So what forces the gap between the needle bearing and the ball ramps?? AFAIK the only spring in the system is the pressure plate spring..

 

With the clutch set properly, and the lever not pulled. There is about .04 end play in the push rod. But you are probably correct that it can float and touch. However, it's not tight and allows oll splash between the clearances. Best I can tell, the only thing holding it back is the lever hanging down. Having no play to the point of letting the clutch slip would be bad. I have seen a few bad throw out thrust bearings and the older manuals use to say put bikes in neutral at long lights.
All this is just my opinion.

Is the oil spinner designed to stop the spinning in the oil?

What do the two small Bellville clutch damper rings 8 and 9 do in the clutch? They unload something I think.

 

Well here are a few things to think about..

I suspect that 0.040 inches is a little large for the clearance.. If there is any I'd suspect that it's closer to 0.004.. First off, after adjusting the clutch to 1/2 turn on the center screw, with the cable still slackened you only have 0.025" of clearance. The adjusting screw is 7/16-20 so 1 full turn is 0.050 making 1/2 turn 0.025.. When you take the slack out of the cable, you are rotating the arm inside the tranny cover which is going to close the gap. How much slack is there really? Well after making the adjustment in both places, put an Allen in the center adjuster and back the nut off. See how far it turns in before getting tight. That will give you an idea of how much clearance there really is..

I do suspect that there is a small amount of preload on the bearing. Probably not much and a lightly loaded bearing should last forever.. The bearing is what is forcing the clutch lever back out..

I'm one of those guys that kick the bike into neutral at a stop. I know the MSF guys have a **** fit when you tell them that's the way I do it.. My hands are old and arthritic is the main reason but it is also better for the throw out bearing.. Think about it.. When you pull the clutch in and place the bike in gear, the mainshaft stops spinning.. When it stops the flinger don't fling and the bearing sits there with a high static load as its not spinning and no oil from the flinger. With motor vibrations, oil vibrates out of the bearing and high static load will eventually spall the bearing..

None of the cable clutches I've has have ever lost needle bearing and I've run over 500 lbs of plate pressure.. I have one bike that has run a 480 lb clutch spring for 40000 miles without issue.

I suspect that the flinger is pretty much spinning any time the mainshaft is spinning. It might be spinning slightly slower tho..


The clutch damper Belleville spring act to increase the friction zone. Only one f the rings is Belleville the other is simply flat.. When going to the +1 kits the damper is sometimes removed because it make the friction zone too wide.