Clutch adjustment

[matcom]

so, I'm pouring over the manual and run across the page on adjusting the clutch. WOW what a difference!

I don't know why they leave so much give at the factory but i'm really loving the release point since I made the adjustment (about an inch and a half now from the grip). Makes those hill starts a real breeze!

Question: Is there a recommended set of tools other than what came with the bike I should be looking into?

[HamstersFromHell]

1. Usually the factory specifies free play in the setup manual for each model

And rarely do the kids who do setup even read the damn thing, much less actually DO the adjustments.

On most cluch levers, it's about 2mm freeplay at the cable end of the lever. The outside end of the lever should move roughly 1/4 ~ 1/2 inch.

With hydraulic clutches, it's set with a cam to one of 4 or 5 detents, each moving the operating range of the lever in or out. (Most bikes have this feature on the front brake lever as well.)

As for tools...the tools that come with 'em are crap. They'll do in a pinch, but your bike deserves better.

Look at the fasteners on your bike....mostly bolts and nuts, phillips head screws or allen bolts?

At a minimum for a Japanese cruiser, buy the following for home use:

Combination wrenches in 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 17mm sizes. (Occasionally an odd Honda will have an 11mm or 15mm nut, but I've yet to see them on Yamahas, Kawasakis or Suzukis.)
Also invest in a combination wrench to fit the axle bolt...this can vary from 18mm to 29mm.

3/8" drive socket set in same sizes as above, plus 3/8" drive ratchet. Also make sure you have a socket (6 point, not 12!) to fit the oil drain plug.

Metric Allen wrench set. (2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 5.5, 6, 8, 10mm) Preferably Allen bits...as in the kind you use with your ratchet you got above. T-handle Allen sets are also preferable to the individual wrenches or the set on a fold out handle.

#0, 1, and 2 Phillips screwdrivers. (Snap On rocks for these, they don't strip screw heads like lesser quality screwdrivers do. Sears Craftsman runs a distant second.)

A good pair of pliers. (For cotter pins, etc.)

A 1 lb. rubber mallet and a 1/2" or so diameter brass drift. (General persuasion, or removing stubborn axles to fix a flat without destroying the whole deal in the process.)

An oil filter wrench or oil filter pliers...whichever you need to remove the filter on your bike.

With the above tools (maybe a $150-200 total investment) you should be able to do damn near anyting you need to do with ease.

Keep the factory toolkit with the bike for on the road emergencies, but add a quality small crescent wrench to the kit.

Note that of course, you don't have to have all this, but you can purchase it a bit at a time, or scout for stuff on sale and build your tool kit as you can afford it. Just don't buy any of the above from Harbor Freight (except the rubber mallet, they're fine for those!) or the local Flea market...with tools, you definitely get what you pay for!

[ThomWV]

2. Pay Little To No Attention To The Manual On This One

Last week I rode my wife's bike the 20 or so miles from its winter home in our son's garage to our house. About 2 miles into the trip I was stopped at a traffic light and having a few seconds on my hands I adjusted the clutch to my liking while I sat there. The point is that anyone can do it and its a matter of personal preference. My own preference is to have little play, generally about 1/16" at the lever.

However I wanted to say that you should understand that there is often more than one way to adjust a clutch and unless you understand the system you should limit yourself to the adjuster at the clutch lever. On almost every bike there will be another adjustment at the clutch itself and on many there is actually a third point (in-line cable adjuster) at which it can be adjusted. If your clutch is hydraulically operated the only adjustment, if there is one at all, will be at the clutch itself. Generally speaking its best to start at the clutch end and do all of the adjustments according to the book until you get to the hand lever and then use your own preference at that point. As long as you don't put a tool on that little adjustment wheel (other than to deal with the lock nut) you really can't do any damage.

Generic Clutch Adjustment: Warm the engine up and then shut it off. Look at your hand lever, there will be a cable going into its housing through a rubber boot that keeps moisture out. Pull back the rubber boot and on the end of the cable you will see a threaded nipple that goes into the hand lever housing. On the threaded part of the nipple there will be an adjustment wheel and a lock nut. Loosen the locknut. Next back off the adjustment wheel several turns. Now screw the nipple into the clutch handel a couple of turns. Feel the lever, notice that when you put light pressure on the lever it pulls away from the rest of its housing by a good bit, its real lose with lots of play. Now, while holding very light pressure on the handle start screwing the nipple back out of the housing. See how the play is being taken up between the lever and the housing? When that little crack between the two is about as wide as the thickness of a penny you've got it about right, from there just play around with it until you like the feel. The thing to keep in mind is this - as long as you are screwing that nipple in and out by hand, using no tools at all, you can not do any damage to the bike. The other rules are these, there has to be some crack between the lever and the housing but not a lot; one penny's thickness would be fine, less would be OK, if it was about the width of 3 pennys it would be getting too wide. After that tighten the lock nut back up but don't go hog wild on it, just snug it down. Then pull the rubber boot back in place and be on your way. It can be done in less than 20 seconds start to finish.

Definitely second that recommendation on buying good tools. Nothing else will do.

[matcom]

3. well the manual says to start at the lever

and make the adjustment (just like you said). Only IF you don't get the adjustment you want does the book say to move down to the lower cable.

I adjusted at the lever and got what I wanted out of it. :hi:

[ThomWV]

4. Great!

Its a good thing to know how to do and once you've done it I think you can see how it was easy for me to do at a traffic light. Its just a matter of the stop nut or wheel being lose enough for you to turn by hand.

I wanted to say something about the manual recommending you go to the handel first. That is good advice. The reason is that for most owners the last thing in the world the factory wants is them going inside the bike's innerds (technical term) and screwing around with parts they don't know anything about. If you know something about them though its no big deal. Basically it works like this; From the factories point of view the handle adjustment is easy to picture, understand, and do, not to mention that its almost impossible to do damage my misadjusting it there so they tell you how in the manual. If there is an in-line cable adjuster too then you've just moved up the food chain one notch on the difficulty scale and the effect of any adjustment you make there is more critical; the manual may tell you about this one or it may not. If you take the transmission cover off the clutch-pack side and find the adjustment at the release mechanism you are now in an area where you had better know what you are doing because a mistake here will either cause the clutch to slip at one extreme or not fully disengage at the other extreme of misadjustment and either one makes the bike essentially unusable - you will never see reference to this one in an Owner's Manual, and for good reason.

If you had just installed a new clutch (another thing that is not really at all difficult to do) you would have to do a full adjustment before you ran the bike. In this case the adjustment sequence will always start at the clutch and end at the hand lever. The serious adjustment is the first one at the clutch itself. You have to get this one right for the other(s) to be effective. The middle (cable length) adjustment is not so critical and the adjustment at the handle is the least critical. As you've now seen the one at the handel is very easy to do and can easily accommodate your personal preference for feel.

[matcom]

5. thanks so much for all the fantastic information!

Thom, you and the others in this forum really are the best

In fact, I'm going to start a new thread saying so :D

:hi: