Lighten Clutch Lever Pull

gekken

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As I've mentioned in my "Hello" and "Finally Got One" posts, I have questions.

Please note that I attempted a Google search, but I am not sure my search terms were correct: "lighten motorcycle clutch", "Super Tenere stiff clutch", "Sexual deviancy waffles pancakes"

So I've never had a bike with a clutch quite as stiff as my brand-spanking-new '14 ST-ES. My left hand is singing in stop-and-go.

Any good advice?

Failing that, bad advice will do (but will be judged on spelling, grammar, and irrelevance).
 

2112

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Make sure the lever is mounted at the correct angle for you. I once had a bike where the clutch lever was angled slightly too high and it gave me grief until I twisted it (and the brake lever) downwards slightly - sorted ! I hope it's that simple, cost $0, time 10 mins.
 

Koinz

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I never thought the clutch was that hard on the Tenere. Lucky its not a cable clutch.
 

cosmic

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I found it pretty hard. One finger ops vs technical trail is hard work. Other than that is fine.

I'am tempted to try this one...

http://www.off-the-road.de/en/XT-1200Z/Clutch-slave-cylinder-XT-1200Z-Super-Tenere.html
 

OldRider

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gekken said:
C- Spelling and grammar were fine, yet the reply was relevant. ::024::
I practice what I preach!!! I'm playing with a hand exerciser while I'm reading your post. A couple of weeks with one of these and the clutch will pull very easy. Try it.
 

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Ramseybella

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The angel of the stock bars suck so I changed them out for more foreword angled motocross bars.
Also I changed the stock levers to shorty racing levers (Yes Chines Knock Offs)..
Cured the issue.

For me at least.. ::008::
 

cakeboy

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that is strange ? ...i swapped my 2011 tenere for a 2014 and the first thing i noticed was how light the clutch is on the new model ...
 

markjenn

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If you think the pull is unusually hard, I'd definitely take it to the dealer and compare to another model. Maybe something is wrong. If the pull is the same, it is more/less something you just learn to live with. I'd call the S10 clutch pull effort "average". And one of the things I immediately noticed on the new GS was how unbelievably light it is. I don't know what kind of trickery BMW resorted to, but if you like a light clutch pull in a liter-class adv bike, this is your bike.

- Mark
 

VTagle

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Stiff Clutch

It was my first time to do a long ride on my newly acquired 2nd hand 2013 model ST. I have no issues with the bike and everything works well except that I find the clutch lever kinda stiff. I rode a total of 700 kms and as I got back to the city, I got caught in a horrendous Manila traffic. my palm got a little sore since I pulling and holding quite a lot in traffic. Is this normal? How can I make it a little lighter? Btw, when I got the bike, it has around 3,500 kms on the odometer. The lever is at the #4 setting.
 

Dogdaze

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Re: Stiff Clutch

Although there is no way to adjust the clutch, what you may be experiencing is a lack of lube and being as you mentioned riding in torrential rain, dirt /grime in the lever pivot bolt and nut. But also check that the pivot bolt is there and the nut is also tightened to the correct specs. Clean out the whole area and then lube the pivot bolt and all the connecting mechanism. It does catch a lot of road grime in that area, also, one last point, you may want to rotate the lever if you have not already done so, more to your own ergonomics.
 

vwboomer

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Re: Stiff Clutch

It amazes me that bikes with hydraulic clutches have such heavy pulls. My 950 was pretty stiff, my Ducati is horrible. ST is pretty bad.
There may be an aftermarket clutch slave which would help some. It's something I"ll be looking into, but I've only got 1600mi on it, and it's winter ::024::
 

Dogdaze

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vwboomer

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Checkswrecks

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Just merged two nearly identical threads and we have had a few folks talk about how they would like a lighter clutch pull over the years.


Without saying directly who it is since I didn't ask him if it'd be OK to post this . . .

One of our Texas forum members who owns a business making motorcycle parts and customizing bikes, who owns a black Tenere . . .


;)


. . . is looking into making a slave like the one from Germany and is working up a price for a group buy. We'll put up a new thread to see if enough folks have an interest if and when he is ready.
 
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