Another Useful HT Clutch Mod

AussieSteve

Active Member
Local time
8:22 PM
Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
1,733
Location
Nowra, NSW, Australia
On the clutch side of things, found a great improvement today. On the semi-circular bottom edge of the clutch pivot lever, I rounded off the contact edge to about 0.5mm-0.8mm depth and smoothed the flat surface of the contact area of the semi-circular section. Smoothing the contact area of the bucking bar also helps.
Grinders etc. only, don't bother trying with a file - it's hard.
N.B. 'Bucking Bar' is a Chinese factory term, not mine.

My idea was that the clutch separates more than is really necessary when disengaged, and that by rounding, (narrowing), the edge of the pivot, the (fully disengaged) plate separation would decrease, but feel and leverage would increase.
Works beautifully.
Along with that, by loosening/tightening the (clover nut) adjustment until the clutch just disengages when pinned, so that the clutch take-up happens when the lever is about half-way out, the clutch feels normal.
The overall difference has to be felt to be believed.
Almost like a nice, light, Honda clutch.
Love these minor mods. Cost: 0$ (Just right.)

...Steve

A sketch. Hope you can understand what I mean:-
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • Clutch Pivot Mod - Top End View.jpg
    Clutch Pivot Mod - Top End View.jpg
    13.3 KB · Views: 7,232
Last edited:
I have always wanted to try this. I thought it would do exactly what you describe. Just haven't had the time.
 
I have always wanted to try this. I thought it would do exactly what you describe. Just haven't had the time.

Worth the effort, Jim.
After about 100km, when I looked at the end of the bucking bar, (for the uninitiated, the Chinese manufacturers' term for the short rod that, along with a ball bearing, disengages the clutch), there were a number of grooves where the pivot had cut into the b.bar. This causes much of the typical resistance when the clutch is pulled in. Smoothing the contact face and the corner, along with the top surface of the b.bar, makes an enormous difference. Case hardening would be even better - the pivot is pretty hard, (hard to file), but the b.bar is m.s., I think. (Very easy to file.)
(A bit of oil on the clutch cable and no sharp bends doesn't go astray, either, along with relocating the clutch arm to be more square with the cable adjuster.)
Who needs the fancy roller setup I've seen described?
I can pull the clutch in with one finger now, and I'm a 110lb. weakling.

The only thing to be careful of is to not make the pivot too narrow. If it rotates to 90º the clutch could lock in the disengaged position. (The clutch works best with a fair bit of slack anyway, so that clutch take-up occurs when the lever is about half out, like a real bike.):-

attachment.php


Thanks again for the studs,
... Steve
 

Attachments

  • Clutch Pivot Mod Limit.jpg
    Clutch Pivot Mod Limit.jpg
    8.4 KB · Views: 1,088
Last edited by a moderator:
my clutch in nearly impossible to pull. I have not rounded off the edge yet but is it normal for the clutch to be so hard when stock? are there any adjustments that I could do to make it easier?
 
my clutch in nearly impossible to pull. I have not rounded off the edge yet but is it normal for the clutch to be so hard when stock? are there any adjustments that I could do to make it easier?

Hello snowbanana, these clutches are horrible, off the shelf, aren't they?

#1 - Trickle some oil into the clutch cable - the difference is worth the effort and of course, your cable will last longer. Lubricate everything on these kits.
I remove the cable from the hand-lever, then add a few drops every now and then until I get a drop at the other end.
The other way is to form a small funnel from thin cardboard and tape it to the top of the cable, then put some oil into the funnel and let it run in.

#2 - Do the smoothing as recommended - again, the difference is worth it.

#3 - Remove the RHS side-cover and very lightly grease the primary gears, then remove the LHS countershaft cover, remove the pin from the centre of the countershaft and put a small amount of grease into the hole. Replace the pin and put a dab of grease on the end of it, then make sure that the cam pivot in the side-cover is well greased. Re-assemble - done.

#4 - Al.Fisherman has a clutch roller setup that will increase leverage still further, until you can disengage the clutch with one pinky. I'll try to find the link, otherwise, PM Al.Fisherman.

Found it:- For Sale..Clutch roller bracket for HT

... Steve
 
Last edited:
Sounds good. For cable lubrication, I don't think that the type of oil is too critical. Anything that will flow into the cable-casing should do.
I use a bit of my cheap lawnmower 2-stroke oil for cables and chains.

... Steve
 
Back
Top