I'll do my best to get everything off to a capable shop that can produce these. I really want to save as many Z's as possible.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Mexico
    --
    9,003
    Sorry to hear about your workplace. Hopefully you’re able to hang in there.

    I hope you can see this to fruition. Realistically you should be able to sell a dozen as soon as you can show a working unit to the Yamaha crowd. After that I’d expect 10 a year to be reasonable. I base this off how I’ve seen them sell on eBay the last 2 years. Because this has nothing to do with bling, like a stator cover there’s no reason to think you won’t have steady sales for a few years. There’s been lot of Tri-Z’s parted out the last 10 years and it can probably be correlated to a lack of clutch covers.

    Pleas send me a PM when your ready to make chips and we can work something out on the cost of the billet.

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