Alternative Starter Clutch Possibility

I ran across this yesterday and thought I'd share. I'm not sure that this exact sprague clutch would fit an XJ, but the general idea is quite promising.

Yamaha TX750 starter clutch mod

 

So - according to "Argo of Estonia" , Yamaha was using OUTDATED technology in the '70's ?? rather than pay patent royalties to Borg-Warner??
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Couldn't the XJ clutch be milled a bit to fit 6 rollers - which seems like it would be WAY easier than re-inventing the wheel, and should give twice the grip??

 

Six rollers would probably contribute to a much higher failure rate.
The Roller-housing would be weakened.

 

a yamaha part is about 95$, and lasts about 20 years. did we ever hear of someone putting in their second one ?
a real quick look on google finds sprag clutches are around 50$, someone modifies it for ?$ and sells it for ? and it's good for ? years.
no thanks.
there's no room in the yamaha part to add rollers, remember there's a spring and pin in there too

 

Starter Clutch problems are most commonly found on Bikes that are not tuned well and need to have the Starter "Leaned-on" for some time.

If your Bike light-right-up when you hit Start, ... you're less likely to need a replacement early-on in mileage.

 

I was thinking more from the perspective that at some point, new, factory starter clutches might not be available. Yamaha lists TX750 starter clutch as NLA. Granted it was only a two-year bike, but it did share a few parts with other machines.

Parts don't last years....they last hours-of-use (or misuse).
With old bikes it's always good to have options for keeping them on the road.

 

I love to see new ways to possibly improve or strengthen our XJ's. Thanks for the intel and keep it coming!

 

Hey guys,

What's the problem with having another option? I think all options are useful and an owner can choose which he/she wants. IMHO! 8O

 

Or that "kick back" against it, like the V-twins (or a really out of tune XJ.)