I'd like to pick your collective brains a bit on some weird clutch behaviour I experienced yesterday.

I was taking an advanced riding course yesterday and we were doing some exercises on extremely slow manoeuvring and a gymkhana. So lots of playing with clutch, throttle and rear brake...

After a while I noticed I was getting less and less slack on the clutch handle. I figured it was just the clutch plates heating up and expanding a bit. So I gave it a bit more slack using the screw at the clutch handle. But it just kept tightening up. So much so that in the end I had reached the maximum of slack I could get out of the screw and the clutch plates were not fully engaged with the handle fully out. So I had to resort to the screw at the other end of the clutch cable. After setting that one from its fully out position to about halfway in gave me back my normal clutch handle free play.

Even after a thorough cool down it is currently still in the same position and functioning ok. So it seems to have stabilized.

Anyone have a clue as to what might have happened? And why it happened so suddenly?

This is a strange one, only way to realy know what happened is to open up the clutch I guess.
Are you sure the cable is completely free moving and hasn't got squashed by the forks or something else?

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that was the first thing that came to my mind as well. but it all seems ok.

It seems I was a bit hasty in saying everything was functioning ok again. Rode the bike to work this morning and noticed a fair amount of clutch slip.

If I try to (even slightly) accelerate in 3rd, 4th or 5th at around 4500rpm the rev counter goes ballistics, the engine growls like a grizzly but the speed stays exactly the same...

It looks like I'll be in for a good deal of fettling on the clutch.

What do you guys think? Replace the springs and all will be ok? Or is that just wishful thinking?

I would say you have burnt your clutch out, you would need clutch plates & may be steal plates with springs, it depends on how bad it is when you strip it.

I have also found the XT660 does not like lots of clutch work stop start in traffic & once have had my clutch leaver go soft on me with clutch shudder. I changed the brand & grade of oil I was using & have not felt the problem again. Yours sounds like it has gone to far for this.

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Mods that I have done to my XTX's

My 04 XTX
Stage 1 & 2 DNA filters / Kev fuel mod / snorkel mod / Drilled air box mod / Engine breather mod / Fork Spacer mod / 15w fork oil /
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My 07 XTX
Raptor 700 cylinder 102mm / Modified Crank Case to take a 105mm Raptor Cylinder / 11:1 102mm JE Raptor piston / Stage 1 Raptor Hot Cam / Ported head / Colder Spark Plug / +2mm Throttle body / DNA stage 1 & 2 filters / Modified Air Box / Snorkel removed / Worry Brothers stage 2 filter cover / 6mm & 8mm Bolts Replaced with Titanium Bolts / Recovered seat in Black / O2 Eliminator /

My 09 XTX
59HP at the rear wheel / Stage 2 Raptor Hot Cam / DNA stage 3 Air Box / Carbon Can Exhausts / Modified Exhaust Link Pipes / PCIII With Custom Fuel Map / Wideband Commander O2 Data logger / LCD100 Dyno Jet display & fuel adjuster / 2500 OHM HT lead instead of a 10K OHM XT lead / Extra Coolant Cooler / Protaper Fat Bars / Tail Tidy With LED Tail Light / OKE Protection Knobs / LED indicators / AIS blocked / Modified rear sprocket rubbers / Rear Foot Pegs removed / 09 ECU With 02 Sensor Changed To A 06 ECU / Complete wiring harnes Changed from 09 to 04 / Home made LED resistor flasher / Hole drilled in the fuel tank filler neck to allow quicker filling / Modified Bar End Weights / Progressive front fork springs, 15W fork oil, forks lowered 25mm, used XTR rear links lowering the rear 20mm, rear spring one click stiffer / Changed front & rear guards from blue to black / 47T rear sprocket / Speedo Healer V4.0 / Kev throttle cam mod / Throttle grip mod / The new 2010 O2 sensor mod is out, works a treat, The new 2012 O2 Controller is out, PM me for details

Now ride a 2018 MT09SP ABS + TCS

My KTM 990 SMR Mod book. http://www.ktmsmt.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4946

I was already afraid that would be the answer.

thanks for sharing you technical expertise, Kev.