Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Pulling out the motor/trans - replace clutch slave

I am curious to know your opinion about the flywheel: such lightweight unit is, in my opinion, giving extra work to the compensator, which would have already an hard-time dealing with a big V-twin. I could see this as a reason for the compensator giving up his job so early. Honestly I cannot find a technical reason for this decision, because the S&S is not really a fast engine which needs revving up and down like crazy, it is not built for this. I am dealing with industrial machinery all the time, maybe I miss some information about cars and motorbikes. Can anybody help me ?

Didn't see Robby's post above or the others from JV before I posted this. Sorry for the repeat.

JV,

When you say competition style, is this an aluminum flywheel with a steel insert for the clutch disc contact or is it steel with a series of holes around the outer diameter just inside the ring gear?

Post what you have.

I've been thinking a lot about Morgan using a stock Miata flywheel and they are very heavy and are all steel. With the additional weight of the compensator, whichever type, AND the steel flywheel, that's a lot of mass flinging around inside the bell housing.

My guess would have been a light weight flywheel either lightened by holes in steel or an aluminum flywheel.

Inquiring minds would like to know...

Now that I've viewed all of your pictures, I see several answers to my questions.

But I do have one other one. Morgan uses a Miata 5 speed, but you're saying you're using a Volvo slave cylinder? Why not a Miata? Although from what I've seen on "most" of the Miata 5 & 6 speeds, they have an external slave with a throwout fork like the old days.

Do you think the flywheel/clutch assembly is a Miata or is it a Volvo unit?

Nice job by the way on getting that apart without any mishaps.

Keep up the great work.

Hi Dan,

We'll know more after Thursday night examination of the clutch pack parts. I will post pictures.

Our first guess is that everything between the S&S engine block to behind the Volvo clutch slave is all a custom Morgan design and parts. I think the only Mazda parts are the housing and shifting gears sealed area behind the clutch slave.

When these engines are used in bikes they would not have an external flywheel and they obviously don't need one.

The toothed item you refer to as a flywheel is only a starter disc and the huge forged crankshaft in the crankcase acts as an adequate flywheel

Interesting stuff JVS - thanks for sharing.

Hi Guys Great work on getting the beast apart Seems it was not all straight forward as I suspected Anway you said there maybe more issues in the clutch assembly which may need attention and not just the release bearing Any odsevations would be great as Iv got a clutch disk stuck to the flywheel ?????? which nobody can answer as to why ?????
Many thanks
Waiting for the new photos

I have a Centra Compensator, flywheel and clutch assembly sitting on my work bench. The nut that holds the compensator to the crank loosened and I kept the old parts after everything was replaced. The flywheel is steel and has very little mass. It provides the friction surface for the clutch plate and teeth for the starter to engage but not much else. It probably weighs a quarter of what a BMW opposed twin motorcycle flywheel weighs. In my humble opinion, most of what I would attribute to flywheel function is the mass of the pressure plate.
The 2015 pressure plate has much stronger springs than the 2013 unit it replaced.

Hello Morgan Men,
We did disassemble the entire Morgan designed drive system last night, clutch pack, flywheel and compensator. I have to say it was fun digging into what Morgan has designed. What we have found is that Morgan has designed a road race clutch package vs. a hot dog - drag racing usability clutch package.
This will become another topic for the forum, how do you drive your Morgan, burning rubber and power shifting 2nd gear or moderate takeoffs with RPM matching shifting which is what the factory has installed. This brings us to the two different compensating units Morgan sells. The original Harley Davidson 1984 Shovelhead direct drive compensating sprocket which is in my 2012 unit or the new updated rubber rotating compensator that Morgan is now selling customers.
After looking at both compensating units, one will be better for the hot dogger kind of driver while the other would be better for the easy as you go driver not burning any rubber.

Now to new turf as HD has over the years made updates to the Shovelhead direct drive design that Morgan has not chose to use.

I'm the hot dog kind of driver and want that direct drive unit as compared to the updated version where you will be spinning the rubber parts around inside the new compensator.
It looks like we will modify the original HD compensator with the Harley updated design. More on this as we figure it out!

I will post picture of the tear down later today.

Clutch assembly