i got the job done today with adding the one friction plate and removing one steel plate at the base. i found .037" between the friction tab and basket, around 2x the allowable and daylight in some spots were the pressure plate contacts the springs. indeed the mod did quiet things down. i have the stock steel basket and the tab slots look ok, so it looks like a new pressure plate and clutch pack are in order. the bike spent most of its 4100 miles residing in nyc, the clutch did not seem happy with the living arrangements.
i dropped the front sprocket one tooth and installed the ngk iridium plugs, now at 5k miles. the bike would only run well on the lower end once fully warmed with the standard ngk plugs, it would even die on down shifts. the new plugs seemed to have fixed that for now. no more slipping the clutch to get moving, its await and see how it does on the highway, its good around the ct backroads.