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Lighter clutch possible?


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Hey all,

 

I have a 2014 VFR800F which has had 20000km put on it since I bought it in May last year. The bike has been excellent to me except for a few minor niggles that I can mostly live with. The only one annoying thing that I can't live with is how heavy the clutch is. It's almost stopped me commuting to work by bike since I get to work with tennis elbow which escalates to a cramped arm by the time I get home. I'm happy to take the bike for long rides with the heavy clutch but sitting in Sydney traffic when commuting kills it. The clutch feels exactly like the other new VFR800Fs in dealerships and hasn't loosened up at all. I rode a bone stock 5th gen over the weekend and the first thing I noticed was how much lighter the clutch was. Is there anyway to make it lighter? A couple of people have suggested replacing the clutch slave cylinder with an aftermarket one but they all do agree the clutch on my bike is unreasonably heavy for such a new-ish bike.

 

So far I've tried replacing the OEM levers with Pazzo long levers then I swapped them for the short ones which did not help. I've bled the clutch to see if maybe there was air in the line. I ended up buying the quickshifter to cut down on the time i have to pull back the lever too. I haven't had this problem on any of my other bikes. 

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I don't find the clutch to be heavier than that on many other bikes with a hydraulic clutch, but the real problem is your tendonitis.  I've been there (1500 rounds in 3 days out of a polymer pistol will do that).

 

Until you heal from that, nothing is going to make you happy.  Get thee to a medical office.

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18 minutes ago, Shinigami said:

I don't find the clutch to be heavier than that on many other bikes with a hydraulic clutch, but the real problem is your tendonitis.  I've been there (1500 rounds in 3 days out of a polymer pistol will do that).

 

Until you heal from that, nothing is going to make you happy.  Get thee to a medical office.

 

Going to a bike with a lighter clutch will fix it but I don't want to give up my VFR if I don't have to. I had no issues last year with my MT07 doing the same commute day in day out nor with my fathers CBR1000RR. I don't have tendonitis so there's no problem there, the tennis elbow thing was a figure of speech. Hell, most of the bigger bikes I've ridden have lighter clutches. Maybe I'm just a weakling...

 

For reference my commute is 70km one way and takes 2 hours through congested roads. with maybe a good 1/3 of that holding the clutch in.

 

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What setting do you have the clutch lever set at?  It goes from 1 (farthest away) to 5 (closest) and even though I have pretty big hands I recently adjusted mine from 2 to 4 because I think it's a more comfortable squeeze for me to have it a bit closer.

 

Also, are you pulling the lever all the way in when you shift?  When I ride "Tom Cruise" style with 2 fingers on the lever I can shift by pulling in the lever with just my middle and index fingers even though I can only squeeze the lever about half way because the lever hits my ring finger and prevents a full squeeze.  Much easier to shift that way with just a half squeeze although sometimes I wonder if I'm causing extra wear and tear by not giving it a full squeeze?

 

I also try to go from 2nd to N when rolling to a stop so I have no need to hold the clutch lever in while I wait for the light to go green - that helps quite a bit in traffic.  It's difficult sometimes to go from 2nd to N without it going all the way to 1st but I think I've mastered the light footed technique it takes to get it right most of the time - LOL.

 

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Are you holding the clutch for the duration of a stop light, for instance? I'd drive myself nuts doing that, i just jab it in gear and go unless there's some weird situation where i feel like it's safer to sit on the clutch. I take it you can't lane split? If you could move the master cylinder further in the handlebar, you'd have some extra leverage using the end of the clutch lever. I have cheap chinese levers with the end of the clutch lever cut off, so I just use index and middle fingers. It's just been my practice with clutches.. use the throw-out bearing as little as possible.

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13 minutes ago, GatorGreg said:

What setting do you have the clutch lever set at?  It goes from 1 (farthest away) to 5 (closest) and even though I have pretty big hands I recently adjusted mine from 2 to 4 because I think it's a more comfortable squeeze for me to have it a bit closer.

 

Also, are you pulling the lever all the way in when you shift?  When I ride "Tom Cruise" style with 2 fingers on the lever I can shift by pulling in the lever with just my middle and index fingers even though I can only squeeze the lever about half way because the lever hits my ring finger and prevents a full squeeze.  Much easier to shift that way with just a half squeeze although sometimes I wonder if I'm causing extra wear and tear by not giving it a full squeeze?

 

 

 

My lever is set to 5 (closest) since I have stubby fingers :/. I pull the lever all the way in to downshift with 3 fingers (Shorty levers. Had long ones on for a while didn't help). Up shifting I don't use the clutch at all. At lights its mostly neutral since it would drive me up the wall if I had to hold it in any longer than I have to. Other than that its a lot of stop and go on very narrow roads that are clogged in peak hour with no hope of filtering even that its a lot of feathering to keep moving. I filter when there's space. 

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9 minutes ago, infinite300 said:

 

My lever is set to 5 (closest) since I have stubby fingers :/. I pull the lever all the way in to downshift with 3 fingers (Shorty levers. Had long ones on for a while didn't help). Up shifting I don't use the clutch at all. At lights its mostly neutral since it would drive me up the wall if I had to hold it in any longer than I have to. Other than that its a lot of stop and go on very narrow roads that are clogged in peak hour with no hope of filtering even that its a lot of feathering to keep moving. I filter when there's space. 

 

Sounds like a nightmare commute!  I actually traded in a new '04 Mustang Cobra Convertible with 6spd manual tranny after just 5 months because the clutch pedal was so stiff it was killing my leg on my commute from the suburbs to downtown Orlando.   I got home one day after an exceptionally bad commute because of a wreck blocking all traffic for hours and I could literally not lift my leg out of the car!  I had to use my arms to lift my leg out of the car like a paraplegic!  A doctor had to prescribe me pain pills and muscle relaxants just to get my leg back in order - LOL.  I soon thereafter traded the Cobra in for a Mustang GT convertible with auto tranny.

 

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is you might be in such a horrible commuting situation that you need to consider a bike with an auto tranny - I think Honda has several models now with their DCT auto tranny including the VFR1200.  Also, maybe consider getting a scooter for the commute and just use the VFR for weekend blasts?  I had a 2015 PCX 150 for a year and it was a great vehicle for commuting and could do about 65 mph so I never felt underpowered on any road other than highways.

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I'd be interested in a real solution as well, short of going with some high-dollar aftermarket perch and master cylinder. The clutch, just in my inexperienced opinion, is much heavier than I thought a hydraulic clutch would be. Anyone who's had to cross Baton Rouge twice daily knows that your clutch muscles get a workout, often in stop-and-go traffic moving just a little too slowly to fully engage first gear.

 

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You could try a 5th gen clutch slave.  I compared a 5th and 6th gen clutch slave a while back and the slightly larger diameter of the 5th gen should decrease the force required at the expense needing more travel.  The loss of travel may be an issue for you, especially since you are using the closest adjustment.  The details are here: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/80601-5th-vs-6th-gen-clutch-slave/&do=findComment&comment=991509

 

Mind you, I have no idea what the diameters used in the 8th gen clutch circuit are (slave or master).  The worst that could happen is incomplete clutch disengagement

 

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On 16 March 2017 at 11:12 PM, infinite300 said:

 

My lever is set to 5 (closest) since I have stubby fingers :/. I pull the lever all the way in to downshift with 3 fingers (Shorty levers. Had long ones on for a while didn't help). Up shifting I don't use the clutch at all. At lights its mostly neutral since it would drive me up the wall if I had to hold it in any longer than I have to. Other than that its a lot of stop and go on very narrow roads that are clogged in peak hour with no hope of filtering even that its a lot of feathering to keep moving. I filter when there's space. 

 

You need some after market lever blades, if you're already on 5 you have no adjustment left in the blades, something to reduce the lever throw close to the pivot is what's required

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I am looking into lighter clutch action (on my RC51) as well, following the crash/fracture.

Not that the oem is heavy, it is justmy wrist needin more time and i am impatient.... :-)

 

Either a radial master (Galespeed) or Oberon slave (38 instead of 35mm dia), need to find real life examples to de ide where to put my pennies....

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  • 1 month later...

There are new clutches hitting the market that are both assist and slip clutches. 

 

Think of it as a reverse slipper, the more force exerted on the clutch, the more the pack compresses.

 

I think this is getting quite mainstream now since many of the high power bikes have wire clutches instead of hydraulic and still are very easy to operate. 

 

Kawasaki has a small section about it https://www.kawasaki-cp.khi.co.jp/technology/engine/tech_assist_n_slipper_clutch_e.html as well as Yamaha. 

 

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