New clutch hard to squeeze?

Remember we said not to sand shit down?

Is your cable adjusted right at the lever?

Acidreamer wrote:

Remember we said not to sand shit down?

Is your cable adjusted right at the lever?

Sanding it down will not make it hard to pull the clutch. If anything it'll make it easier. This is just temporary.

Time for a new basket. Just because its smooth now doesn't mean its to spec.

bf884 wrote:

Time for a new basket. Just because its smooth now doesn't mean its to spec.

Well what would cause the clutch being hard to squeeze then?

What exact motorcycle are you working on?
Model,size?

speed_racer wrote:

What exact motorcycle are you working on?
Model,size?

2001 Honda cr125

It sounds like it is something in the clutch and I have seen some pretty bad notched up baskets and not have your problem. If it were me I'd remove the clutch springs and use your hand to hold the outer pressure plate then try pulling the lever to see if it's still hard. If u can't reach the lever holding the plate put the springs in but only thread bolt like 1 or 2 turns. That's where I'd start since u said cable and actuator works good by themselves

Clutch kit? Let me guess ... aftermarket HD kit? The kind with HD springs? Thant are stiffer?

ktm-5 wrote:

It sounds like it is something in the clutch and I have seen some pretty bad notched up baskets and not have your problem. If it were me I'd remove the clutch springs and use your hand to hold the outer pressure plate then try pulling the lever to see if it's still hard. If u can't reach the lever holding the plate put the springs in but only thread bolt like 1 or 2 turns. That's where I'd start since u said cable and actuator works good by themselves

I'll try it

lumpy790 wrote:

Clutch kit? Let me guess ... aftermarket HD kit? The kind with HD springs? Thant are stiffer?

Yes aftermarket but i also put in the old OEM clutch springs and had the same problem. Also it's not acting like it's just harder than normal. It's extremely stiff. Like it feels like it's glued.

lumpy790 wrote:

Clutch kit? Let me guess ... aftermarket HD kit? The kind with HD springs? Thant are stiffer?

HD springs do not feel that much more stiffer. If I remember right they're only 15% stiffer than oem definitely not what z71will is defining

Did the kit have the same number ( quantity) of fibers and steel plates in it as the one you took out ? How about the thickness of the plates ? Are the new ones the same thickness? Something in the stack height sounds off.

lumpy790 wrote:

Clutch kit? Let me guess ... aftermarket HD kit? The kind with HD springs? Thant are stiffer?

z71will wrote:

Yes aftermarket but i also put in the old OEM clutch springs and had the same problem. Also it's not acting like it's just harder than normal. It's extremely stiff. Like it feels like it's glued.

Your old springs are worn. Take calipers and measure the length of them. Or just order a set of new ones. They’re literally like $5 on RM.

lumpy790 wrote:

Clutch kit? Let me guess ... aftermarket HD kit? The kind with HD springs? Thant are stiffer?

z71will wrote:

Yes aftermarket but i also put in the old OEM clutch springs and had the same problem. Also it's not acting like it's just harder than normal. It's extremely stiff. Like it feels like it's glued.

Acidreamer wrote:

Your old springs are worn. Take calipers and measure the length of them. Or just order a set of new ones. They’re literally like $5 on RM.

I had the new ones in before and if they are worn then it should be easier to pull the clutch, not harder

project racer wrote:

Did the kit have the same number ( quantity) of fibers and steel plates in it as the one you took out ? How about the thickness of the plates ? Are the new ones the same thickness? Something in the stack height sounds off.

Yeah it had the exact amount. It looks to be the exact same thickness and lines up right. I can measure it just to be sure.

Also check where your springs go and see if that is notched up real bad

Are you 100% sure you have the new clutch cable routed like the OEM unit? If not , it can cause binding.

Paw Paw

Paw Paw wrote:

Are you 100% sure you have the new clutch cable routed like the OEM unit? If not , it can cause binding.

Paw Paw

I might not but I'll check. It wouldn't cause it to be this hard would it? The cable is pretty straight through.

Let me know how it is without springs and If spring pockets are grooved

ktm-5 wrote:

It sounds like it is something in the clutch and I have seen some pretty bad notched up baskets and not have your problem. If it were me I'd remove the clutch springs and use your hand to hold the outer pressure plate then try pulling the lever to see if it's still hard. If u can't reach the lever holding the plate put the springs in but only thread bolt like 1 or 2 turns. That's where I'd start since u said cable and actuator works good by themselves

Ok I took the springs out and held the clutch with my hand and it was easy.

But all it did was push the pressure plate out. It didn't push the plates or anything in.

Ok I took all the brand new plates and I got the old OEM ones that were in the box and swapped the old ones in and it's just as hard to squeeze, if not harder. What's the problem??? This makes no sense.

Use a torque wrench when you re-install the new kit

Chopsalot wrote:

Use a torque wrench when you re-install the new kit

I did

Is the cable hard to attach? If the pressure plate moves without the springs, and your clutch pack is the correct thickness, then the problem is there in the spring/ bolt or cable. Or the arm is clocked wrong i guess.

So I just went over my cable and turns out it was in fact routed incorrectly. I rerouted it exactly how it's supposed to and the clutch is seriously twice as easy to squeeze now. I can actually ride it! However it's still harder to squeeze than how it's supposed to be. I can barely squeeze it with two fingers. Is this normal and should I not worry about it?

Is it notched pretty bad where springs go in outer pressure plate?

If the routing made it better as you stated, then lube the new cable as it was binding.

Paw Paw

Guys it's over. This bike is over. I put all my money. All my graduation money in this bike and lost it all. I cranked it up and was working on tuning it right and everything looked great and I revved it to make sure everything was good and then all of a sudden I revved it once more and it revved to the moon maxed out and wouldn't come down so I freaked out and tried pressing the kill switch, which has always worked I used it all the time and it worked every time but this time it didn't work at all and I kept pressing it but it wouldn't work and I started unplugging every electrical wire I could and I unplugged the gas line and turned it off and nothing worked so the bike kept revving wide open throttle for about 5 minutes. Oil started seeping out and then a pool of coolant came flowing out until finally the engine locked up. 2 months of hard work and over $1300 of all my money just gone. I don't know what to do guys I can't believe this I haven't felt this bad in a long time....