Clutch!!

[penty2008]

can anyone help me with my clutch its really doing my head in
the bike bites when the lever is pretty much all the way out!! if i loosen it then the lever becomes floppy and its soooo hard to pull i got serious cramp in my hand the other day because of it i just bought a new clutch cable not had chance to fit it yet though can anyone help me with this

 

[Caligula]

I'd suggest this is one of the few failings Yamaha had when designing the FZ6. they left off any adjust-ability on the Clutch side. You could try some Titax, Pazzo or ASV levers but they're not cheap.

 

[Gcontroller]

Try lubing the cable.

 

[LERecords]

+1 on cable lube

 

[reiobard]

the cable an get very hard to pull if it gets dry, lube it up and you will be amazed at how easy it gets...

 

[Debaser]

I have the same problem with the stock levers and I'm too much of a tight-arse to buy the after markets

For a while I used to wind it out a bit futher than spec with no ill effects but the garage would always wind it back to spec during service. I've given up winding it out now and instead just use my index and middle finger which are long enough and after a while feels perfectly natural. :ban:

 

[penty2008]

i have thought about getting new levers i still intend on doing it sometime in the future i tried to replace the clutch line myself but due to my inexperiance i decided against it and put the tank back on... it is getting replaced by a pro on the 11th but as i stated i am not sure its the cable because the bite is when the lever is all the way out.... im not a pro and i dont pretend i am but im pretty sure the whole clutch is fkd... anyone got any suggestions as for the clutch bite rather than the tight cable? thanks

 

[Gcontroller]

The friction zone of the clutch engagement is narrow on these bikes. It starts to catch towards the end of the throw. That is just how these bikes are.

How many miles does your cable have on it? Mine has 24,000 and is starting to get towards the end of it's adjustment range. That being said I've lubed it a couple if times and it still works smooth. It's not a one finger clutch pull but it's smooth and predictable.

 

[Nelly]

I'd suggest this is one of the few failings Yamaha had when designing the FZ6. they left off any adjust-ability on the Clutch side. You could try some Titax, Pazzo or ASV levers but they're not cheap.

Actually there is shed loads of adjustment, it's just that Mr. Yamaha makes you work to get it:

http://www.600riders.com/forum/gara...be-your-clutch-cable-proper-job-pictures.html

Nelly

 

[Chris]

I was quite annoyed with the clutch being so hard to adjust so I just got a set of ASV-levers. They were so much better and had the added bonus of looking trick as well. Already have a set lying here for my gsx-r.

 

[Gcontroller]

Actually there is shed loads of adjustment, it's just that Mr. Yamaha makes you work to get it:

http://www.600riders.com/forum/gara...be-your-clutch-cable-proper-job-pictures.html

Nelly

Your right. I forgot about the under the tank adjusters.

 

[Jeff Douglass]

I've had my new 2009 FZ6 for 4 months now. I found the clutch engagement range and lever force required to be unacceptable. It's not a cable issue, it's a leverage issue in addition to the internal clutch design. I first purchesed the ASV levers for the adjustability of lever reach. I then purchased two new clutch slave levers (lever at the engine end of cable), are not expensive parts, around $17 each through the Yamaha dealer. I then removed the splined shaft end off of one slave lever, and removed the cable pull off the other lever. With some additional modification, I joined the two parts into one longer slave lever, going from a stock length of 30mm center-to-center to a new length of 45mm center-to-center. Oh my, what a difference. Hand lever force is significantly reduced, and even better, I can now feel a range and degree of engagement, and actually control how much friction between disengaged and full clutch engagement. My FZ6 clutch is now a pleasure. Of course, hand lever travel is longer, so this requires precise minimal adjustment of clutch free-play. I have small hands, so I have the ASV clutch lever adjust for the closest postion to the bar. What this tells me is that the stock lever will work just fine with this slave lever modification, since my ASV lever is at about the same position, or maybe a little closer to the bar, as the stock lever. I have good photographs of the slave lever mod at home. If I can figure out how to post photos here, I will later.

 

[Jim Karam]

KillerNoodle, who is an admin over on the sportbikes.net FZ6 forum made some extended clutch levers a few years ago. Many of us bought them at the time and experienced the same improved response that Jeff Douglas just reported. I don't know if he's still selling them or not, but they're worth the $40 or so as I vaguely recall the price.

 

[penty2008]

The friction zone of the clutch engagement is narrow on these bikes. It starts to catch towards the end of the throw. That is just how these bikes are.

How many miles does your cable have on it? Mine has 24,000 and is starting to get towards the end of it's adjustment range. That being said I've lubed it a couple if times and it still works smooth. It's not a one finger clutch pull but it's smooth and predictable.

its got 11000 miles i have done approx 6000 of them so not sure if this cable has been the only one... it was fine up untill a few weeks back i had quite a bit of lean way on both sides so i cant see it being down to the miles on it i have never lubed it up only had it a year and got a full service done about 2-3000 miles ago so its about time i did really now i got this new cable should be ok "FINGERS CROSSED!" i am going to get some new levers for sure... i had a feel of my friends z1000 clutch and it made me dribble it was that easy
just hope it doesnt need a full clutch! my mind is put at ease a bit more now though :Flash:

 

[penty2008]

I've had my new 2009 FZ6 for 4 months now. I found the clutch engagement range and lever force required to be unacceptable. It's not a cable issue, it's a leverage issue in addition to the internal clutch design. I first purchesed the ASV levers for the adjustability of lever reach. I then purchased two new clutch slave levers (lever at the engine end of cable), are not expensive parts, around $17 each through the Yamaha dealer. I then removed the splined shaft end off of one slave lever, and removed the cable pull off the other lever. With some additional modification, I joined the two parts into one longer slave lever, going from a stock length of 30mm center-to-center to a new length of 45mm center-to-center. Oh my, what a difference. Hand lever force is significantly reduced, and even better, I can now feel a range and degree of engagement, and actually control how much friction between disengaged and full clutch engagement. My FZ6 clutch is now a pleasure. Of course, hand lever travel is longer, so this requires precise minimal adjustment of clutch free-play. I have small hands, so I have the ASV clutch lever adjust for the closest postion to the bar. What this tells me is that the stock lever will work just fine with this slave lever modification, since my ASV lever is at about the same position, or maybe a little closer to the bar, as the stock lever. I have good photographs of the slave lever mod at home. If I can figure out how to post photos here, I will later.

do you have a pic of this mod you have done "dont want to get it wrong" im willing to do anything if it works... as i said above i am going to get some new levers its more of a need thing with me as i travel almost 600 miles on a good riding day and my hand can become as tight as a scots pocket

 

[Jeff Douglass]

The aftermarket levers, nice as they are, do not change the amount of force required to pull the lever. They cannot as the actual geometry between pivot and the cable anchor is essentially identical to the factory lever. Besides looks and a subjective feel because of shape,etc., the only real functional benefit is adjustment for lever reach of hand size. Before I purchased the ASV levers, I talked to a fellow at ASV and he confirmed the pivot to cable anchor dimensions/geometry are identical to factory. So, given that, I will attempt to post two pictures of my modified clutch slave lever in this post.

 

[SirIsaac]

...So, given that, I will attempt to post two pictures of my modified clutch slave lever in this post.

That's very clever, and nice looking work. Given the the recurring complaints about the FZ6 clutch, I'll bet you could make those and sell them.

 

[Mancolt]

That's very clever, and nice looking work. Given the the recurring complaints about the FZ6 clutch, I'll bet you could make those and sell them.

Depending on price, I'd be interested. Since I've gotten my bike, I haven't been thrilled with the clutch. I thought it was just me being too picky, so I didn't really look into it. Then I came across this thread and found out I wasn't alone. I'm going to lube the cables and hopefully that will ease things up some. The modified clutch slave lever looks to be a relatively inexpensive, simple mod that sounds like it will make a huge difference.

Keep us posted if you decide to sell some of those Jeff!

 

[penty2008]

thats great work yes keep us posted i would love to buy 1 of them!!

 

[Motogiro]

I had bad cable issues and lubed it. Get one of those cable lubricating thingamajiggs. Just look up thingamajiggs J/k Cyclegear carried them. you put it on the end of the cable and shoot the lube in hole using the straw and it gets the lube down the cable.

Check out Nelly's post/link for a great amount of info on the cables...