Clutch basket and hard clutch lever q's

[Guest]

Hi all, so this weekend I've put in new springs into my clutch, I knew the old ones were compressed beyond the limit, I've used EBC. My clutch has always been hard to pull and with new springs its even harder. I hate sitting in traffic, about 30 secs of holding clutch and your forearm/hand muscles are on fire. So I know that cable is good I've installed about 2 years ago and it moves freely when i disconnect it. I'm pretty sure that my routing is also good as lever moves freely if i disconnect the cable from the pivot arm above the clutch cover. So that leaves me with internal problem. I noticed that basket has usual grooving on it like most baskets you see i mean its has 35k miles on it. The fibers and plates are good still well within spec.
Here are the questions can the grooving cause hard clutch?
Should I just sand the grooves down or get a better condition basket? I can sand them down but I think that will give them more "room" to play creating more grooving?
What else could cause hard clutch lever?

Thanks to all in advance

[gearhead13]

Have you lubed your cable in the 2 years you have been using it?

[Dodik]

yes and it was the same right out of the box when new. Im pretty sure its not oem though dunno if that makes a difference.

[Dodik]

also i have drag bars and stock length cable, i routed the cable the best i could to avoid kinking but is it possible for it to bind to the lining anyway?

[gearhead13]

OEM cables are silky smooth. I installed one last summer and improved the clutch pull quite a bit. I am using 3 barnett and 3 ebc springs. I snick my bike into neutral at a stop and shift without the clutch. My forearm is mostly used to the heavy pull now after a couple years.

[koolaid_kid]

also i have drag bars and stock length cable, i routed the cable the best i could to avoid kinking but is it possible for it to bind to the lining anyway?

Yes, routing could still be an issue. Seems like there would be a way to test the cable/lever/perch with everything hooked up but routed straight through versus "normal" positioning.

[gearheadE30]

Routing makes a massive difference. Also, after dealing with the sore arm for awhile, I realized that my clutch lever was bent slightly, which caused me to have to reach a good 50% further than I should have along with having to use the inner part of the lever, again without realizing it. The further out you are on the lever, the easier the pull. Also, most bikes I've seen with aftermarket bars have the levers rotated incorrectly. You want your wrist to be inline with your forearm as you are riding, and be able to reach your fingers straight out and set them on top of the lever without adjusting your position, at least as a starting point.

[chef1366]

With the clutch cover off does the clutch actuater (arm) move smoothly. There is a bearing in there.

[Dodik]

Well i messed with cable for like an hour, moving lever mech in straight line with my arm helped a bit. the actuator moves freely and has minimum play. One thing i noticed though the cotter pin on the actuator was slightly touching the engine so that may have caused it a bit. Gonna mess with it tomorrow a bit more but i got to where it was prior to replacing springs which is great. It still no two finger clutch but I can live with it.

Now how about basket grooving what is common just to sand it smooth or should I replace it with a better unit?
Thank you guys for taking time to read and reply.

[tkent02]

It still no two finger clutch but I can live with it.

Now how about basket grooving what is common just to sand it smooth or should I replace it with a better unit?

Two fingers is one too many.
How bad are the grooves?

[Dodik]

from other pics i've seen i'd say its average or normal for 34k miles let me see if i can find a pic with similar grooving.

[platinum2]

you can file the grooves down- there called "chatter marks", but if its bad, just get a different one from ebay or someone on here , i would say your cable is routed the wrong way it should be real easy to pull in, run the cable as easily as you can i bet it will be 100 percent different, you shouldnt ever use different springs, that will put the wrong abmount of pressure on the basket, in different areas
i have removed chatter marks on most bikes i have had. and never had a problem, good luck

[terrylee]

I believe the EBC springs are about 10% stiffer than oem, that maybe part of it. terrylee