Motion Pro Clutch Holders | Tools 101

Modern riding styles are tough on clutches, so it's fairly common for even garage mechanics to find it necessary to remove the clutch basket. Some sort of clutch-holding tool makes an otherwise frustrating job a breeze. With the plates out, there is nothing connecting the inner and outer baskets, so you need a tool that locks the two together without damaging either. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this task. The tool shown here is from Motion Pro ($24.99; www.motionpro.com), and fits a wide variety of clutches. It's basically a radically modified locking pliers. The angled tips lock into grooves in the inner basket while the arms catch in the openings in the outer basket. Look in the manual for your bike under the Special Tools section and you'll likely see a tool that looks like a clutch drive plate with a handle welded on. If you have old steel drive plates, stack two and weld a bar to them. If you're handy (and are replacing the plates), you can drill two metal plates and two friction plates and bolt them together to hold the baskets. It really doesn't matter which type of clutch-holding tool you choose to employ; anything is better than risking injury and parts damage without one.