Smooth, light clutch lever?

[honda_power]

How do you get your clutch to be light?

Rode my mates new secondhand crf250, The clutch is so smooth the wind could almost push it in. It feels even better than a hydro KTM one.

My clutch, while not bad, is still not that nice to pull it [esp with the zeta lever, i hate them].

How can i lighten the pull? Tried spraying lithium greese down the cable, It just ended up all over me.

[scott411]

you need a cable luber, any half decent dirt bike shops will have them in stock for about $15, there will be dirt and crap all though yours, clean you want to take the cable right off, and with the calbe luber keep spraying a lube down there untill it runs out the bottom clean, you should do the other cables as well,

[xwhatsit]

Like Scott says, lube the cable. Nearly all the friction and heaviness is in the cable and sometimes in the lever too. You can test this by disconnecting the cable where it attaches to the engine-end and just moving the engine-end clutch arm yourself. It's light as anything, you can move it with one finger.

So you just need to make the cable really slippery. I wouldn't use lithium grease... too gummy down a cable. Use it on the pivot bolt on the clutch perch though. I got recommended to use sewing machine oil for cables, it's very light and cheap and does and excellent job (sticks to the cable nicely too).

[Danger]

You can clean the cable as Scott says but even after that you will still have a lighter pull if you fit a new cable. Old cables get caught and kinked over time, and moisture, rust and corrosion all play a part in increasing friction inside the cable housing and all the flushing and lubing will not get the action as smooth as a new quality cable. A motion pro cable will only cost you about $35.00 and look carefully at the way you route it from your lever to the clutch. Don't believe anyone if they try to tell you Dynamo has gummed up your clutch lol!

Most Zeta stuff I've seen has proven to be not very good quality. If you want something better than Zeta or OEM you can get a light pull clutch lever with a different leverage ratio. I got one from Ballards in Australia, just give them a call and get them to send you one. Sorry but I'm not aware of anyone in NZ stocking them, they would be the preferred source of course.

When I was racing MX seriously I made my own brake and clutch levers out of aluminum plate and welded up the pivots on the stock lever brackets and drilled new ones to change the leverage. Made for super light clutch action and a better feel for starts.

My RM250 clutch with a new cable and the increased leverage lever is lighter than my hydraulic clutch on the KTM. You can get hydraulic clutches for any bike but I don't believe they are necessary.

[CookMySock]

I agree. I put some oil down my clutch cable, and what a difference. I just took the cable of the grip end, and stood it up and dripped some oil in from the oil can. It took a few minutes to do it, and no doubt its much easier using the proper doodad, but it worked.

Steve

[B0000M]

i wouldnt shag around trying to make my cable good again, ive been there.

i replaced the cable, best $30 ive ever spent on my bike.

all the oiling in the world didnt help me at all.

[barty5]

just looked they are $35 and some in stock

[laserracer]

if you search thumper theres also a clutch lever mod you can do, which involves redrilling the cable hole in the lever
for better leverage

[honda_power]

just looked they are $35 and some in stock

Will have to wait. Short as on cash at the mo, no job.

If anyone has a job in Hamilton giz a yell

[honda_power]

cheers for all the suggestions guys will just stick with it until I can afford a new one lol. Will try the oil idea again. Some shearing handpeice oil might do the job.

[cheese]

I just lubed mine. made it all nice again. I used CRC, but is there something better I should be using?

[flyingcr250]

I just lubed mine. made it all nice again. I used CRC, but is there something better I should be using?

wurth hs2000

[merv]

Yeah I reckon B0000M is onto it, there reaches a point when no matter how much you muck around with lube, a new cable is the best bet. This applies even more so with throttle cables where you need that light touch feel.