Heavy/hard to pull in clutch

[Grant1Shepherd]

Hey everyone


Been having a little issue with my FZS600 clutch recently, it has suddenly become really heavy/hard to pull in, it is causing my wrist to cramp up when riding it is that heavy.


The clutch and the bike works fine but I definitely need to find out the solution to this problem to ease the pain on my wrist.


Hope someone can help. Thanks in advance. 

[His Dudeness]

The cable might be freyed. If a few strands break and coil up it can make the clutch feel stiff

[celticbiker]

Daft question but I assume you lube it regular?
What do you lube it with?

[unfazed]

The cable might be freyed. If a few strands break and coil up it can make the clutch feel stiff

[darrsi]

Daft question but I assume you lube it regular?
What do you lube it with?

The covering they have on them now means they're not meant to need lubing.

[celticbiker]

While I agree that's what they say, I always find lube helps to keep cables free.

[darrsi]

Lubing the bearings in the sprocket cover housing makes a big difference, especially if it's never been done before.
I fill mine up with white grease when the cover is off by pushing the cable adjuster nut down and spraying underneath it, then move the lever up and down and it sucks the grease in.
Worth doing anyway if the cover is gonna come off.

[Fazerider]

While you’re lubing everything, don’t forget the pivot for the lever… that can get very stiff as it’s exposed to the worst of the weather and, by hiding in plain sight, often gets neglected.

[darrsi]

If you look on Wemoto, they do a cable called Slinky Glide.
I have actually bought one, but i keep it as a spare and will fit it next time, but they have good reviews and are only about a tenner.

[darrsi]

http://slinky-glide.co.uk

[fazersharp]

While you’re lubing everything, don’t forget the pivot for the lever… that can get very stiff as it’s exposed to the worst of the weather and, by hiding in plain sight, often gets neglected.

Yes mine looked just fine - lube was there but it began to get notchy, remove - clean-re lube- nice and smooth.   

[unfazed]

If you find the cable to be ok, I put a post in the download section on how to effectively lube the actuator in the sprocket cover

[Grant1Shepherd]

If you look on Wemoto, they do a cable called Slinky Glide.
I have actually bought one, but i keep it as a spare and will fit it next time, but they have good reviews and are only about a tenner.

I've heard about these from a mate of mine and to be honest I debating just replacing my current clutch cable with one of these just to see if it makes my life any easier. I can't go on the way it is currently, every time I go out on the bike my left wrist is killing me by the time I get back.

[darrsi]

If you look on Wemoto, they do a cable called Slinky Glide.
I have actually bought one, but i keep it as a spare and will fit it next time, but they have good reviews and are only about a tenner.

I've heard about these from a mate of mine and to be honest I debating just replacing my current clutch cable with one of these just to see if it makes my life any easier. I can't go on the way it is currently, every time I go out on the bike my left wrist is killing me by the time I get back.

Make sure you tape or cable tie the old cable together with the new one, so you can pull and guide the new one through the correct route on the bike.

[Fazerider]

I see you raised a slipping clutch issue a few months ago and mentioned that the bike had been fitted with heavy duty springs.
If that is still the case it is the cause of your problem.
This doesn’t tally with you only recently noticing the clutch lever is ridiculously heavy of course, but HD springs do make the bike a misery to ride in traffic.

[agricola]

If you swap the cable for a slinky, be sure to re-use the metal ferrule at the lever end. The slinky that I once used on a previous bike came with a nylon ferrule that lasted less than a week before it focced up. Fortunately, the old metal one was still in the bin so I fished it out anf fitted that

[darrsi]

If you swap the cable for a slinky, be sure to re-use the metal ferrule at the lever end. The slinky that I once used on a previous bike came with a nylon ferrule that lasted less than a week before it focced up. Fortunately, the old metal one was still in the bin so I fished it out anf fitted that

I’ve not opened my one yet, but that plastic part is what messed up my last cable.
Wonder if you can get the metal version as a separate?

[Grant1Shepherd]

I see you raised a slipping clutch issue a few months ago and mentioned that the bike had been fitted with heavy duty springs.
If that is still the case it is the cause of your problem.
This doesn’t tally with you only recently noticing the clutch lever is ridiculously heavy of course, but HD springs do make the bike a misery to ride in traffic.

Yeah the clutch a few months ago was slipping like mad and I know for a fact the plates and springs were the EBC heavy duty ones. I hate them, my clutch had to be adjusted for the slipping to stop happening but because I live and ride in London the clutch right now is a nightmare.


Is there a different clutch plate and springs set anyone could recommend? if it meant getting rid of this problem I don't mind buying more than just a cable

[bandit]

Have not used myself but Gecko clutch parts seem to get good reviews & are available from Wemoto (main supplier), you may need to enquire about the friction plates as they are not on their site.

[His Dudeness]

Go for Yamaha clutch plates and springs. The part numbers are in the parts manual in the download section. 

[agricola]

I converted my clutch to hydraulic, light years different now, operate it with 2 fingers its so light, and consistent too.

[Grant1Shepherd]

I converted my clutch to hydraulic, light years different now, operate it with 2 fingers its so light, and consistent too.

This doesn't sound easy to do? How did you do it? What did you use?

[agricola]

I converted my clutch to hydraulic, light years different now, operate it with 2 fingers its so light, and consistent too.

This doesn't sound easy to do? How did you do it? What did you use?

Not difficult at all. I bought a Magura kit from Venhill while I was at the Stafford bike show. Traders are willing to deal at shows and I got it at a really decent price. Everything to complete the job came with it, and it simply replaces the xisting, using the same fittings as for the stock clutch set up. Transformed the bike for me, I was struggling in traffic and on trackdays with constant gear changes impacting on my knucle joints and wrist, if I hadnt of swapped, Id have given up with the bike. No cables to adjust, lubricate, snap on me. Its a trade off as some would think them not cheap. You can get something simlar from China, but reviews and feedback appear to indicate the quality is a problem with them. You can see on the pic that the slave cylinder just locates into the existing bracket on the casing

[agricola]

I converted my clutch to hydraulic, light years different now, operate it with 2 fingers its so light, and consistent too.

This doesn't sound easy to do? How did you do it? What did you use?

Not difficult at all. I bought a Magura kit from Venhill while I was at the Stafford bike show. Traders are willing to deal at shows and I got it at a really decent price. Everything to complete the job came with it, and it simply replaces the xisting, using the same fittings as for the stock clutch set up. Transformed the bike for me, I was struggling in traffic and on trackdays with constant gear changes impacting on my knucle joints and wrist, if I hadnt of swapped, Id have given up with the bike. No cables to adjust, lubricate, snap on me. Its a trade off as some would think them not cheap. You can get something simlar from China, but reviews and feedback appear to indicate the quality is a problem with them.

This is on my FZ6 S2 Fazer. Youd have to check a kit is available for the older models

[Grant1Shepherd]

I converted my clutch to hydraulic, light years different now, operate it with 2 fingers its so light, and consistent too.

This doesn't sound easy to do? How did you do it? What did you use?

Not difficult at all. I bought a Magura kit from Venhill while I was at the Stafford bike show. Traders are willing to deal at shows and I got it at a really decent price. Everything to complete the job came with it, and it simply replaces the xisting, using the same fittings as for the stock clutch set up. Transformed the bike for me, I was struggling in traffic and on trackdays with constant gear changes impacting on my knucle joints and wrist, if I hadnt of swapped, Id have given up with the bike. No cables to adjust, lubricate, snap on me. Its a trade off as some would think them not cheap. You can get something simlar from China, but reviews and feedback appear to indicate the quality is a problem with them.

This is on my FZ6 S2 Fazer. Youd have to check a kit is available for the older models

From what I can see MAGURA don't have a kit that specifically states it would fit an FZS600, they have one that just states it would fit the FZS1000.


For Venhill I can't find anything that says it could go on a FZS600, it's difficult to buy one when there are 4 or 5 different models yet they don't state what bikes they are suitable for.