Super heavy clutch pull (Snapped clutch cable)

[Barney626]

Hi all,

Had my SV for a few years now and it's always had a very heavy clutch. Changed and adjusted the clutch cable many times with no change. Adjusted the worm gear many times with no change.

When the cable is routed through the bike I can easily pull it back and forth by hand so I don't think it's kinked anywhere. When fully installed it snaps back fine and has the correct free play/travel etc.

This morning my clutch cable snapped, it was less than a year old. Could anyone suggest what to investigate to solve this? Been wondering if someone put in aftermarket springs in the past, but would they make it this heavy? (Takes 2 hands to pull in when cold normally)

Cheers

[R1ffR4ff]

This page should help,

https://cx500.000webhostapp.com/SV650ClutchLifter.html


When getting a new cable be careful to get one with the correct Radius pipe at the Lever end.

[Barney626]

Originally Posted by R1ffR4ff

This page should help,

https://cx500.000webhostapp.com/SV650ClutchLifter.html


When getting a new cable be careful to get one with the correct Radius pipe at the Lever end.

Thanks for the reply. Interesting note at the end regarding slinky cables being a problem. From memory the last one I got was from Wemoto who stock the slinky cables.

To be 100% sure I've ordered a different one and will fit it as the replacement to the snapped cable.

I've replaced all the ball bearings in my worm gear and it seems very smooth with no noticeable resistance so fairly sure that's ok.

Will be taking the cover off to have another look later today.

[R1ffR4ff]

Originally Posted by Barney626

Thanks for the reply. Interesting note at the end regarding slinky cables being a problem. From memory the last one I got was from Wemoto who stock the slinky cables.

To be 100% sure I've ordered a different one and will fit it as the replacement to the snapped cable.

I've replaced all the ball bearings in my worm gear and it seems very smooth with no noticeable resistance so fairly sure that's ok.

Will be taking the cover off to have another look later today.

The Slinky Glide I tried was from Wemoto and were great on my old Hondas. I've had great stuff off them over the years especially when I was running Hondas but I had to send the Cable back. I got a near complete refund so no biggy

[garynortheast]

Originally Posted by R1ffR4ff

When getting a new cable be careful to get one with the correct Radius pipe at the Lever end.

This is not necessarily the case. About three or four years ago the clutch cable on my curvy S failed when the lever end nipple came off. I had a root about in my garage to see if I had a replacement but all I could find was a clutch cable from my old 1986 GSXR400 GK71F. It was the same length and had the same nipples on each end as the SV cable but the pipe at the lever end was more of a small radiussed right angle rather than the wide radius of the SV cable. As it was the same length I fitted it anyway, and was pleased to discover that the clutch was the lightest it had ever been. The bonus was that the radius pipe on the little gixer cable no longer rubbed on the instrument panelling as the SV cable had done.


I have previously tried the slinkyglide cables and wasn’t impressed; it felt heavy and gritty!

Incidentally, the gixer cable is still on my curvy sport and working fine.

[R1ffR4ff]

Originally Posted by garynortheast

This is not necessarily the case. About three or four years ago the clutch cable on my curvy S failed when the lever end nipple came off. I had a root about in my garage to see if I had a replacement but all I could find was a clutch cable from my old 1986 GSXR400 GK71F. It was the same length and had the same nipples on each end as the SV cable but the pipe at the lever end was more of a small radiussed right angle rather than the wide radius of the SV cable. As it was the same length I fitted it anyway, and was pleased to discover that the clutch was the lightest it had ever been. The bonus was that the radius pipe on the little gixer cable no longer rubbed on the instrument panelling as the SV cable had done.


I have previously tried the slinkyglide cables and wasn’t impressed; it felt heavy and gritty!

Incidentally, the gixer cable is still on my curvy sport and working fine.

Thanks for the info. I've updated my page to suit as this might only be a problem with the,"N" type non-S versions. My Curvy has the Sit-up-and-Beg position so the levers will be at a different height/position. I bought a cable with the correct Radius and it went back to being slick and kept the old one that came with the bike as a spare under my seat as it was still usable

[garynortheast]

Originally Posted by R1ffR4ff

Thanks for the info. I've updated my page to suit as this might only be a problem with the,"N" type non-S versions. My Curvy has the Sit-up-and-Beg position so the levers will be at a different height/position. I bought a cable with the correct Radius and it went back to being slick and kept the old one that came with the bike as a spare under my seat as it was still usable

Might be worth a look at the 400 Bandit clutch cable. Not sure but I think they are the same only slightly longer.

[Barney626]

So bit of an update, went to fit the replacement clutch cable I ordered and deliberately routed it outside the frame to ensure kinking wasn't an issue. Set it all up but found that the inner cable is too long meaning the tension adjusters couldn't take all tension out the cable.

Went to adjust the worm drive/lift arm by setting all tensioner to 0 and screwing in the central grub screw until I felt contact with the push rod, undid a quarter of a turn. Locked that off then used the tension adjusters to try and get the lift arm at the correct angle as specified by Haynes. Again, I couldn't get enough tension in the cable to lift the arm to the correct angle and get it to engage the clutch enough.

I ordered a supposedly oem cable specifically for the S model I've got and I've had a similar issue in the past with basically every other cable. The bike has handlebars conversion but that shouldn't affect the inner to outer cable length ratio which determines tension. It also has aftermarket levers, wondering if the mount for the cable nipple on those is too close to the outer cable?

Did a bit of further inspection on the worm drive onwards. Found the push rod to be clean, sliding freely and straight. The worm drive didn't have any ball bearings missing and was relatively clean. However I did notice some play in each part as seen in the videos linked below:
https://youtu.be/0HlIIZ6G6NU
https://youtu.be/yGsEeTaKsrI

Not sure if this play is meant to be there or what effect it could have on the system, anyone messed with their worm drive and found this before?

I did manage to rig the cable so it's disengage the clutch mostly and found it to be lighter but still relatively heavy. Wondering if the clutch has aftermarket springs in still....

[Adam Ef]

Always felt the clutch was slightly heavy on my SV when I had it, but put that down partly to the short levers.

[R1ffR4ff]

I can operate my 99 Curvy clutch lever with 2 or 3 fingers so they can be set up nice. Something is not right