TOPIC:

Just a thought, but is it possible the Nord West has two extra plates and Bob sent you a kit which will do both?, and also the previous owner who did the clutch just fitted them all unknowingly?.
Clutching at straws here, oops, sorry! groan!.
Alan.

Thanks Alan. That video was useful, but it doesn't clarify things for me, because at 12:22 he has the Saturno clutch in his hands, and there are 8 tang plates...then at 12:39 he has the Dakota clutch in his hands - and there are 7 tang-plates. Sigh.

yes it's funny
Your pic shows defintely something wrong.
But i checked the box with my broken Nordie clutch today.
Hmmm.... 8 friction plates, 7 steel plates
Is there a number on the clutch somewhere?
Lugi tends to put the spare part number on mostly everything

2 possibilities... the Saturno has a set of plates less.
Your clutch basket has someting inside.

The 350ccm clutch should be smaller

ciao Joachim

Stranger and stranger. As Joachim says, there is definitely something not correct in your picture, perhaps assembled incorrectly?. But for sure, that top plate should be sitting in the clutch basket. Got any photo's from a different angle?. Do the old clutch plates stick out the same as the new ones when assembled
Alan.

maybe you should also measure the thickness of both friction paltes and steel plates.
I have a clutch here to compare

friction plate 2,7mm (not new)
steel plate 1,52mm

ciao Joachim

Hi all - thanks for the thoughts and recommendations. I've done some measuring and tinkering, and here are the results...
The steel plates were the same as yours Joachim, and the old clutch-plates are around 2.6mm thick - again similar to yours. The Manual says replace if less than 2.7mm.
The new plates are 3.9mm thick - so MUCH thicker. I checked with Bob Wrights and they checked their records and diagrams, and there confirmed that there are supposed to be 8 plates for the Saturno, so the 7 in the manual is wrong. They mentioned that these plates are from a new supplier - so they may be too thick and they will replace with something else if needed.
However they have suggested that I try to only use 7 plates and see if that works. I've attached a photo of the basket with the 8 old plates in it, and one with the 7 new plates. They appear to be in the same ballpark - so I will fit it back into the engine over the next few days and see if the clutch works. If not, I will see if Bob Wrights can get me a new set of plates, or may scrub and clean the old ones and put them back in to see if that fixes the original problem.
Any thoughts (before I fire up the engine, put the bike in gear and watch it launch itself through the garage wall)?