easy clutch lever pull

chasbmw said:
So talk to me about clutch lever fulcrum points… I have a prewar Rudge and the clutch is pretty hard, one of the variables to clutch pull effort is lever fulcrum points. Most British bikes have a fulcrum distance of either 1 1/16” or 7/8 ths. Which gives you a lighter clutch all other factors staying the same?
Thanks for your help on this non Norton matter
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The shorter one.

en.wikipedia.org

Lever - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
cliffa said:
Forget the Wheaties, get him a Jota, he'll soon be up to the job.
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Oh he's got eyes for one. This at the Quail in Monterey last April. He's been hitting the weights and is a lot stronger, just 18 months on.

easy clutch lever pull
 
@ludwig passed on a great tip some time ago which I adopted on my Morini on/off dry clutch. He uses a “Linear” brake cable which are used on BMX bikes. Instead of the normal spiral wound steel in the outer, it has individual wires running the length of the cable. It dramatically improved the feel of the clutch and is an easier pull. The one I got is called “Odyssey K-Shield Linear Slic Kable BMX Brake Cable” which has a Kevlar reinforcement to stop it bursting through the strands.
 
TBW said:
@cliffa @ludwig : just looked it up the “Odyssey K-Shield Linear Slic Kable BMX Brake Cable”. I’ll give it a try. Did you use the 1.5 mm or ?
Txs much.
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Hi, yes It has a 1.5mm inner cable, but they are pre stretched if memory serves, so should be plenty strong enough. A couple of tips - ideally you will need proper shears for the outer if you need to shorten it, as they are pretty tough (side cutters won't work in my experience), but as I didn't have any, I used a cut off disc in a rotary tool. Make sure you deburr the inside of the cut end though, whichever way you cut it. These kind of cable don't like tight bends, so keep the routing nice and gentle (perfect on a Commando). And lastly, they only come with a nipple fitted to one end, so you will need to solder one on or use a solderless one. (on my Morini, I used a solderless, and then added the brass inside and screws from a toffee block connector behind it, just to be sure it wouldn't slip.
 
cliffa said:
Hi, yes It has a 1.5mm inner cable, but they are pre stretched if memory serves, so should be plenty strong enough. A couple of tips - ideally you will need proper shears for the outer if you need to shorten it, as they are pretty tough (side cutters won't work in my experience), but as I didn't have any, I used a cut off disc in a rotary tool. Make sure you deburr the inside of the cut end though, whichever way you cut it. These kind of cable don't like tight bends, so keep the routing nice and gentle (perfect on a Commando). And lastly, they only come with a nipple fitted to one end, so you will need to solder one on or use a solderless one. (on my Morini, I used a solderless, and then added the brass inside and screws from a toffee block connector behind it, just to be sure it wouldn't slip.
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Hi Cliffa, many thanks ; points duly noted👍. You’re correct re “pre-stretched”.
Best.
 
gpzkat said:
He'll inherit this '74 3C that I picked up a couple of weeks ago. It's all apart now for a complete clean and service. Very original and low miles.

The clutch is an easier pull than my N15.

easy clutch lever pull
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Very Nice !! My friend just got an almost mint 750 SF in the same colour.
 
A sort-of local guy I met has a red 76 Jota and an orange 750. And a pretty complete machine shop. Good guy to know. Sorry all for turning this into a Laverda thread, but Cliff started it :p

The Laverda center stand is the best of any bike I've tried, you can just stand on it and hold the bars, and it's up, rear tire off the ground. Perfect. The side stand is a bad afterthought, but I have a line on a nicely modified one for $40, which is an amazingly low price, so I'll grab that. I just noticed the American Eagle tank badge. It's an early one, not sure what year. I'll strive for this level on my bike.

easy clutch lever pull
 
Back to the Atlas gearbox clutch operating lever. After carefully adjusting the stack height, easiest routing of the clutch cable, etc. I installed the Atlas lever. The clutch pull really became easy. However, it made less separation of the plates and I could feel some drag as I turned the rear wheel by hand so I returned to the commando lever. Did not try it on the road. If I'm missing something I would really like to try the Atlas lever again.
 
With the stock lever/AN cable and proper adjustment of clutch stack height, my '73 850 clutch is a two finger puller (index and second) but NOT a pinkie finger puller!
 
seattle##gs said:
I could feel some drag as I turned the rear wheel by hand so I returned to the commando lever. Did not try it on the road.
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I wonder if it would settle in with a bit of riding? I'm sure you have the experience to know if it's gonna be good, though. I've given up on my N15 clutch, it's just gonna be how it's gonna be. I backed off the 3 nuts a bit and lubed the cable with some teflon spray. Only made a ~5% difference. The Commando I worked on was 1 finger, but slightly slipping so I manipulated the plates and it was still reasonably light and worked fine. That diaphragm is a different animal entirely. Good luck.
 
seattle##gs said:
Back to the Atlas gearbox clutch operating lever. After carefully adjusting the stack height, easiest routing of the clutch cable, etc. I installed the Atlas lever. The clutch pull really became easy. However, it made less separation of the plates and I could feel some drag as I turned the rear wheel by hand so I returned to the commando lever. Did not try it on the road. If I'm missing something I would really like to try the Atlas lever again.
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The Atlas clutch lifter assembly lifts the pressure plate so all the lifter movement is turned into clutch lift whereas the Commando lifter only lifts the spring so only approximately half the Commando lifter movement is actually clutch lift therefore it needs more lift to do the same job.
The Atlas lever apparently works in a Commando fitted with a four friction plate clutch running a dry belt drive but can be borderline when used with a four or five friction plate clutch running in a wet primary case.
 
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