Hard clutch

[Anonymous]

My recently bought '79 gs750e has a clutch that really gives my left hand a good workout. It so hard my girlfriend can't even move it, and I get really tired after an hour driving. 'Oh, no, not another red light. My arm hurts...'. :mrgreen:

Q1: Is it possible that some previous owner has changed the springs?

Q2: Should the clutch really be so hard to pull even then?

Q3: Is it messy work to have a look at the clutch or to change springs?

[BTW, I have greased and checked the placement of the wire.]

/ Henrik

[moto_dan]

Re: Hard clutch

My recently bought '79 gs750e has a clutch that really gives my left hand a good workout. It so hard my girlfriend can't even move it, and I get really tired after an hour driving. 'Oh, no, not another red light. My arm hurts...'. :mrgreen:

Q1: Is it possible that some previous owner has changed the springs?

Q2: Should the clutch really be so hard to pull even then?

Q3: Is it messy work to have a look at the clutch or to change springs?

[BTW, I have greased and checked the placement of the wire.]

/ Henrik

Q1 answer = yes
Q2 answer = maybe
Q3 answer = Not particularly

[administrator]

Yeeoww!

Sounds like they may have dropped a Barnett clutch in it. The springs they give you with the kit is enough to make your forearms sing the blues after about 45 minutes of city traffic. I've seem recommendations of swapping out 3 of the springs with factory units since they tend to have a bit less tension.

--- Frank ---

[Jethro]

Yup, 10 to 1 it's the springs. I just replaced my clutch and got a spring kit labeled as "regular duty springs" and they still make the clutch a bear to dis-engage. It's easy work to get to the springs, but unless you have the originals, I'm not sure it will help much as my basic spring set is still pretty stout. Good luck.

[Jeff Tate]

I had heavy duty springs in my clutch years ago for the obvious reasons and got sooo tired of missed shifts that I did what my local Suzy dealer recommended and put in a set of new stock springs.Ahhhhh... No more missed shifts, no clutch slippage and and no more Popeye arm.

[focus frenzy]

I currently have a performance "kevlar" clutch set in mine with the socalled 20% stronger springs, (more like 200%) and I hate the fool thing.
It is a pain in city traffic, no matter what I do it drags making imposible to get in neutral while sitting still, and I dont know how long the clutch cable is going to hold out against the strain of pulling the clutch lever in.
I am ready to put a stock clutch back in it.

[Anonymous]

How to do it?

Ok, so I guess I'll have to change the springs to softer ones.

Are the springs of a standard size, so I could get any type, or does it have to be original Suzie?

Is it an hour, a day, or a weeks job to do it?

Can it be done without any special tools (except hex wrenches, screwdrivers, etc)? The clutch is wet, right, so I'll have to tap the oil first?

Thanks for all your advice!
/ Henrik

[silverhorse47]

cluth lever engagement

It isn't hard to change the clutch springs...but my clutch was so hard to pull I wondered if I would be able to ride the bike...I tore down the clutch and saw nothing wrong. I took the cable out of the housing and cleaned it...(it had been greased and the grease had hardened) washed out the housing with solvent and air, hung it up overnight with 20W dripping down it...and now my clutch is easy to pull.

Before you tear at it...really be certain your cable is clean and lubed.

xo

[gs650gt]

Re: How to do it?

Ok, so I guess I'll have to change the springs to softer ones.

Are the springs of a standard size, so I could get any type, or does it have to be original Suzie?

Is it an hour, a day, or a weeks job to do it?

Can it be done without any special tools (except hex wrenches, screwdrivers, etc)? The clutch is wet, right, so I'll have to tap the oil first?

Thanks for all your advice!
/ Henrik

drain the oil, disconnect the clutch cable, open the clutch cover (8mm socket wrench, I guess), remove the 6 spring bolts (10mm socket wrench), change the springs, tighten the spring bolts to 1 Nm, close the clutch cover (do not overtighten the bolts...), connect and adjust the cable and fill the engine with oil again.

what to watch for:

- clutch cover can be tight, may need some light tapping
- do not damage the cover gasket unless you have a spare one
- check that the bearing is ok, it can also be a reason to stiffness
- apply thread locking compound

[biker66]

K?p originalfj?drar hos n?gon suzukihandlare, kostar v?l n?n eller n?gra hundringar.
*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$enkelt att byta, g?r som n?n sa ovanf?r: lossa koppingsk?pan, skruva ur bultarna som sitter i en cirkel i mitten, byt fj?drarna och s?tt tillbaks allting.

MEN, 1Nm p? 'fj?derbultarna' l?ter som en felskrivning, 10Nm eller ungef?r ett kg l?ter mer troligt. Har f?r mig att bultarna p? min 1100:a ska dras 10-12Nm.
Dra inte f?r h?rt, de g?r av direkt d? ! Jag har bytt ut tv? stycken som g?tt av trots r?tt moment.

P? min hemsida kan du s?kert hitta n?n bild d?r du f?r ett hum om hur det ser ut under k?pan

[saaz]

Springs are one likely culprit. I have some h/d ones in mine, but nowhere near this - but then I am used to older clutches and brakes you have to real squeeze - no one finger stoppies here!! (gets me when people complain about newer bikesbeing a bit hard to stop, as if using one finger hard is an effort!!)

Anyway, back to the current story...it could also be the inner sheath of the cable being worn. Once the inside goes the cable gets really stiff to pull, cleaning and lubing do no good. Modern cables (well, I think I got my last one in the 80s!!) are smooth and easy to pull. If the cable routing ws a bit suspect, this can lead to wear.

On the bright side, you will have a grip of steel after a while!!

[gs650gt]

K?p originalfj?drar hos n?gon suzukihandlare, kostar v?l n?n eller n?gra hundringar.
*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$enkelt att byta, g?r som n?n sa ovanf?r: lossa koppingsk?pan, skruva ur bultarna som sitter i en cirkel i mitten, byt fj?drarna och s?tt tillbaks allting.

MEN, 1Nm p? 'fj?derbultarna' l?ter som en felskrivning, 10Nm eller ungef?r ett kg l?ter mer troligt. Har f?r mig att bultarna p? min 1100:a ska dras 10-12Nm.
Dra inte f?r h?rt, de g?r av direkt d? ! Jag har bytt ut tv? stycken som g?tt av trots r?tt moment.

P? min hemsida kan du s?kert hitta n?n bild d?r du f?r ett hum om hur det ser ut under k?pan

just s? d?r! alts? 10Nm, inte 1Nm...

tack

[biker66]

Anade en felskrivning d?r...

En sak till, du beh?ver inte t?mma oljan, st?ll hojen p? sidost?det s? l?gger sig oljan harml?st p? andra sidan i motorn !

[Anonymous]

Inte t?mma olja

Jo, det vore ju bra, men p? min hoj sitter kopplingen p? samma sida som sidost?det. Kanske g?r det att luta hojen ?t andra h?llet ist?llet eller s? kan man se till att byta olja samtidigt...

Tack f?r hj?lpen!

/ Henke

[Anonymous]

I had performance springs in my bike once, and I tell you when sitting in traffic my left arm was getting quite the work out. It looked like it belonged to the incredible Hulk while my right arm was this measly looking thing.