Clutch Wrist

A tip for newbies and those that don't ride much in the winter (like myself):

If you find your left wrist painful after a ride, especially if it involves low speed/traffic, then buy a squash ball to squeeze with your left hand.

The SV clutch is not heavy, but because I'm out of practice my wrist is very sore and painful. I've started squeezing a squash ball while walking out and about, and even in the last few days I can feel a difference. Though have yet to ride the bike.

also worth adjusting the clutch and brakes so that the levers are in line with the rest of your arm- ie. don't need to bend your wrist to ride

I just took my bike for it's initial 600 mile service, and it came back with the clutch adjusted so that it was further away from me; i.e. it took less travel to disengage. However, this makes town riding much more painful as I have to hold my grip further out.

I spoke to the technician, but he said that he couldn't really adjust it in as the clutch would then drag. I know nothing about mechanical things, but this seems odd as the clutch was fine before it went in to be serviced.

Any thoughts?

I find using the lever at the farthest point from its pivot point makes it easier. This way I also have more control over the clutch, and my gear changes are smoother...

Matt

I'm certainly no mechanical genius but I thought that the clutch lever was adjustable?

To get rid of the wrist ache, I found with me it was that I was gripping the handlebars too tighly and relaxing my hand helped with the wrist ache. When going along just stretch your fingers every now again, it worked for me.

Originally Posted by alpinestarhero

I find using the lever at the farthest point from its pivot point makes it easier. This way I also have more control over the clutch, and my gear changes are smoother...

Matt

Little hands makes that very difficult! Mine is adjusted so its pretty close. On the furthest point I can't actually reach the lever!

i found that dropping the BOTH levers down a bit stopped the wrist pain

which was nice

Thanks guys. I've also got an old Yamaha Radian. That thing has the lightest clutch I've ever known so I was a bit put out by the extreme pain the SV causes me round London (where I drive 90% of the time). I'm going to the Guildford meet tomorrow so I will ask some of the nice people there to show me how to adjust my clutch and move the lever assembly.

(Ps, whilst not in Ainsley Harriot's league, I'd say my hands are a fairly good size, so there must be some adjustment needed!)

Originally Posted by Bluesteel

I just took my bike for it's initial 600 mile service, and it came back with the clutch adjusted so that it was further away from me; i.e. it took less travel to disengage. However, this makes town riding much more painful as I have to hold my grip further out.

I spoke to the technician, but he said that he couldn't really adjust it in as the clutch would then drag. I know nothing about mechanical things, but this seems odd as the clutch was fine before it went in to be serviced.

Any thoughts?

The clutch will drag if:

1) It's far too slack (you have to pull the clutch right to the bar, and even then it still won't disengage properly).
2) It's not got any slack at all, and even the slightest pressure on the clutch lever could result in the clutch slipping.

Another problem with the clutch not having enough slack is it can mean you need more effort to pull the lever in. If you've got small hands, the reach combined with the extra effort can make things difficult.

There's no harm in having the clutch a little slack, as long as you don't have to pull it all the way back to the bar. If you're struggling to reach, slacken the clutch off at the bar.

[embee]

Originally Posted by gettin2dizzy

also worth adjusting the clutch and brakes so that the levers are in line with the rest of your arm- ie. don't need to bend your wrist to ride

Agree 100% with this. It's so easy to do you might as well try it. As delivered my curvy levers were definitely too high for comfort.