LCGB Forums

I find the road clutch wayto stiff to be useable on a daily road scooter. with this in mind i am testing verious springs in differing engines to see what can be used. 16hp 20 hp and 25 hp motors will be tried over a couple of months. this will result in sets of replacement springs that suit the motor used. watch this space

Interesting John.

I assume you have already tried the recommended use of the RD clutch lever conversion and a nylon cable, or is that against the principle of your experiments?

BTW, Harry Barlow has a clutch spring weight tester/measurer

Mine and the general consensus is that they're fine as standard. BGM clutch cable on mine.

corrado wrote:Mine and the general consensus is that they're fine as standard. BGM clutch cable on mine.

Same here also I'm using an SIP adjustable lever which is a hang over from my old reedspeed 5 plate which had marginal separation. Apart from slight grabiness when pulling away sometimes it is an absolute joy. I should point out that I have issues with my fingers and can't tolerate a heavy clutch

Mines good to,new nylon lined cable,no problem,certainly not heavy.

corrado wrote:Mine and the general consensus is that they're fine as standard. BGM clutch cable on mine.

Same for me as well no issues

mines fine with race springs and plates 22bhp 19LB ft torque on a li box which is apparently less clutch friendly than a gp box.
But it would be interesting to see the results of a more scientific approach to quantifying the limits of this popular product.

Running the AF road but with the race plates in 30 bhp 22lbft ts1. Using normal cable and lever and its smooth as i could want and very easy to opperate.

IMO most stiff clutches are a result of persisting with worn and substandard components used to operate the clutch. Most of the time the clutch itself is not to blame.
Changing one of these components might give you an improvement but the operation as a whole needs to be considered.
Get it right and it makes your scoot a real pleasure to ride, especially in town.
My TS1 200 has an AF cassette, which is a joy of a product capable of managing under all circumstances.
As advised above and in countless other postings, it is advisable to use a quality nylon lined cable that is routed correctly. Trimming out the sharp edges in the headset as shown in Sticky's manual is sound advice which increases the useful life of the cable outer.
The clutch operating cam that sits on the end of the shaft in the chaincasing does wear, especially on non GP models. This wear limits the leverage ratio. They are cheap enough, so replace it.
Similarly the clutch lever on the handlebars suffers enormously from wear around the pivot point. Again this wear alters the leverage ratio and introduces additional friction There are a number of solutions here but I opted to drill my old worn housing out to accept 2 flanged mini bearings. Ideally, this should be done on a milling machine as drilling them tends to ovalate the holes. Alternatively, drill smaller than required and finish with a reamer.
Standard levers are a bit tosh. A better leverage ratio can be obtained using Japanese motorbike levers. There are hundreds of different levers available and admittedly it can be difficult to decide what might fit based on an online photograph.
I used a yammy SR125 lever which required a bit of fettling and admittedly isn't a perfect fit but is has good leverage and is very comfortable. The leverage hole was the wrong size for the Lammy bolt but this was soon sorted by drilling out and fitting the right size of bearing in the lever itself. So my clutch lever has 3 bearings in it. No slop and a really smooth action.
Hope this helps.

Fast n Furious wrote:............Similarly the clutch lever on the handlebars suffers enormously from wear around the pivot point............I opted to drill my old worn housing out to accept 2 flanged mini bearings. ............Standard levers are a bit tosh. A better leverage ratio can be obtained using Japanese motorbike levers. There are hundreds of different levers available..............I used a yammy SR125 lever which required a bit of fettling and admittedly isn't a perfect fit but is has good leverage and is very comfortable. The leverage hole was the wrong size for the Lammy bolt but this was soon sorted by drilling out and fitting the right size of bearing in the lever itself. So my clutch lever has 3 bearings in it. No slop and a really smooth action.

I think we's all like to see some pictures of that mod FnF

John , I think you need to exercise your left wrist, and grow some even bigger nuts !

They can be hit an miss from my experience, ended up with race plates/springs and which whatever cable you use is stiff.
Last one slipped badly and upon stripping the lower part of clutch had less than 50% contact.
Possiblythe race (surflex) model is manufactured to a higher quality.
Most clutches installed are 4 plate on some springs i used in late 80's and hold up well, but then its good to change plates once a year as you often need to tighten chain too

When you look at everybody else's scoot at rallies (as ya do), I notice on those without panels, the angle of the clutch slave actuating lever (the bit where the trunnion fits).
If its not set correctly (one notch left of centre), the master/slave ratio is adversely affected.
I also notice the same boob with the rear brake cam lever set up, and folk wonder why their rear brake is crap?
You must have to stand on some of them!

Fast n Furious wrote:When you look at everybody else's scoot at rallies (as ya do), I notice on those without panels, the angle of the clutch slave actuating lever (the bit where the trunnion fits).
If its not set correctly (one notch left of centre), the master/slave ratio is adversely affected.
I also notice the same boob with the rear brake cam lever set up, and folk wonder why their rear brake is crap?
You must have to stand on some of them!

This has been discussed before on this Forum & I remain in the camp that the greater angular 'pull' is achieved by setting the clutch operating lever substantially ACW from the norm.

Do the maths or draw it out on paper.

Similarly, that is the precise reason that race bikes have been running shortened clutch operating levers for years.