Hinson Steel Clutch Basket

What it is

• A steel clutch basket to improve durability and add rotating mass for better power delivery and less stalling.

Hinson makes steel clutch baskets that replace the aluminum standard baskets on Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki off-road bikes. The benefit is twofold. First the steel adds durability and strength to a wear part, often the aluminum of the basket’s fingers develop grooves where the drive plates press on them. Over time this makes the clutch action poor and increases slop in the drive of the bike. The end result is often broken baskets and even worse, broken cases as the clutch basket comes apart.

Secondly, the added weight adds rotational inertia inside the motor helping to keep the engine spinning and also smoothing the pick-up of RPM as you increase the power. Since the spinning ratio is reduced compared to the crank, the weight effect is less pronounced than a flywheel weight.

How it works

• Installation requires above average mechanical skills, drilling out rivets.
• The weight effect is noticeable, just not as much as a flywheel.
• Durability is way beyond what a aluminum basket can withstand.

Flywheel weight on certain bikes can calm the power delivery. In some cases heavy flywheels can kill power delivery. Or smooth it a little or a lot. I can be pretty picky about the weight of the flywheel as I don’t want to lose throttle response. Enter the Hinson steel clutch basket. Depending on the application it can be up to two pounds heavier than the stock basket. Made from precision machined steel, it is impervious to wear on the ears like the standard aluminum baskets can be.

To install the basket you do have to remove your standard clutch basket. Then you must drill out the rivets and replace the drive gear on from the back of the stock clutch and install it on the Hinson basket. (Some kits come with a new kickstarter gear and drive cushions as well.) Hinson recommends using their cushions, especially if your bike has much time on it—for instance the stock Honda damping cushions tend to wear.

This install process, and removing and installing the clutch, takes slightly above normal mechanical know-how and tools, but it isn’t much more than a two-hour job with the included step-by-step instructions. Another bonus of having the sleeker steel basket in the Honda CRF450X we tested it is that it can be removed from the engine by only removing the easy-access clutch cover, where the stock basket requires removing the entire right sidecover. But in the initial install you have to take the whole sidecover off, the first time.

It is difficult to feel the effects of the heavier steel basket right off the bat as you would a flywheel weight. It is a little more subtle than that. It doesn't seem to affect the throttle response much at all, but it does smooth the power, in all the right ways. The added weight of the steel clutch basket tones down the hit when you crack the throttle. You feel less of each power stroke when you are really chugging the motor and here the bike is definitely less reluctant to stall. Once in the RPM’s you hardly notice the difference in pick-up.

Overall the power is just smoother, yet in traction compromising situations the bike gets better bite--not spinning as much no matter the throttle position. The inner workings of the basket let more oil flow through the clutch, so that is good for clutch plate life. In over a year of abuse the plates didn’t need replacing and looked like new. We even migrated the clutch basket into a second bike, a newer generation CRF450X since it performed so well.

Obviously, there was no wear on the steel basket and even our cushions were still good, though Hinson suggests replacing them every year. In fact, the real reason you'd be looking at a clutch basket in the first place is for replacement, but the steel basket is really a performance part as much as a cure to worn stock parts. The Hinson basket is a bit more pricey than just a flywheel, but it is doing double the duty, so it may easily be worth it for the rider looking for a smoother--but not sluggish--power delivery, better durability and less stalling.

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