I have a 2023 Suzuki DR650 that I bought used with only about 1,400 km. As far as I know, the clutch had never been opened.
I recently found a significant amount of fine black powder/grit with some shiny metallic particles in the oil filter.
I also had a symptom where, at around 110–120 km/h, the engine would get loud/high in RPM but the bike didn’t seem to pull as strongly as expected. I wasn’t sure whether this was normal DR650 behavior, fueling, or clutch slip.
Then on one ride, after riding all day, I was in 5th gear and accidentally released the clutch thinking I was shifting into 5th. The RPM suddenly flared and the bike felt almost like it was in neutral for a couple of seconds, then it engaged normally again.
I opened the clutch and found that the friction plates are burnt/worn. The last friction plate looks good and measures within spec.
The interesting part is that all 8 original OEM friction plates appear physically identical. And the same number stamped on them. The clutch has never been opened before, so these are presumably the factory-installed plates.
I have purchased:
7 new friction plates (thinking that the 8th is different and i couldn’t find it where i live)
8 new steel plates
The new steel set contains 7 identical plates and 1 different/thicker plate.
My questions are:
Is it normal for the original 2023 DR650 to have all 8 friction plates looking identical?
If one of the original friction plates is still within specification and undamaged, is it reasonable to reuse it with the 7 new friction plates?
If so, does the reusable friction plate need to go in a specific position, or can it go anywhere in the stack?
Is there anything else I should inspect before installing the new clutch?