Hitchcocks Forum

I'm doing a bit of clutch fettling at the moment, getting a bit of slip so searching through my box of enfield bits looking for some stronger springs..

Most have got a dab of blue paint on.. Are these standard or heavy duty? Darned if i can remember and its too late to ring..

Anyone know off hand? gwilly.

Hi matey------- can't help with the color coding as such but why not do a bit of a comparison by compressing existing springs and the blue ones using a suitable bathroom scales or the like ??............ You don't need to know the ACTUAL poundage of each spring but just a comparison of the blue against the existing ones after all............ If it's a case of clutch slip then why not put an extra pair of plates in ??....... ( It's the total surface area that dictates the amount of power transmitted )....

Blue is Std, White is HD, but it pays to check the coils wire gauge as they are not always painted.


Be aware that if you use the HD springs you will end up with more flex on the Indian gear box outer cover which often leads to Drag AND Slip.

Thanks for that gents, much appreciated.
The background story is that i'm trying out a set of cork plates as per Simons (NZ) suggestion to hopefully eliminate clutch drag after an hours riding whereby neutral or any gear selection becomes difficult at a standstill..
Taking out all cable slack gives a good lift and good gear selection it seems but on standard springs getting a bit of slip in 2nd-3rd gear.. So thought i would try a combo 3 standard and 3 HD springs but my spares boxes contained a dozen springs, some blue and some not painted but all appeared the same..

I sent for some HD springs which arrived yesterday, NOT Painted but have only five coils with greater spacing between each coil compared to standard six coils of the same length overall..

Domestic duties are keeping me from the workshop at present but will let you know how it goes..

I've got the Hitchcocks heavy duty set with three heavy spring interspersed with three light ones. Works fine for my slightly tricked 350.

Just to add something else to check, because it was a common problem on older Brit bikes: get a piece of glass and lay each clutch plate on it to check that each plate is ABSOLUTELY flat. Usually it's the friction plates that warp.



Even a tiny amount of warpage can make the clutch slip. Luckily it's easy to straighten the plates with moderate hand pressure.



One more than one occasion I've transformed a draggy, slippy clutch just by doing this. I think the Bullet clutch is heavy enough without stronger springs, so I would check them first.

Yes I agree with Thack, especially if the clutch has been slipping a lot or getting hot. I flattened my steel plates with a hide hammer on a piece of flat board.

Yes i will check them out carefully. i can sort and fettle the best from the five plate clutch that was in there last week or the previous four plate. Plenty to choose from..

Just experimenting with it really trying to get the best from a very mediocre design..

Next will be is there any difference in drag/slip using either ATF or 20w-50w classic oil..

For what it's worth I have a standard three friction plate clutch with the cork plates and the three heavier grade springs running in ATF.

My clutch started slipping after I swapped to ATF. It was OK again after I changed back to 20/50.