What the best clutch basket cushions / pucks?

[JonW]

Something I dont think we've talked about before...

With a bunch of kits available on the market now for billet clutch baskets, which are really from the Banshee marketplace, I was wondering if there was any consensus on which of these are the best?

The more generic billet basket kits often come with an unbranded set of rubbers. Some of these are better than others i guess, but its hard to rate any of these cushions just by squashing them in your fingers for longevity and 'bounce'.

I assume that some will be softer and last less time than others in this harsh oily environment and expect that few would last as long as the (unavailable as a seperate part, unless you know better?) OEMS... but many are designed for Banshee racing so surely should be heavy duty 'enough'?

Anyway, my thought is that its ok to buy a kit and fit it as it stands and not give it a second thought, but... are there some better versions that are worth upgrading to instead? Are red ones the hot ticket over black? Are Hinson and MacDaddy any better than the generics in the cheap billet kits? Are the branded ones (like Vitos) that dont have any markings just the same as the generic chinese ones just in a blister pack?

PFA

[headcoats]

Wiesco do them
Had mine off n k racing but a while ago

[headcoats]

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124213155498?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=1UyxnOE3Tea&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=UIIKmhXgSXy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[JonW]

Eeek! £75 for a set of cushions!

At the prices for those I think I'll try the ones that came with the billet basket kit, to be honest the whole kit didnt cost that much more than those at only £100 lol

[beardy]

Good question. Something I’ll be renewing at some point

[dusty350]

The difficulty is, it will be a few years before replacement pucks can be evaluated. I bet most Lc's dont do the mileage nowadays, so wont get the wear into the clutch like they did when we were using them daily. I bet a lot dont get mercilessly thrashed now either !! I've used Wiseco, Mutts' and Norbo's. All remove any play from the basket and the driven gear on the back. A fella on Facebook measured the rotational play between the basket and gear on a brand new, straight out of the box Yamaha Lc clutch basket, and it was 2mm. Certainly on the early and later Lc's, the shape/size of the pucks used would have allowed some movement between the 2 parts from new. The early Lc had the "D " shaped pucks, the later had 4 small and 4 larger round pucks, so some degree of movement was built in from new it would seem. Also points to the robustness of the plasticy round gasket found in the baskets.
I always change them when doing a basket rebuild, and all the ones I've used have seemed good quality, but how do you really tell ?
What I do know is, they do compress, and the "D" shaped ones can spin in their housings, allowing excessive play. Ad they break up too;

308722635_458908879536601_4565594448581350997_n by dusty miller, on Flickr

I just buy from either Mutts or Norbo now, and trust the parts they sell

Dusty