A clutch is that part of engine which engages or disengages power from the engine crankshaft to transmission.

A clutch is mechanism by which you change the gears. In simple words, it turns on or off power to rear wheel. A clutch is made of clutch assembly which includes clutch plate, Clutch basket, Clutch hub, pressure plates, Clutch springs, lever and clutch cable. Clutch Basket: It is bowl shaped basket which holds entire clutch assembly. It has teethes on the outside surfaces which fix on the primary drive teethes. It means that it is connected with the transmission. It is bolted onto the end of clutch shaft.

Clutch Hub: The clutch hub places between clutch basket and pressure plate. The clutch plates are mounted on it. It has teethes in the centre hole which rotate with main shaft. It means it is connected with the engine.

Clutch Plate: There are two types of plates in clutch plate. One is Drive (friction) plate another is Driven (Steel) plate

Drive (friction) plate: The friction plate is ring shaped and coated with fiber. It is a wear and tear part of clutch assembly. The friction plate surfaces interface between the clutch basket tangs (gaps) and pressure plate. It has teethes on the outside surfaces. These teethes fix on the cutouts between clutch hub tangs (gaps). It is coated with the same material as you see in brake pad (shoe). Driven (steel) plate: It is ring shaped and made of steel and sometime of aluminum. The surfaces of steel or aluminum plate interfaces between pressure plate and clutch hub. It has teethes on inside surfaces. This teethes are fix on the cutouts of clutch hub. Mostly steel plates are used in clutch assembly due to their durability. The aluminum plates are used in Moto GP due to their lighter weight. These plates are worn out very fast compare to steel plate.

Pressure Plate: It is the moving part of the clutch assembly which works against clutch spring tension. It releases the clamping action on the clutch plates when the clutch lever is engaged.

Clutch springs: The clutch springs shape is like short coil. These springs continuously hold the friction and steel or aluminum plates through spring tension. It also prevents slippage except when the clutch lever is engaged. Most of motorcycle has five or more springs used per clutch assembly. For higher engine output stiffer or more springs are used while softer or few springs used in order to lighter clutch level pulling effort.

Lever: It is metal rode which pivots on a perch located of the left handlebar. It gives input to clutch assembly.

Clutch Cable: The clutch cable is a cable through which the riders input passes to the clutch internals.

Clutch Cover: It covers the entire clutch assembly.

How A Clutch Works

In a normal condition a clutch is engaged with the engine. When a rider presses the clutch lever for changing gears, the coil springs in the clutch compressed and the pressure plate expands which allows the stake of clutch plates to move independently. The stake of clutch is arranged in such a manner that friction plate and steel plate alternate. It makes the engine and clutch to move at different speeds. Ultimately the clutch disengages power to transmission which allows rider to shift the gears. There are two types of clutches: Wet clutch & Dry clutch

Wet Clutch
Wet clutch are universal and found on any bike. Almost 99% of motorcycle manufactured uses this kind of clutch. In the wet clutch set up the entire clutch is inside the case of the bike. Here it is bathed in oil which acts like a kind of dampener. It stops the clutch from knocking on itself. Advantages: It has less wear and tear effect due to oil circulation. It has smoother engagement compare to dry clutch It is cooled by engine oil

It tolerates slipping during initial clutch take off It is cheaper to manufacture The wet clutch operation is quiet and makes less noise compare to dry clutch operation. Oil needs to be circulated specially for the clutch presence. Due to rotation of clutch in oil then engine losses some horse power to rear wheel Clutch garbage and hammer mixes in engine oil (an oil filter fitted to avoid such problem)

Disadvantages:

Dry Clutch:
The dry clutch is almost identical to the wet clutch the only difference s there are seals on the shafts that keep oil out. In the dry clutch set up the entire clutch is outside the case of the bike.

There is no oil circulated in to the clutch, which result into clutch knocking on itself. Ducatis are almost the only bike with this type of clutch. Advantages: It is very easy to replace as it is outside the case of bike. Oil does not need to circulate for clutch, which ultimately eliminate reduction in loss of Horse power due to oil circulation in clutch. It is the biggest reason why it is use in Moto GP racing. You can use friction modified oils in engine It is easier to use. Sometimes it has tendency to grab during engagement which makes take off difficult. The clutch overheats due to grabbing effect and wears out very fast.

Disadvantages:

The same thing makes clutch operation less progressive. It has very shorter life. Once hot it is very difficult to calm if there is no open clutch cover is there. It is very noisy sometimes makes you feel like hammering.

Myths About Wet & Dry Clutch

Wet clutches are easier to pull on the clutch lever. FACT: It is not true lever pressure is very dependent on clutch set up. If you use soft springs it will make the pull operation easier and if you use stiffer spring it require more pressure to pull lever. High performance bikes uses stiffer spring hence it require higher pressure to pull the lever. Dry clutch can transmit more power. FACT: It is not true as most of the powerful bikes have wet clutches like Suzuki Hybusa. The dry clutch eliminates the loss of horse power due to oil bathing so that power is available to rear wheel. Only dry clutch can be used as slipper clutch FACT: It really does not make any difference. Clutch is a mechanism for transmitting rotation, which can be engaged and disengaged. Clutches are useful in devices that have two rotating shafts. In these devices, one shaft is typically driven by a motor or pulley, and the other shaft drives another device. Let us take an instance where one shaft is driven by a motor and the other drives a drill chuck. The clutch connects the two shafts so that they can either be locked together and spin at the same speed (engaged), or be decoupled and spin at different speeds (disengaged). Depending on the orientation, speeds, material, torque produced and finally the use of the whole device, different kinds of clutches are used. The clutch in itself is a mechanism, which employs different configurations and different principles in various models available. In the following lines, we have provided the different kinds of clutches that are available. Different Kinds Of Clutches Friction Clutch Friction clutches are the most commonly used clutch mechanisms. They are used to transmit torque by using the surface friction between two faces of the clutch. Dog Clutch A dog clutch couples two rotating shafts or other rotating components not by friction, but by interference. Both the parts of the clutch are designed so that one pushes into the other, causing both to rotate at the same speed, so that they never slip. Cone Cutch Cone clutches are nothing, but frictional clutches with conical surfaces. The area of contact differs from normal frictional surfaces. The conical surface provides a taper, which means that while a given amount of actuating force brings the surfaces of the clutch into contact really slowly, the pressure on the mating surfaces increases rapidly. Overrunning Clutch Also known as the freewheel mechanisms, this type of clutch disengage the driveshaft from the driven shaft, when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft. An example of such a situation can be

when a cyclist stops peddling and cruises. However, in case of automobiles going down the hill, you cannot take your feet off the gas pedal, as there is no free wheel system. If you do so, the whole engine system can be damaged. Safety Clutch Also known as the torque limiter, this device allows a rotating shaft to "slip" or disengage when higher than normal resistance is encountered on a machine. An example of a safety clutch is the one mounted on the driving shaft of a large grass mower. If a stone or something else is encountered by the grass mower, it stops immediately and does not hamper the blades. Centrifugal clutch Centrifugal and semi-centrifugal clutches are employed where they need to engage only at some specific speeds. There is a rotating member on the driving shaft, which rises up as the speed of the shaft increases and engages the clutch, which then drives the driven shaft. Hydraulic Clutch In a hydraulic clutch system, the coupling is hydrodynamic and the shafts are not actually in contact. They work as an alternative to mechanical clutches. They are known to have common problems associated with hydraulic couplings, and are a bit unsteady in transmitting torque. Electromagnetic Clutch These clutches engage the theory of magnetism on to the clutch mechanisms. The ends of the driven and driving pieces are kept separate and they act as the pole pieces of a magnet. When a DC current is passed through the clutch system, the electromagnet activates and the clutch is engaged.