RiderRocketman
Supercharged
I recently replaced my stock cable with a nice stainless steel one from Barnett Clutch. This is currently a special order item so you have to call them to order one. See www.barnettclutches.com for contact info.
Barnett can provide stainless or black finish options. The Barnett cable is also shorter than stock by an inch or two, so it fits more snug than a stock cable. Here's a pic of the stock and Barnett stainless cables.
Note, this how-to will work for any clutch cable replacement. Whether you go with Barnett or any other brand, the steps are the same.
Here's a before and after pic.
First, how do you know you should change your clutch cable? Besides it being totally broken, here are some symtoms of a bad cable.
[1] Your clutch setting seems to "creep" over a short period of time (a matter of hours or days), such as the clutch engages sooner and sooner and you have to keep readjusting the cable to compensate. Note that loose adjustment nuts at the lever or crank case may also cause alignment changes, so make sure your nuts are tight.
[2] Your transmission is not shifting as well as before. A "collapsed" cable may not be able to fully disengage your transmission so shifting becomes difficult.
Now onto the how-to:
[1] Remove your rider seat
[2] Take off the chrome airbox cover (bearclaw on left side). It is secured by two bolts (10 mm head).
[3] On 2005 models, remove the two alan bolts securing the instrument cluster down and swing the instrument cluster forward. Newer models don't need to have the instrument cluster swung out of the way.
[3] Remove the bolt securing the front of the tank down at the frame.
[4] Use your tank prop rod (located on right of frame under the tank) and prop the tank up.
[5] Remove the two bolts securing the plastic frame cover on the left.
[6] Remove the left plastic frame cover.
[7] Remove the radiator left side radiator cowling (one alan bolt on top, two bolts on side) and left rear radiator grill (two more alan bolts). Removing these will give you much easier access to the cable at the engine.
[8] Completely loosen the lower cable adjuster nut at the engine.
[9] The threaded cable sleeve at the engine case should be loose so push it up and tighten the upper adjuster nut so the sleeve is held as high as possible.
[10] Put maximum slack on the clutch cable by loosening the large knurl locking nut at the clutch lever and spinning it loose as far as possible. Then tighten the cable adjuster nut (smaller diameter knurl nut) until it is snug against the clutch lever assembly.
[11] Align the large and small knurl nuts so the slots are aligned with the slot in the lever assembly. Photo:
[12] The cable should be slack enough to pull out of the hand lever. Do this by pulling on the cable above the small knurl nut and then slipping the cable through the slots in the knurl nuts and lever assembly. Swing it out as far as possible and then down so the cable end is unseated from the lever. Leave the cable hanging.
[13] Undo the other end of the cable at the engine case by swinging it down (clockwise) and out (towards the engine).
[14] Remove the entire cable, noting how it routes from the hand lever to the engine.
[15] Install the new cable by doing the reverse of the removal procedure. Make sure to route the cable in the same way as the original.
[16] Once the new cable ends are secured in their sockets. Adjust the threaded cable sleeve at the engine case so that it is centered on the holder bracket. Tighten the two adjuster nuts into place.
[17] Loosen the small knurl nut at the hand lever so that the lever has 2 to 3 mm of slack. Check this by seeing how much the lever moves without actually squeezing the lever. The 2 to 3 mm should be measured from the point where the black lever assembly and the metal lever contact. See lower right part of photo at step [11]. If the cable is too tight, this means your clutch may not fully engage the transmission when operating which could prematurely burn your clutch plates and make the engine rev higher than normal. Give the cable more slack by tightening the small knurl adjustment nut. On the other hand, too much slack will make the clutch engage the transmission too soon or worse, not disengage the transmission at all, so be careful with too much slack on the cable.
[18] Once you have the cable tension right, tighten the large knurl nut to lock the setting in place.
[19] Replace the plastic frame cover and make sure the clutch cable snaps into the recess in the cover. Photo:
[20] Make sure the lower rubber radiator flap (at rear of radiator) is not being blocked from opening by the clutch cable. See proper placement in photo:
[21] Replace the radiator grill and side cowling.
[22] Lower the tank and secure it with the bolt.
[23] Secure the instrument cluster if those bolts were removed.
[24] Replace the chrome air box cover.
[25] Replace the rider seat.
[26] Do a quick test ride to check the clutch tension level.
[27] Make cable tension adjustments with the knurl nuts if needed as outlined in step [17]
Happy riding!
Barnett can provide stainless or black finish options. The Barnett cable is also shorter than stock by an inch or two, so it fits more snug than a stock cable. Here's a pic of the stock and Barnett stainless cables.
Note, this how-to will work for any clutch cable replacement. Whether you go with Barnett or any other brand, the steps are the same.
Here's a before and after pic.
First, how do you know you should change your clutch cable? Besides it being totally broken, here are some symtoms of a bad cable.
[1] Your clutch setting seems to "creep" over a short period of time (a matter of hours or days), such as the clutch engages sooner and sooner and you have to keep readjusting the cable to compensate. Note that loose adjustment nuts at the lever or crank case may also cause alignment changes, so make sure your nuts are tight.
[2] Your transmission is not shifting as well as before. A "collapsed" cable may not be able to fully disengage your transmission so shifting becomes difficult.
Now onto the how-to:
[1] Remove your rider seat
[2] Take off the chrome airbox cover (bearclaw on left side). It is secured by two bolts (10 mm head).
[3] On 2005 models, remove the two alan bolts securing the instrument cluster down and swing the instrument cluster forward. Newer models don't need to have the instrument cluster swung out of the way.
[3] Remove the bolt securing the front of the tank down at the frame.
[4] Use your tank prop rod (located on right of frame under the tank) and prop the tank up.
[5] Remove the two bolts securing the plastic frame cover on the left.
[6] Remove the left plastic frame cover.
[7] Remove the radiator left side radiator cowling (one alan bolt on top, two bolts on side) and left rear radiator grill (two more alan bolts). Removing these will give you much easier access to the cable at the engine.
[8] Completely loosen the lower cable adjuster nut at the engine.
[9] The threaded cable sleeve at the engine case should be loose so push it up and tighten the upper adjuster nut so the sleeve is held as high as possible.
[10] Put maximum slack on the clutch cable by loosening the large knurl locking nut at the clutch lever and spinning it loose as far as possible. Then tighten the cable adjuster nut (smaller diameter knurl nut) until it is snug against the clutch lever assembly.
[11] Align the large and small knurl nuts so the slots are aligned with the slot in the lever assembly. Photo:
[12] The cable should be slack enough to pull out of the hand lever. Do this by pulling on the cable above the small knurl nut and then slipping the cable through the slots in the knurl nuts and lever assembly. Swing it out as far as possible and then down so the cable end is unseated from the lever. Leave the cable hanging.
[13] Undo the other end of the cable at the engine case by swinging it down (clockwise) and out (towards the engine).
[14] Remove the entire cable, noting how it routes from the hand lever to the engine.
[15] Install the new cable by doing the reverse of the removal procedure. Make sure to route the cable in the same way as the original.
[16] Once the new cable ends are secured in their sockets. Adjust the threaded cable sleeve at the engine case so that it is centered on the holder bracket. Tighten the two adjuster nuts into place.
[17] Loosen the small knurl nut at the hand lever so that the lever has 2 to 3 mm of slack. Check this by seeing how much the lever moves without actually squeezing the lever. The 2 to 3 mm should be measured from the point where the black lever assembly and the metal lever contact. See lower right part of photo at step [11]. If the cable is too tight, this means your clutch may not fully engage the transmission when operating which could prematurely burn your clutch plates and make the engine rev higher than normal. Give the cable more slack by tightening the small knurl adjustment nut. On the other hand, too much slack will make the clutch engage the transmission too soon or worse, not disengage the transmission at all, so be careful with too much slack on the cable.
[18] Once you have the cable tension right, tighten the large knurl nut to lock the setting in place.
[19] Replace the plastic frame cover and make sure the clutch cable snaps into the recess in the cover. Photo:
[20] Make sure the lower rubber radiator flap (at rear of radiator) is not being blocked from opening by the clutch cable. See proper placement in photo:
[21] Replace the radiator grill and side cowling.
[22] Lower the tank and secure it with the bolt.
[23] Secure the instrument cluster if those bolts were removed.
[24] Replace the chrome air box cover.
[25] Replace the rider seat.
[26] Do a quick test ride to check the clutch tension level.
[27] Make cable tension adjustments with the knurl nuts if needed as outlined in step [17]
Happy riding!
