If you add a steel, might as well add it first?

I've had a 175 where this was done... I just put it back the way it was. I was thinking someone did it to make up for wear but could have been to add extra pressure?

CT/AT clutches seem to slip for some people. I've never had an issue but I know some have used different springs or shimmed the stock springs slightly.

Problem discovered and solved! - thanks to y'alls help! The aftermarket China/Amazon clutch plates that I installed are now removed - they measured about 1.73 mm per plate at the widest point (with full clutch pad, about 1.2 mm at top w/o pad). The O ring which I had put back under the clutch plates measured @ 1.93 mm. So it never stood a chance at grabbing with O rings installed. So I ditched the O rings and reinstalled the China clutch plates just to see if it would work. The result was same as Schu above - just too loose. I was able to put bike in gear and it had more drag when I pushed it than before with O rings, but still could push it in gear without even turning over motor.

I then "degreased" with simple green the original clutch plates that measured a little over 4mm to try to remove the potentially wrong oil (I think it was lawn mower oil from PO). Installed without O rings and it engaged as it was supposed to. During this whole process I was also re-installing the autolube pump and drive gear inside case. Bottom line, the bike was happy, took off like a scalded dog! It slipped a little but only a fraction of before - hoping once it gets soaked in the proper oil the shituation will be resolved. And a bonus, the autolube seems to be working great!

I'm going to leave a product review on Amazon to help warn the next poor soul that it's too thin for older Yamahas.

Thanks for the help!

Marshall

Not sure if i'm reading it right but 1.73mm on new plates & 4mm on old is a very big difference.
I wonder if you are mean't to run an extra fiber & steel with the aftermarket set to bring the stack up to a workable spec, which would be a good thing.
Old plates once glazed will never be good even if the measure up ok as they just lose their gripability--if that's the word lol.
Those rings are made to compress as spread slightly at the outer edge when clutch is disengaged, so true measurement would be slightly compressed at the ears. Granted though your fibers are way narrow.
You can see the edge of the ring in this pic which shows how it compresses.
Makes for a soft uptake on moving off & was supposed to help free the clutch in cold weather i believe.
But they cause more grief than benefit over the years when the clutch gets old. My 175 clutch has never been off but i guess i'll need to go in there one day.
photos.app.goo.gl/2ansjKKWz7P9LPu38

I just bought some of the cheaper (price) clutch plates off of the auction site. The plates all measured 4mm as per spec. I also had some EBC plates I was going to use in a different bike and found they measured 3.76mm. Both have enough clearance to run the rings on them, should I chose. I'm going to give the cheaper ones a shot and see how they grip.