Clutch cable lubrication question

I've had a search of the forum but I've found no answer.
My clutch is pretty heavy and on longer journeys my forearm can end up aching from pulling the lever. I have a mate with a bandit and his clutch is so light I can do it with one finger, I wish mine was the same!
I'm guessing this is down to the cable binding at some point and I'm hoping that lubricating the cable might fix the issue?
Now I've not got a haynes manual and I've no idea how one goes about lubricating a cable. Do I just drip some oil in from the lever end or do I have to take the cable out?
Any advice would be handy!

I'm told the clutch on the sv is naturally heavy compared to a lot of bikes. Personally I like it that way. If the clutch action is smooth its probably normal, if it feels sticky then lubrication might help. To oil the cable, remove it from the bike (thread something through as you remove it so you can route it correctly when you put it back) then holding it upright pour some oil down until it drips out the bottom. Tying a plastic bag around the top with a rubber band will stop the oil going everywhere. Grease the lever pivot and check the around the clutch lifter worm drive by the front sprocket for build up of sticky chain lube gunk.

The best and cheapest way I have oiled the cable is to use a babies bottle, the teat makes a seal around the outer sleeve at the lever end and you can hang the bottle like a hospital drip overnight.

Originally Posted by mjc

...To oil the cable, remove it from the bike...

I'd only remove it if you intend to replace it.

Well it's certainly got heavier over the time I've been riding it (6k miles). I'll have a peek under the front sprocket cover and give that whole area a clean I guess (not been in there before!).
Failing that I'll try lubing it but I'm hesitant to take it off the bike entirely as I know what I'm like and I'll struggle to get it back on again ;P

[Jayneflakes]

My SV clutch is very light action, but then it has just been serviced.

I used a cable oiler to get light oil into the cable housing, it seals the cable and allows the use of a spray cans like GT85/WD40 to get fluid in there. The cable oiler is a tiny tool that means that you do not have to remove your cables from the bike.

Once that is done, remove the plastic sprocket cover and take off the worm gear and give that a good clean and service, being careful not to lose any of the loose bearings inside. Once that is full of grease, clean the pushrod it works against.

After that lot, you should have a nice sweet clutch like mine.

If your's is that heavy, there is some contamination and corrosion in there somewhere. Time for a service and if you need help, a local Orger like me is available almost every day due to a boring dose of being unemployed!

I don't understand what a cable oilers function is? It looks like it just clamps to the cable and that somehow helps it become lubricated better?

Will pop open the sprocket cover later on and report back but removing the worm gear sounds scary, especially if there's a chance of losing bearings

I'm also unemployed, wahey

[yorkie_chris]

It's a rubber thing that seals around the outer and inner... meaning oil you spray in through hole can only go one way, down cable.

GT85 is good stuff, I think it has some PTFE in it. Best stuff I ever found was some PTFE chain lube, smells lovely, tin is printed in German. Really thin carrier fluid, but leaves a thin coat of PTFE that isn't sticky.

[Bibio]

dont bother oiling it buy a new one they are cheep enough. modern clutch cables have a teflon coating on the inside which wears threw over time resulting in a heavy/sticky clutch.

No money to buy a clutch cable at the moment, being unemployed an all
Well I opened up the sprocket cover and OMG. Black gunk everywhere. Half a bottle of WD40 later and it's much better than it was. I also sprayed a little WD40 down the lever end of the clutch cable and both of these things combined seems to have worked a treat. Not nearly as easy as my mates clutch but much easier on the arm!
So ty all for the help!
My only question is should I have used WD40 and could it do any damage? I chucked it about pretty much all over the shop under the sprocket cover and I'm concerned I could have displaced grease in some essential bearings somewhere? Whats this worm drive thing?