Clutch release arm extention

[MoonStomper]

Shoot Doug! You can ride my KDX ANYTIME! I also had hoped you’d get a chance to try my son’s Rieju 300…

So just before and during the race I began experiencing clutch slippage that definitely killed my hole shot hopes and really annoyed me on the GP course and highbank to straight away of the dirt track.
So I ordered an EBC clutch kit (the KG kit - they make Kawasaki OEM - wouldn’t ship in time!).

A call to Fredette advised me that he thought my old springs were the likely problem if my steel plates weren’t discolored. They weren’t, and my fiber plates actually looked fine, so I will save them as backups.

I just installed the EBC kit complete with the springs. Other than being a very slow process because I couldn’t figure out an easy way to line all the teeth up along with the basket teeth it went finally together correctly. After giving the clutch a pull and resetting the free play I took her out for a rip…

WOW!!! DEFINITELY what the doctor ordered. Increased clutch pull is barely noticeable and the front end comes up with ease now. Wish I’d had this Sunday at Rattlesnake Hare Scramble!

[SS109]

The clutch actuator mod is probably the only way to actually use those extra strong EBC springs.

[KDXGarage]

yeah, 'bout to say, did they finally catch the error?

[MoonStomper]

I’m not sure the “error” is on EBC’s side. The oem actuator just plain sucks! The EBC springs have totally changed the character of my bike, it’s rather shocking how much harder it’s pulling now (and I don’t mean the lever!). I’m riding it tomorrow with some buddies at Doe Mountain in Tennessee on some beautiful single track. I’ll let you know how it does.

[KDXGarage]

Look through years of EBC clutch springs posts.

[billie_morini]

Moon, excellant idea to apply some Redn'Tacky. I have the BMW equivalent (e.g., Lubricant #10, 95 00 9 000 191). I'll use this.

[MoonStomper]

Spent 5 hours riding tight, rocky, steep, single track at Doe Mountain Tennessee on Saturday with the EBC heavy clutch springs. I’m certain that my bike has never had better pulling power. The lock up and ease of modulation is both there. Doing the clutch actuator mod in combination (and even better with the smooth bearing mounted Streamline clutch lever) is probably key to success with these springs.

It really adds a level of power and performance to the bike that I’ve never had. It makes it pull so much harder up steep hills and off the start line when doing practice dead-engine starts. I’ll need to relearn my technique. The front end comes up a lot easier.

What’s amazing is I noticed no increase in effort at the lever, experienced zero additional fatigue.
So if you still have unused EBC springs laying around, break them out again if you do this actuator mod.

[KDXGarage]

Devil's advocate chiming in... how were your old plates and springs? I am guessing you are not comparing to new in the bag OEM.

[billie_morini]

Rode yesterday with the KX actuator... O...M...G!!! I can't believe what a difference it makes! I'm truly surprised those of you that have done this mod, or similar, haven't been raving about it! Who needs a hydraulic clutch when this mod is so much simpler and cheaper and works just as good?

It turned my clutch in to a true one finger pull, clutch action feels much smoother, and it widened my clutch engagement at the lever. The pull is lighter than my GasGas with hydraulic clutch and my buddy's YZ250X. It took a few to adjust to the new engagement but once I did, oh yeah! I could rocket out of corners way quicker since I was keeping wheel spin under control. I also noticed my clutch hand never got tired and I never resorted to using 3 or four fingers when holding it at a stop for a few.

I would almost say this is a Top 5 mod IMO. It really was that much of a game changer for me.

SS109, I'm hoping for similar experience. There was adequate time for me to install KX 125 actuator arm on weekend following grueling work week. Just didn't have enough reserve to actually ride. At least to my left hand with bike on stand, I don't think I perceive the miracle cure for easy clutch pull was achieved. It is now possible to pull lever in with just forefinger or just middle finger & some strain. However, I don't remember this being possible before KX 125 part install. Maybe with wheels in motion, it'll get really good. Fingers crossed.

[MoonStomper]

KDXGARAGE: No, these were NOT OEM! Think they were ProDrive.

The friction plates actually looked really good which surprised me. I’d measure them but the battery in my caliper is dead! The steels looked worn smoothish, but not discolored.
The springs were obviously shorter than the new ones and maybe a thinner gauge coil stock, seemed lighter too.

[SS109]

Rode yesterday with the KX actuator... O...M...G!!! I can't believe what a difference it makes! I'm truly surprised those of you that have done this mod, or similar, haven't been raving about it! Who needs a hydraulic clutch when this mod is so much simpler and cheaper and works just as good?

It turned my clutch in to a true one finger pull, clutch action feels much smoother, and it widened my clutch engagement at the lever. The pull is lighter than my GasGas with hydraulic clutch and my buddy's YZ250X. It took a few to adjust to the new engagement but once I did, oh yeah! I could rocket out of corners way quicker since I was keeping wheel spin under control. I also noticed my clutch hand never got tired and I never resorted to using 3 or four fingers when holding it at a stop for a few.

I would almost say this is a Top 5 mod IMO. It really was that much of a game changer for me.

SS109, I'm hoping for similar experience. There was adequate time for me to install KX 125 actuator arm on weekend following grueling work week. Just didn't have enough reserve to actually ride. At least to my left hand with bike on stand, I don't think I perceive the miracle cure for easy clutch pull was achieved. It is now possible to pull lever in with just forefinger or just middle finger & some strain. However, I don't remember this being possible before KX 125 part install. Maybe with wheels in motion, it'll get really good. Fingers crossed.

It's that good, my man. If you have any notching on your clutch basket it can increase the effort so make sure it's good.

[Tyl3r]

So there really is a performance benefit to using the heavier springs? I've been following along this thread thinking about extending my actuator arm, but my clutch pull is already super easy as it is, practically as light as the hydro clutch on my KTM. New cable, new clutch with stock springs, new wiseco basket and pro taper lever... can one finger it with ease with good trans oil.

You notice the bike pulls harder with the heavy springs in? I guess I didn't think there would be any noticeable difference between clutch springs, other than a harder lever pull. Might have to give this a go now...

[Slick_Nick]

So there really is a performance benefit to using the heavier springs? I've been following along this thread thinking about extending my actuator arm, but my clutch pull is already super easy as it is, practically as light as the hydro clutch on my KTM. New cable, new clutch with stock springs, new wiseco basket and pro taper lever... can one finger it with ease with good trans oil.

You notice the bike pulls harder with the heavy springs in? I guess I didn't think there would be any noticeable difference between clutch springs, other than a harder lever pull. Might have to give this a go now...

Stiffer springs are more of a bandaid solution for a clutch that's slipping a lot when hot. It totally depends on how/where you ride, how hard you are on your clutch, what oil you run, etc.

[MoonStomper]

My results were probably magnified by the fact that my old springs had been under spec for awhile…

[KDXGarage]

Your engine / exhaust is not stock, so more power can slightly change things.

[billie_morini]

SS109 wrote: "It's that good, my man. If you have any notching on your clutch basket it can increase the effort so make sure it's good."

I finally had time to ride and on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The KX 125 clutch actuator arm works just like SS109's endorsement. Easily and almost automatically, it was easy to pull clutch lever with one finger (middle). My ability to control rear wheel horsepower and traction was better than ever before.

Most likely, if not for this forum and generous members, I'd not discovered this terrifically effective and terrifically simple modification.

As someone once famous said, "Well, blow me down!"
.

[billie_morini]

Here's the view from today's mid-point rest stop in the Los Padres National Forest (Central coast California / SoCal). Santa Ynez Mountains foothills in foreground. Blue water is Santa Barbara Channel (Pacific Ocean). Islands in background are Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands (2 of 8 islands in this chain).

[KDXGarage]

WOW! Nice view!

[billie_morini]

Here is a KDX 200 / 220 clutch side engine cover (photo) The clutch activation arm is placed in this hole, along with oil seal (in larger diameter seat). The lower end of the arm shaft sits & rotates in a needle bearing installed in this cover. The needle bearing is immersed in transmission oil. However, vertical depressions can form on the shaft end that sits in this bearing (e.g., needle bearing depressions). I'm not sure if this deformation is caused by heavy use, spent lubrication oil or combination. However, I see them more frequently with smaller engines.

Our forum has posts about the (wear) grooves that form in the upper end of the shaft arm. This photo shows wear grooves & scratches also form in the cast journal bearing area the clutch arm is placed within (arrow). I've looked at several clutch side engine covers from KDX 200 / 220 and KX 125 and saw grooves in them in this area. It's beneficial to clean up this journal bearing area by smoothing these grooves. The cover is soft and care is required to not enlarge and/or cause out-of-roundness. I use 220, 600, & 1500 wet-dry sandpaper in succession. But, only lightly! I don't try to achieve absolute perfection.

From examining a few of these engine covers, it appears manufacturing includes a series of short, diagonal, parallel grooves (ellipses) made to hold transmission oil for improved lubrication for the clutch arm shaft and journal bearing. They are visible in photo. I'm guessing the downward diagonal orientation of these specific grooves returns excess oil to the transmission and minimizes oil escaping past the rubber oil seal that sits above this area. If more experience KDX / KX riders and wrench turners know differently, please comment.

[Tyl3r]

One last final tweak was required for this modification. The extra length of the modified foot ends up using all of your available clutch cable free play. I spoke with Jeff Fredette about this and he suggested creating a “slight dog leg” in the foot near the end. This would bring the cable head catch towards the cable and create the slack I needed.

By putting the piece in a soft jaws clamp and using a sawzall, a slit was cut about 4/5ths the width of the foot on the leading (forward) side, then gently tapped the end with a hammer to close the gap. This gave me 1/8” of forward reach, I decided I wanted just a little more so I carefully reopened the gap and using an abrasive cutting disc widened the cut to about twice the saw blade thickness. After closing the gap by tapping it shut again, welding the seam, and grinding it smooth I ended up with about a 1/4” of improvement.

While I had the opportunity, I used my Dremel to grind in a small groove for the spring hook to rest in just like the stock part originally had. After cleaning it up, I sprayed some silver paint to finish the job.

Testing this modification was extremely gratifying as I was able to introduce slack back into the cable at both the cable juncture and the lever to achieve the desired free play. My clutch feels as easy and smooth as a hydraulic and I’ll never need to bleed it.

Have any photos of the finished product after the tweaks? I am thinking about extending a stock KDX actuator arm also.