hey guys, i had a question about my clutch cable. for some reason it's real tight. i tried spraying some wd40 on the cable to loosen it up a little, but to no avail. any suggestions?
Hmmm. Depends on what you mean by "tight".
1) Do you mean that there's too much tension on the cable, making the lever too hard to pull? If so:
A) Is it harder to pull than before? The cable may need a good lubing. How many miles on the bike? And how old is it? (I'm looking for how long it may have gone without being lubed....)
WD-40 isn't ideal for this application - something heavier would be better. If you don't want to buy a can of lube with the special luber device, you can try the following:
* Disconnect the end of the clutch cable from the lever housing.
* Wrap some Saran Wrap (or similar) around the end of the cable housing so that it creates a cone-shaped funnel.
* Holding the cable end UP, pour a little motor oil or other lube into the funnel and let it drain down into the cable.
* Remove the Saran Wrap and reinstall![/list:u]
B) If it's
always been this hard to pull, it may be that the "return spring" is a little too beefy for you. I don't how you would tweak that.[/list:u]2) Is the lever too hard to pull because it's too far from the grip? You can't really adjust this, but you can easily adjust the amount of clutch lever freeplay. (It should be between 10 and 15 mm out at the free end of the lever.) In the picture below, screw the adjuster IN (toward the housing) to increase freeplay, and OUT to decrease.
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/100_0060_ClutchCableAdjuster.jpg)
EDIT: Changed link from
sisna.com to
bbburma.net