you can reuse them but you WILL be going back in again before long.
take a green scrubby (like you use to wash dishes) and some oil/solvent and scrub them down. if you can find someone with a bead-blaster that would work too.
you CAN NOT just put them back in the way they are. the black is an indication of HEAT/BURNING so you really should replace them to be on the safe side and have a clutch that is gonna work for a long time.

 

ok thanks for the response, that really helped.
when you say i will be going back in again before long, do you mean the clutch will start slipping again sometime in the near future??
and if I scrub them down, will i be safe from this to happen?? or it is also likely to start slipping?

 

you will get a bit more life out of it but it will eventually cause you problems if you scrub the old steels and re-use them. steels are only like 6 bucks each and you prob. only need 5 or 6 (1 less than fibres)
maybe youll get lucky and it will last you a long time. give it a try and see what happens. if you have a new gasket put some grease/vaseline on it before reassembly and it will not stick next time so you can re-use it.

 

Nobody commented on which bike you're talking about, but my friend's Vulcan Classic 1500 clutch started giving trouble and all was good except the clutch spring plates. I believe he said the inner teeth had worn out. Friction linings were fine. This happens to him about every 25-30K miles. Depends on city vs. highway, for sure. Says this part is the only one that wears out for him. I am turning 24K so I am watching for any change in my clutch action...nothing noticeable yet.

QKEN says black is bad on plates...maybe so...I am more used to seeing blue or brown on steel as an indication of overheat. It is key that the spring plates are not warped and they meet spec on height. Service limit for height on the 1500 is 4 mm (4.3 mm when new). Need a dial indicator or Jo blocks for this.