06/12/2019 The WR450F Clutch Hub "Swiss Cheese" Mod Thread - WR400F/426F/450F - ThumperTalk

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The WR450F Clutch Hub "Swiss Cheese" Mod Thread

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The WR450F Clutch Hub "Swiss Cheese" Mod Follow 5

Thread
By RockerYZWR, March 27, 2016 in WR400F/426F/450F

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RockerYZWR Posted March 27, 2016 Report post 

TT Platinum Member
So back in January, after reading through this thread/post by Thump
Me, I pulled my clutch hub  and drilled a bunch of holes in it.
 Shortly after that, in the "What did you do to your WR today" thread,
I said I'd do a write-up but never did.  Well, here we are!
Members
 
1,851 posts
Location: Oklahoma
 My Rides (3) I definitely won't claim to have expert-level knowledge like some guys
here have, but the big picture here is to allow more oil to flow
through the hub while it's spinning to get more oil to your clutch
plates.  This allows more/better oil circulation through the clutch
system, which, as I noticed, greatly helped clutch feel.  Take a look at
basically any aftermarket clutch hub - Hinson, Wiseco , Rekluse  -
and you'll notice a lot of additional holes compared to the stock
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Yamaha  hub.  The clutch action basically feels a lot smoother, more
accurate, and directly tied to the engine, whereas with the stock clutch
hub, there is a bit of vagueness and grabbiness (which I didn't fully
notice until after I did this mod and which is also not a word).  

As for ease of electric starting in gear, I didn't have issues to begin

with - I've always been able to start even in 3rd gear if I've wanted or
needed to (haven't tried a 4th or 5th gear start) - but I have done this
and the "79 cent fix" clutch washer mod (here, here, and also here)
nonetheless.  What I did notice, though, is that any clutch drag with
the engine running, in gear, and stopped with the clutch pulled in is
gone completely.  The forward surge and push you get on a lot of
bikes when you first click it into gear is significantly reduced.

So here's what the hub looks like from the factory.  You'll notice they
drilled six total holes, evenly spaced around the hub, at varying
measurements from the base.  This allows a little bit of oil through,
but we can do better.

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I put the clutch hub in a vise (use aluminum or wood pads - just don't
clamp down on the clutch hub with bare steel vise jaws; you'll tear up
the hub).  When you need to drill accurate holes in metal, use a center
punch first.  Otherwise, you'll drill inaccurate holes.  As for where,
WR400F/426F/450F  bythe 
specifically on this hub, I went with the ribs that were drilled
factory (one hole each) and added two fairly evenly-spaced holes on
that same rib.  In the next picture, you can see the stock hole behind
the punch.  Since all six of the factory-drilled holes are at different
spacings and I added two somewhat evenly spaced holes off of those,
my little three-hole scheme makes it so each of the drilled ribs around
the hub is a little different from the drilled rib next to it.  If that
doesn't make sense, don't worry about it - it's not really important.
 What is important is drilling additional holes.

Drill away!  I used a cordless hand drill (nice new 20V Porter Cable set
I got for Christmas), and a sharp, new bit the same size as the factory
drilled holes, which is approximately a 5/32 bit.  It's probably
supposed to be 4 mm, but 5/32 is 3.9688 mm and that was close
enough for my purposes.

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A few shots of brake cleaner and some compressed air  cleans

everything out.  Then I took a Scotchbrite pad around each hole to
smooth out any burring that may have occurred at the edges of the
holes on both the outside and inside of the hub.  Clean it all up, and
it's ready to reinstall. 

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And here we have the finished product.  What I might do differently

next time and/or re-do when I have it apart next is drill even more
holes in some of the other ribs and valley areas.  I've read about some
people drilling holes in precise places - like measured to the
millimeter.  That is not important at all unless your OCD is really
kicking in.  It doesn't matter exactly where the holes are, just that you
add holes in varying places to allow more oil to flow throughout your
clutch pack.  I only did even spacing because it made me happy
inside.  It doesn't matter.  Just vary the position of the holes to allow
for that oil to get to all parts of the clutch pack.  

The result: a smoother, much better feeling clutch that feels more
precise, probably stays a little cooler when you're abusing it, probably
lasts longer, and should help with the starting in gear issues some
people have.  Not bad for zero dollars spent.

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06/12/2019 The WR450F Clutch Hub "Swiss Cheese" Mod Thread - WR400F/426F/450F - ThumperTalk

 Quote

1hp, KRAYNIAL, Slow and Jerky and 7 others reacted to this 9 1

2011 YZ250 

2011 WR450F

31 Amazon.co.uk customer reviews

“With the wealth of RPGs…great indie games…

Nintendo titles…the library is unparalleled in the
portable market”

jamesm113 Posted March 11 Report post 

TT Bronze Member
I'm surprised this post never got any responses.

J I absolutely love this mod! ??

Clutch feel is 100x better, I can modulate the clutch easily over
Members technical trails.  Just an awesome, buttery-smooth clutch.
442 posts
Location: California When I got a 2012 WR450F last year to replace my 2007, I realized
 My Rides (2)
how much I took it for granted and quickly performed this mod to my
2012.

My buddy has an old 03 YZ450f that was always a pain to start. After
performing this mod (and some valve reshimming), it starts in gear
easily.

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 Quote

'12 WR450F | '05 TTR230 | '07 WR450F (sold) | '01 WR250F (sold) 

Jens Eskildsen Posted March 11 Report post 

TT Bronze Member
I did it to mine aswell, but dont have much "before" experience as the

J
bike needed a rebuild when i got it

I drilled a single hole in each of the lammels/ribs varying from top to

bottom.
Members
336 posts
Dont know which procedure is best, but i figured this would spread
Location: Denmark
out the holes the most. I also think its hard to drill too many holes,
perhaps somebody will really swiss cheese up in the future, and share
their experiences.

 Quote jamesm113 reacted to this 1

2004 wr450f, restrictons removed, yfz450 clutchbasket, Sm pro cush wheel 

31 Amazon.co.uk customer reviews

“With the wealth of RPGs…great indie games…

Nintendo titles…the library is unparalleled in the
portable market”

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The WR450F Clutch Hub "Swiss Cheese" Mod Thread

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