Clutches for the less strong?

HappyHunter

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I was at the Kawi dealer a few weeks back and felt the clutch pull on a new z900rs. Wow that is lighter than my old 1982 Kawi 305!! He explained how the new clutches work and do have much less pull effort. I was very interested since I have real grip strength limitations. Does someone make a modern design clutch that would fit an old XS650?

Thanks!!
HH
 
tweak the setup you have now, do the lower adj. grease well, check cable for stiffness, oil or lube it, ifn its still stiff, get new cable. make sure clutch cable is routed with no sharp turns.
ps
i have a set of 36 mm mikuni VMs, and there are a lot of cables in that area. i just today ran the clutch cable in between the carbs, and its smoother. but cables wear out especially if neglected.
pps
i had trouble a few years back with my roadstar clutch, pain in hands. . turns out my whole family (irish) (potato eaters, and beer ), has gluten issues, which caused my hands, and joints to hurt, as well as skin itch. quit gluten, pain gone. dont beeleve i dont succum to a donut, even tho im not a copper.
 
A good clutch cable is worth investing. At first I got a new from XS 650 Direct and lubed good but pulled way hard. When I switched to my Roadstar thought the cable was broke!!! Lol I purchased a Motion Pro and lubed up real good and its got a slick pull to it now.
 
Reduce bend in the cable elbow also, the motion pro might already have less bend in the ell.
 
Get a weighing scale, and measure clutch pulls, from the end of the clutch lever, on your bike and others. Take the force measurement at the halfway point while actively doing a slow pull. Like this one, showing 17lbs 12oz.
DBike1A02.jpg


From those measurements, determine what is acceptable to you. Then, we can determine if such a clutch pull is feasible...
 
IIRC that old 305 Kawi had a very light pull and super low first gear. Anyone could learn to use clutch on that bike...
 
I’ll just reinforce what some others have said.
On my 77, I added a well lubed Motion Pro cable with the straighter bend that Gary mentioned ( lube the cable by suspending it and do a slow drip with motor oil ) .
Also take your worm gear apart and clean and lube it with a good grease. I also rebuilt my clutch about a year ago and put in slightly lighter clutch springs, which did not affect performance at all. All and all my clutch action was much improved and my lever pull is relatively light. I also have wrist tendon pain on occasion, so I can appreciate what you’re trying to achieve.
 
Call Michael Morse at 650 Central.
From his site: EZ Pull
Using an over-sized, nylon-lined housing, and a slinky 7x7 wound inner, this cable has sufficient free length to allow a proper leverage ratio at the push screw. Others don't. Also eliminates the friction-causing metal elbow. 1974-84. Black. For use with stock perches or our YZ lever assembly. The perches from Mikes XS are shorter and you'll have excessive free play.

Pullbacks, Tracker bars E-Z Pull 53 1/4" #FCEN26-3350......$19.95 ea.

Daytona, Euro, & shorter E-Z Pull 46 1/4" #FCEN26-3351......$19.95 ea.

Hi Bar, 15" Ape Hangers E-Z Pull 61" #FCEN26-3352....$19.95 ea.

Standard Clutch Cables
 
Absolutely agree with all of the above.

In addition to lubrication (for the nation), the correct routing of all cables is really quite important on both the XS650 clutch AND throttle cable(s).

If you do not route them correctly, the clutch will be a bear to pull and the danged throttle will open every time you move the handlebars from one side to the other. The correct routing of the clutch cable (as near as I can tell from the manual) is BETWEEN the carbs.

As for the throttle cable (only one on my 1976 Standard), I ALWAYS turn the bars from lock-to-lock while carefully watching the throttle lever on the LH side of the LH carb - BEFORE starting the engine. That throttle lever on the carb should not move at all - no matter what you are doing with the handlebars.

If it moves, even a little bit - DO NOT start the engine and DO get back under the fuel tank to sort things out.

Don't ask me how I discovered this.

Scary and NOT fun!

Pete
 
Yep, got arthritis in both hands. EZ Pull from 650 Central fixed that. You need both the cable and the lever.
The only way I think you will get easier is to go hydraulic.
 
Magura makes a hydraulic clutch assist for street bikes that will work and make extremely light clutch pull. I do have one on my trials motorcycle.
 
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If you're using an OE or Motion Pro cable be sure that the nylon sleeve that covers the cable end is still in place, and lube it (doesn't apply to Michael Morse's EZ Pull cables, they use a larger cable end). If the sleeve isn't there, buy some nylon spiral wire wrap and make a replacement. Check the mounting hole in the lever. If it's worn to an oval shape, replace the lever.
 
Just checked back on this today. WOW thanks for all the input!! I like the Magura hydro lever. A bit more than I want to spend but, I might anyway. It is winter repair season and this is on my list to fix.

Thanks,
HH
 
IMHO just do a FULL end to end repair, route and lube of the stock cable set up including the worm mechanism. Even madness with an 8 plate conversion and 6 barnett springs is easy to pull and find neutral. Leaving The Peoria mile last summer I did about a mile of really slow stop and go, no issues with the clutch OR my wrist.
 
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I'm OK with my clutch pull. It is a bit stiffer than many other bikes, or most new bikes, but it's not outrageously stiff. I have "fixed" a couple local guys' 650s that were. A good cable oiling and proper routing made literally a night and day difference. The way many don't route, or re-route their cables after a bar change just makes me shake my head. They just cram them in there, binding the hell outta them, lol.
 
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