How much throw should my clutch arm have?

Ffryno13 · Post by **Ffryno13** » 12:02 am May 08 2016

I put my clutch together today and new cable with a tusk
Lever and and I went to test the clutch pull and it felt like the lever bottomed out half way to the bars. I have the cable set up with just a little free play.

6 Riders · Post by **6 Riders** » 08:52 am May 08 2016

You don't have the clutch activator clocked correctly.
You can see a small spring on the actuator, make sure that is "wound up" before installing the cable.

doctord23 · Post by **doctord23** » 09:41 am May 08 2016

Something is amiss.
Per the manual, on the engine, the lever to cable angle should be 80 to 90 degrees (if I remember correctly) and yours looks close to correct. The lever should have a full cycle of the lever on the bars plus more.
I'd pull the cover and make sure that the push pin is in correctly and doublecheck the number of frictions and steels.

Ffryno13 · Post by **Ffryno13** » 11:16 am May 08 2016

6 Riders wrote:You don't have the clutch activator clocked correctly.
You can see a small spring on the actuator, make sure that is "wound up" before installing the cable.

The spring is wound so it has pressure to engage the the clutch. And it's sitting in the notches. So I'm not sure how much pressure really needs to be on it

6 Riders · Post by **6 Riders** » 11:19 am May 08 2016

Can you take a picture from the side?

doakley · Post by **doakley** » 07:11 pm May 08 2016

How do you define "a little free play" and why do you want any? I like all the play out of my cable so I can control the clutch better with 1-2 fingers when needed. I find not having to pull the lever all the way in to disengage the clutch gives me much better control on technical sections.

Ffryno13 · Post by **Ffryno13** » 07:24 pm May 08 2016

Ffryno13 · Post by **Ffryno13** » 07:26 pm May 08 2016

doakley wrote:How do you define "a little free play" and why do you want any? I like all the play out of my cable so I can control the clutch better with 1-2 fingers when needed. I find not having to pull the lever all the way in to disengage the clutch gives me much better control on technical sections.

I keep about 1/16" of slack in the cable so that i get full engagement of the clutch and I don't have to adjust as much when the clutch gets hot and swells.

Ffryno13 · Post by **Ffryno13** » 10:45 pm May 08 2016

doctord23 wrote:Something is amiss.
Per the manual, on the engine, the lever to cable angle should be 80 to 90 degrees (if I remember correctly) and yours looks close to correct. The lever should have a full cycle of the lever on the bars plus more.
I'd pull the cover and make sure that the push pin is in correctly and doublecheck the number of frictions and steels.

I used a tusk clutch kit which says to take the spring rings out. I also didn't turn the last fiber into the notches but I've read it doesn't make a difference if you do or not. I don't think either of those would make the clutch pull that much shorter.

Tedh98 · Post by **Tedh98** » 05:45 am May 09 2016

Scroll down to the clutch install video in THIS LINK and try putting your coutch together that way and see if you still have the same issue.

Ffryno13 · Post by **Ffryno13** » 07:48 am May 09 2016

Awesome video. I'll try that. When I was looking at the washers that go behind the basket and then in front of the basket, there seemed to be difference in thickness. I also have a washer on the rod and noticed I took a ton of slack out of my cable when installing it. For a new cable I almost used all of the course adjustment in the long hex nut toward the bars

Tedh98 · Post by **Tedh98** » 07:57 am May 09 2016

if you installed a new clutch friction and steel kit then you should have less adjustment in the cable as the new clutch pack is thicker than the old one.

I have never measured the thickness of the washer that goes behind the basket and the one that goes between the basket and the hub but to my eye they look to be the same thickness. I have never kept track of where I have positioned them. Unless one washer is considerably thicker than the other it wouldn't matter what order you put them in as the combined thickness would be the same.

I've opened up some KDX engines to find two of the spacer washers behind the pushrod. One washer seems to be the norm though.

Did you buy an OEM clutch cable or was it an aftermarket cable?

ohgood · Post by **ohgood** » 08:09 am May 09 2016

Ffryno13 wrote:I put my clutch together today and new cable with a tusk
Lever and and I went to test the clutch pull and it felt like the lever bottomed out half way to the bars. I have the cable set up with just a little free play.

you can infinitely adjust the angle of the actuator arm (the one at the CASE) by adding or removing spacers to the push rod. yours looks like it needs some spacers removed, or the face of the push rod ground down. don't worry, if you take too much off you can always put a washer behind it. go slow, test frequently while adjusting.

i like mine right before 90 degrees, so that any/all pull from the cable will be met with the least amount of resistance because of how levers work.

if you want a REALLY light pull, pick up a kx125 actuator arm (the case arm) to replace the kdx arm. it is about 1/4" longer, and means the clutch action at the handlebars is extremely light, almost like hydraulic smooth.

sidenote: for the folks that want the friction zone to end at the end of the clutch lever (handlebars lever), keep in mind the clutch pack will swell with heat, and you can end up frying a clutch pack in one hillclimb, if you don't have free-play. personally i like the friction zone as FAT as it can be (the kx125 lever above) and in the MIDDLE of the clutch lever's travel. that way i have adjustment in/out and don't have to worry about slippage or wear at either extreme, ever.

Ffryno13 · Post by **Ffryno13** » 06:41 pm May 09 2016

Would any one be willing to post pics of their clutch arm engaged and disengaged so I can see if mine is close.

Ohgood: thanks for writing that all out I will definitely look into it some more. Although I'd like the clutch to be where it's at so I don't have to remove my hand from the bars to launch or control the bike through technical terrain. But most of all I want it to work right. I already planned on extending my actuator arm but only after I have everything else sorted from my hybrid build.

Ffryno13 · Post by **Ffryno13** » 07:34 pm May 15 2016

So I clocked the last fiber into the notches didn't seem to make a difference. Then i pulled the washer from the push rod and it felt just about right, so I fired it up and took a test drive. It seem to engage and disengage correctly. We'll see next weekend if it pans out.

Thanks for everyone's help

ricarvar · Post by **ricarvar** » 12:45 pm May 17 2016

ohgood: Thanks for your comment. Would you mind elaborating a bit more on a couple of concepts 1. "adding or removing spacers to the push rod" and 2. the 90 degree position, please ???

1. I'm not to mechanically inclined and don't understand what the spacers are in the rod?... could you point them in a picture?... I'd like to identify them and understand (like a 2 year old kid) where they go, how they work, add or remove them as necessary.

2. I'd like to be able to identify on my bike where the position of the "rod-arm" should be "before" and "after" clutch engagement. for example a plan view with the angle of travel sort of speak to compare right travel-configuration vs. actual.

I think these will help people not so mechanically minded (like myself) to still be able to fix our bikes

Thanks !
Ricarvar

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