February 25, 200521 yr Have read social-climber's post ref; hydraulic conversions, but unfortunately, this is out of my price-range! What are these lightening devices like? any good? Assume it is geared internally? My fingers tend to cramp-up at the end of a long/strenuous section, and by the end i cant always pull the clutch in..... quite often with spectacular results!!! hopefully fitting one of these will alleviate this!
February 25, 200521 yr I agree with HondaRS, No need for expensive magura etc clutch conversions. On my sons rev 50 i have lengthened the lever arm on the clutch casing & it has made a hell of a difference. Much easier now for a nine year old to pull .
February 25, 200521 yr you legngthended the arm on the rev 50 have you doughsbouy.looks an easy enough job. its a fairly heavy clutch for a nine year old. how much did you add and did you have any problems with clutchslip.
February 25, 200521 yr Added about 2cm, wound both adjusters more or less fully in with just the usual amount of play at the top with no probs.l
February 25, 200521 yr all this of course after checking that the cable is in good condition, well lubricated and routed to avoid any tight bends.....
February 26, 200521 yr I make my own cables using more modern, more flexible cable that is available in most hardware stores (in the US, anyway). DIY aircraft places have it, too. The wire I buy is almost half the thickness of some stock wires. This works really well for front brakes, too. The key is to find wire that spirals around a longitudinal core so there is less 'stretch' when you apply pressure. It's not really stretch, but wire that is only twisted gets longer when you apply pressure because it wants to untwist. The longitudinal core resists this. I use those brass ends with a set screw. Tighten the set screw, snip off the head, and cover the whole enchilada with solder. This, along with the extended arm, will give most bikes a 1-finger clutch. The difference it makes in a front brake is quite amazing. Jeeze...I'm giving you guys all my best tricks...
February 26, 200521 yr all this of course after checking that the cable is in good condition, well lubricated and routed to avoid any tight bends..... [ We are talking about a new bike, Edited February 26, 200521 yr by doughbouysherco
February 26, 200521 yr Doesn't mean the cable is always well routed just because it's a new bike, they don't always have time at the factory to set things up properly believe me.
February 26, 200521 yr Author looks like i will go down the arm-mod route. anyone know of any tr34, tr35 or supertrials breaking? don't really wanna chop up the original in case (not that i'm doubting you guys!!) it causes problems. may be a daft question.... but why wouldnt the manufacturers have made the arm to the 'modded' length in the first place? assume to keep lever travel to a minimum? thanks
February 26, 200521 yr may be a daft question.... but why wouldnt the manufacturers have made the arm to the 'modded' length in the first place? assume to keep lever travel to a minimum? This is one of those enduring philosophical questions. Like, If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody sees you clean it..... If you're worried about ruining a good part, and you don't do your own welding, find someone who can do it once in the morning and warn him that you might be back in the afternoon to shorten it again! It's a 10 minute job. Although...barring some stuff from the '70s and back, I have seldom seen a cable clutch that couldn't use an extra 3/4" on the arm Some aftermarket companies used to make bolt-on extenders, but I always hate adding 3 extra parts, but you might feel better about using one instead of cutting and welding.
February 26, 200521 yr Author Or....... (as i'm a Toolmaker [Precision Engineer ]) I could cut it, drill and tap it twice on each part, then mill a bar with a series of holes, and have an all singing all dancin', adjustable clutch lever!! OR just get it cut 'n' welded! Is Ally tho, so will be a job for a fabricator friend of mine............
February 28, 200521 yr lcutch extenders for the Yam TY350 was a cast pocket at the ends that fit around the sides of the lever and used the single orignal hole with a bolt through it. without the extender, the TY is stiff. With, its one finger. If you have the machining capability, I'd make a bolt on one-you can try various lengths a couple mm apart and see which you like. the down side to to much extension is reduced clutch travel leading to slight drag in the plates. kcj
February 28, 200521 yr You could look at a 3 position clutch lever. It's a bolt on. Try this. http://www.bjracing.com/controls.htm or MSR Raptor. Remember though. The easier it is to pull the more travel it takes to engage. Edited February 28, 200521 yr by Brian R
March 7, 200521 yr Author *****UPDATE!!***** havent got around to chopping up the clutch lever quite yet, but have managed to fit a new, nylon lined, clutch cable......and....... think i should have tried this first!!! d'oh!!! 110% better!! may still look into doing the clutch arm soon, every little helps after all!! thanks for the help tho guys. any more reviews/reports on these devices ^^^^^^^^^ as posted by r2w and others. Thanks again!
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