Clutch advice

[650]

You'll fair no better with a hydraulic clutch. While they remove some of the mechanical tension, the effort is still there to pull it in.

As someone who's had tendinitis in the left wrist for a few years, I feel your pain - albeit mine is clearing up.

You can get the following:

https://www.revzilla.com/product/moo...-clutch-system

or

https://www.24mx.co.uk/easy-clutch-system-1 *virtually same thing as above*

Or one of these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EZ-Pull-Clut...-/142370236447

Otherwise, go see your GP again, suggest he/she look at steroid injections and weight training to strengthen everything around the problem tendon/muscle. I know they might make you go away (this is what happens when people vote Tory and are complicit in f*cking over the NHS) but just keep pushing for it.

Good luck

[R1ffR4ff]

Have you considered/tried a cheap-ish option e.g an Adjustable Clutch lever?

I've bought a set(Clutch and Brake) for my 1999 SV but not fitted them yet.Work has now got me so I won't be able to fit and test for a couple of weeks.

The reason I suggest it is that on my Old Hondas I fitted,"Dog-Leg" levers also called,"Power Brake" levers.These brought the levers closer to the bars and easier to use and I think the adjustable one should be able to do the same.

The Dog-Leg ones don't look that different but the really work as those couple of mm makes all the difference.

Also I use a Plastic type tennis ball(ASDA Supermarket) as an exercise device to keep the strength in my hands.


HTH

[650]

I never had any joy with adjustable levers (I always fit them as standard anyway - to all my bikes). You don't change the leverage point, bringing it in closer to the bar brings the bite point closer as well...so you end up having to tug it in all the way to the bar whether you like it or not. Finding the sweet spot (for me this is about two notches in from the further out setting) allows me to just lightly grab at the clutch lever and it's enough to let me kick up/down.

Another thing to try (talking of mechanical leverage) is to push the entire lever assembly in towards the centre of the bar as much as you can. The furthest part of the lever is always the lightest.

But I still say steroid, physio and weight training will help a lot more than any of the above.

[SV650rules]

fit an adjustable lever
https://www.sv650.org/sv_faq.htm#adj...clutch%20lever

Fit a better cable
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/produc...2413-venhill-/

may also be possible to get steel lever on clutch end of cable made slightly longer (steel easier to weld than ally), this would reduce pull force required.

May be worth checking out this thread, it has instructions for stripping / refurbing / regreasing the ball screw mechanism to make it work as best it can.
http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=227208&page=3

[DuncanC]

I think you need to go for some sort of leverage advantage so you have to pull less for the same effect. Unfortunately if you half the force you will halve the movement which would make getting the clutch to work very tricky.
Alternatively and probably pricey is a linear electric motor. The clutch lever moves a potentiometer and the motor moves in relation to the output signal.
Good luck and I hope you sort out a solution.

[R1ffR4ff]

Originally Posted by 650

But I still say steroid, physio and weight training will help a lot more than any of the above.

I agree.I've had an ongoing battle over the past several years to keep riding including Physio/Corticosteroid injections in my shoulder and now I exercise everyday.Not weight training but use one of those,"L shaped" mini gyms with elasticated hand exercisers called a,"Wondercore".


https://tinyurl.com/y75u3t6f

Not only have I lost weight and toned up;my hands etc are much stronger.

I recently rode 240 miles in a day on my SV over all kinds of roads/hills and dales etc and was fine

but I always keep a couple of Ibuprofen tablets with me just in case

[650]

Originally Posted by R1ffR4ff

I agree.I've had an ongoing battle over the past several years to keep riding including Physio/Corticosteroid injections in my shoulder and now I exercise everyday.Not weight training but use one of those,"L shaped" mini gyms with elasticated hand exercisers called a,"Wondercore".


https://tinyurl.com/y75u3t6f

Not only have I lost weight and toned up;my hands etc are much stronger.

I recently rode 240 miles in a day on my SV over all kinds of roads/hills and dales etc and was fine

but I always keep a couple of Ibuprofen tablets with me just in case

I had a subacromial decrompression, bursa removal and rotator cuff repair done on my right shoulder, I know your pain mate!

On the wrist topic....Going "white knuckle" (grip quite literally as hard as you can) is about the best thing you can do to strengthen your wrist and forearms (as they're very hard to isolate).

You can do this in a few ways, my favourites:

Close grip chinup bar: hang and squeeze until you know your knuckles are going white - as a beginner, 30 seconds is usually enough, train until you can hang for about teo minutes at full grip strength. You're also giving your full shoulder, elbow, forearm and wrist a really good stretch.

Deadlifts: The absolute daddy of exercises. This'll smash most muscles and train your central nervous system to take a beating. Your endurance, grip strength and biker muscles will all improve massively in a short space of time. 1 set of working weight of 5 reps, twice a week. That's all that's need for most people.

Wrist curls: Lay forarms on thighs when sat down so the bend of your wrist can contour your knee - use a barbell and curl full range of motion. Do it until your forearms are screaming for forgiveness.

All the above require you to grip as hard as you possibly can, or you're just not working the relevant muscles enough.

...have you considered not using the clutch so much...???...

[Jayneflakes]

Thank you everyone for your input, there are some excellent suggestions in there, some of which are genius ideas that I had not even thought of, such as moving my clutch lever inboard... Why did I not think of this super simple idea? I am a moron!

Anyway, to answer some small points made in there too.

I have a custom handle bar set up with a DL650 clutch cable, the routing is very smooth and the cable runs very lightly. My worm gear is very well greased and runs very smoothly, I doubt that I could get a softer cable pulled clutch. I also have adjustable levers fitted and because I have small hands, the lever travel is limited, but they have been brilliant up until now. My front brake lever is perfect especially when combined with the Yamaha blue spot calipers I have fitted (See my build thread). Even with my weakened fingers, stoppies are a little too easy! Despite having this lot though my left hand starts to hurt within minutes of riding due to my fingers being twisted and not bending normally. I can only wear thin gloves to ride in, which makes winter riding horrible!

To further complicate the issue, I have a spinal problem as well which is why my bike is so heavily modified in the first place. Basically, I am worn out and useless. If I were dog, I would have been put to sleep long ago!

My reason for not buying another bike is that I am out of work and have to rely on my partner. Spending lots of money on a newer bike or scooter is just not viable, especially when I ride only once or twice a week on warm days.

I have been treated by the specialist arthritis hospital and have orange goo for physio, it feels like a non-Newtonian fluid in that it is soft until I have to squeeze it! Steroid injections have been denied because it is all of my fingers joints and they are twisting. I also have bone growths that are making my fingers crooked. I have asked to have the bone growths removed in surgery, but this has also been denied. At only just 43, this is distressing.

Without getting too political, I am not a Tory voter and I was also involved in the local campaign to support the NHS. However, I believe that it is the chronic underfunding of the NHS that is making treatment harder for me to get rather than the NHS being rubbish, every specialist I have seen has been fantastic. I was discharged from the pain clinic after ten weeks and told to go to a private practice, which I have been forced to do. Psychological support in my area is non existent and our local hospital is facing closures of some departments. It is looking very bleak.

I was also a professional climber for several years and used to do one arm pull ups. I was climbing at French 6b or English E2/3 grades which sped up the damage to my fingers. Strength is not my problem, hypermobility (Why I was such a good climber) and other conditions combined with arthritis throughout my joints is what has done the damage. Physio has to be gentle now or it makes things worse.

I shall now investigate those links to hydraulic conversions, they sound interesting.

[Jayneflakes]

Now this looks very interesting.

http://www.venhill.co.uk/Magura_Clut...ONVERSION.html