Clutch lever loose?

[BlackburnD]

Ok I know this is dumb because I have the service manual, but I am at work and just want to make sure I will be safe to ride home. There is a bolt with a nut on it underneath the rubber cover on the clutch lever. Today as I was on my way to work the rubber cover slipped off that bolt for some reason, though I'm glad it did. I noticed that the bolt underneath it was spinning freely. The nut is still on, but it's just spinning. It looks like a mounting bolt, but I just want to be sure. Thanks all.

[hellcamp]

Yup just a mounting bolt. Tighten it up and your clutch lever will be fine.

[BlackburnD]

That's what I thought. Didn't think it actually did anything but hold the lever on. Thanks.

[KSlawman]

Sounds kinda funny that the rubber was pulled back and the nut was all loose. Maybe someone needed a clutch lever and got scared off?

[Black_peter]

The screw only gets so tight as the screw is a shoulder screw. That is it has only a few threads and a shaft. The shaft acts as the pivot and only having a few threads prevents you from tightening the pivot.

[BlackburnD]

OhhhK. That makes sense. I have seen things like that before. Good thing I didn't go and try to tighten it yet. In some way It's a good thing I am still at work.... thanks guys

[Black_peter]

OhhhK. That makes sense.

Another thing you may notice is that the lever assembly will wear and the lever will wiggle up and down. Don't try and squeeze the parts together to fix this.
1. as I said the shoulder prevents it.
2. the perch (lever mount) will just break..

[hellcamp]

Good thing I didn't go and try to tighten it yet.

Make sure it isn't so loose that it falls off due to vibrations from the bike. It shouldn't spin freely as you described. Tighten it at least until it seems secure.

[md86]

Loc-tite .

[Black_peter]

I thought the nut was a nyloc type.. That it had the nylon insert to lock it?

[Teh_K]

My understanding is: The nut is supposed to be some type of lock-nut, whether it be the nylon kind (a good replacement for stock), or the stock (I think) nut which has 3 "fins" at the end to provide resistance to coming undone.

The reason it's a lock nut is because it's not supposed to be tight - or else your lever won't move freely. I once had tightened that nut too much, and as I rode, it actually kept tightening itself with every clutch-pull until I was about to take off from a traffic light and my lever didn't return! I had to pull over and use the toolkit to back the nut out some.

IMHO, I think that the bolt/nut combo should be able to spin if you turn it with your fingers - it shouldn't be tightened down. The rubber cover thing should cap over the bolt, keeping it from rotating about as your ride.

[hellcamp]

Strange. That's not how it is on my kat at all. The bolt goes right through the lever, and simply provides a pivot for it to swing on. The nut at the bottom doesn't have any fins. It is about as snug as it can be, but it doesn't hinder clutch lever movement one bit. The lever even has it's suggested play in it.

Kevin I know you have an '00 Kat. Did they change the clutch lever assembly 04+ ?

[md86]

But isn't the nylon in there good for one use ? And I like to grease that post when I put it back in . You'd be surprised how big a difference that can make .

[Black_peter]

But isn't the nylon in there good for one use ? And I like to grease that post when I put it back in . You'd be surprised how big a difference that can make .

No, Nyloc will last a while. And yes I put a few drops of PJ1 on mine.
Lubing the lug where the cable hooks to the lever makes a big difference too.

[Teh_K]

Strange. That's not how it is on my kat at all. The bolt goes right through the lever, and simply provides a pivot for it to swing on. The nut at the bottom doesn't have any fins. It is about as snug as it can be, but it doesn't hinder clutch lever movement one bit. The lever even has it's suggested play in it.

Kevin I know you have an '00 Kat. Did they change the clutch lever assembly 04+ ?

Strange, indeed. According to RonAyer's fiche, nothing related has changed from my model to current ones.

If I were to tighten mine down, it would compress the plastic guide that the lever slides thru enough so that it would pinch the lever and keep it from moving...

I'll try to take a photo of the nut... I could've sworn that it's a locknut.