Adjusting clutch lever tension

Contrary as it sounds I actually find short levers on heavy clutch bikes help. If anything it "focuses" my attention to making sure I am holding it right. Not that it requires conscious thought, but just the design forces you into grabbing at that specific angle and with the strongest fingers doing the work. With the long levers you can grab at so many weird and bad positions, try to rely on the ring finger etc. lets you get lazy.

After ten years riding an '04 Road King, I thought there was something wrong with the clutch on the Super Tenere when I first rode it; I thought it must not have been connected, since it was so easy to pull.

I'm with Mr. RC. The Tenere's clutch feels light. The last clutch that felt "heavy" was the KZ 1000P, but it was a cable clutch; I've never noticed a hydro clutch feel heavy. But, I do prefer long/OE clutch levers. I feel they give more control in the "grey area"; especially at very low speeds and tight turns.

ballisticexchris said:

Another option is one of these:
http://www.midwestme.com/products.html#Clutch

I have felt one on my buddies Beta and it has an amazingly light pull. I'm sure you can cross reference one to fit your MC or just simply get a Magura or Brembo MC to match.

I just went into the garage and retrofitting a Magura or Brembo MC looks like it would be a snap. It should require nothing more than a new banjo bolt and washers. You might have to modify your mirror mounting slightly as well.

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Did you feel the clutch pull on the Beta before and after the lever installation? I'm not disputing that it makes a difference, only that I'm curious how it makes a 50 percent difference. Is the new lever a lot longer, or is there some other mechanical advantage? I'm not sure what a lever could do to reduce pull on a hydraulic clutch, since the force is set by the fluid pressure, unless there's a mechanical advantage in the lever that's radically different than the stock lever.

I pulled in a few levers in his shop back to back with the lever installed. I did not notice how much lighter but is was noticeable for sure. I don't think 50% though. The Midwest lever just changes the position of where it hits the plunger. I will say there are some disadvantages to it. You can't really adjust your engagement where you want it.

One of the reasons I like my ASV levers so much is I can spin the knob with my thumb and change it on the fly. When my fingers get tired I can bring the lever closer to the grip and use all 4 fingers to modulate it.

I'm very much struggling with this beast right now in slow parking lot turns and clutch engagement. It's the two finger modulation that I'm working on. I have been running the Rekluse for so long that my clutch skills are a bit to be desired.

ballisticexchris said:

I'm very much struggling with this beast right now in slow parking lot turns and clutch engagement. It's the two finger modulation that I'm working on....

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Everybody's different, but, in the slow/tight turn situations.....I use all four fingers. For ME it allows easier, more precise, grey area control. Also, don't forget to utilize the "rear only" brake feature. I think that Yamaha put that type of brake system on for dirt work, but I use it all the time on the street. I have the levers adjusted "out" further for my preference of quicker engage/disengagement. I have a buddy that has his levers adjusted as far "in" as possible; he likes it that way, but it drives me crazy. Feels like the clutched is cooked.

I've always been a "four fingers on the lever" rider. Probably from years of riding the Harley, which definitely wasn't a two finger clutch kind of bike. Old habits die hard, I guess.

Sierra1 said:

Everybody's different, but, in the slow/tight turn situations.....I use all four fingers. For ME it allows easier, more precise, grey area control. Also, don't forget to utilize the "rear only" brake feature. I think that Yamaha put that type of brake system on for dirt work, but I use it all the time on the street. I have the levers adjusted "out" further for my preference of quicker engage/disengagement. I have a buddy that has his levers adjusted as far "in" as possible; he likes it that way, but it drives me crazy. Feels like the clutched is cooked.

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Funny you mention that!! I started off with my lever adjusted in where it starts to engage right off the bar. Now I have it adjusted so it engages off my knuckles when using 2 fingers. It does seem to work a lot better when I'm using all four fingers. This is going to be a learning curve for sure.

RCinNC said:

After ten years riding an '04 Road King, I thought there was something wrong with the clutch on the Super Tenere when I first rode it; I thought it must not have been connected, since it was so easy to pull.

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This!

The OP should ride my '79 ironhead for a few miles of stop-and-go traffic, then jump back on the S10.......he'll never complain about clutch pull effort again.

I probably modu

thughes317 said:

This!

The OP should ride my '79 ironhead for a few miles of stop-and-go traffic, then jump back on the S10.......he'll never complain about clutch pull effort again.

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Yeah, I've definitely become spoiled by modern technology since my days on the Harley. I'm not slamming HD, because I truly do like their bikes, but I also enjoy fuel injection, hydraulic clutches, ABS, unified brakes (none of which my RK had), and no chrome. I recall once being stuck in stop and go traffic on I-81 for like a half hour. My left hand got so cramped from pulling in and letting out the clutch that I finally had to pull over onto the shoulder and rest it.

None of which should be construed as disliking Harleys, because I do like them. Mine was dead on reliable for 50,000 miles, and I'd own one again as long as it wasn't my only bike...and as long as I wasn't paying for a brand new one....

Harleys are Harleys. They are what their demographics want. I've got a buddy that has one, I don't know the model, but it has over 250k miles. He loves working on it, and has taken the motor apart several times to either repair, modify, or maintain stuff. He RIDES it to Sturgis every year, pulling a little trailer. I don't think it has ever failed him either. BUT, that is not MY style; I prefer riding over wrenching. And, the HD ride is not the ride I want, so I don't bitch about them; I just don't ride them. Don't ride what you don't like; THAT, to me, is the definition of insanity.

I'm sure I'll get used to it just fine. I had just ridden 120 miles in high winds to test ride her so was tired anyway.

Unless you’re using a shorty lever, I don’t think two finger clutching makes much sense. I find that with my ring and little finger still holding the grip, they get in the way of full lever travel. The brake side is different as the lever normally does not pull all the way back to the grip like the clutch side.


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Steve Pohl at Mid West got back to me saying he was talking about cable Vs hydraulic in his previous reply. Also asked some questions and had already looked at some online pics of the Super Ten clutch lever. I confirmed that our clutch is Nissan made, (their logo is cast into the bottom of the reservoir) and he responded that it will be a while, but he will create a notification for availability list. For the price point, even though this isn't really an issue for me, I'm interested enough that I'm number 1 on his waiting list now. I spent a few hours today in stop and go traffic, in the rain, so that heightened my awareness of the current stock tension on the lever.

If you are interested in a lever that reduces the force of the clutch pull, ping Steve Pohl at steve.pohl@midwestme.com and ask him to add you to his notification for availability list.

Lol Nissan!

I believe Eric meant Nissin.

If you have a bike that was sitting for sometime then and found that the levers are tight, it would be good to clean up the slave pump. Over the weekend I pulled the pump out and have it cleaned and the cylinders wall polished. I found there were precipitations which a flush will not remove. The initial condition after removing the pump was that the piston were somewhat sticky and not moving smoothly. It made a huge difference after the clean up. Single finger capable but on the tight side. But I wished Yamaha would have gone to using a larger bore/piston set.

I don't know why Yamaha used such a small clutch reservoir. I mean, it works fine, but I've never seen a similar sized one before.

Sierra1 said:

I don't know why Yamaha used such a small clutch reservoir. I mean, it works fine, but I've never seen a similar sized one before.

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There is no need for anything larger. A clutch system doesn't wear in a way that it requires more fluid. It actually works just the opposite of a brake system. As the plates wear it will push a very small amount of fluid back to the reservoir.

OldRider said:

There is no need for anything larger. A clutch system doesn't wear in a way that it requires more fluid....

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So, why don't all bikes have small clutch reservoirs? I'm thinking that Yamaha believes there's an advantage to it; I'm just not seeing it.

Sierra1 said:

So, why don't all bikes have small clutch reservoirs? I'm thinking that Yamaha believes there's an advantage to it; I'm just not seeing it.

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That I don't know. I think reservoirs are getting smaller on a lot of bikes. In a tip over it may make it harder to pump air into the system if you happen to pull the clutch lever while picking the bike up.