Clutch is a beast to pull. Any tips?

[jagerking]

Hey guys,
Just got back from a month of Army training, and it took me 1.34 seconds to drop my bags at the front door and be out on my Kat. One thing I've been meaning to post on here is that my clutch lever is really, really hard to pull. I've lubed it up with a few drops of silicone lube, and nothing. I mean, I can pull it with only one hand, but I have callous' on my middle finger from it, and after a few decent rides, I seriously get what feels like tennis elbow from straining that hard. Anyone have any ideas what to check? It's kind of frustrating. Thanks!
JK

[loudnlow7484]

replace the cable?

[jagerking]

loudnlow,
I thought of that as a possibility, but I wasn't sure that it was for sure the problem. Is there any way to test for a cable that is binding?
JK

[steves]

To check for binding you'll want to pull the tank, and left side plastic and follow the cable down it's routing on the bike.

Depending on the age of the bike, and storage conditions... there may be rust on the inside of the cable, and potentially even some rust through.

[madnikki]

Had some of the same issues, but i lubed/adjusted the old it eased up a bit but I still ended up replacing/adjusting the new cable. all is much better now. good luck and welcome back

[lmj001]

ttt

i had the same problem replaced the cable works great 14.95 at the dealer

[jagerking]

Well, bananas. If it's only 15 bucks, I'm not looking at a real expensive piece, am I? I guess it's to the dealer for a replacement. Timeline for repairs anyone? 1 hour? Two?
JK

[hardlydangerous]

buy a cabel luber tool and lube it with some cable spray.
i have never heard of anyone that cleans and lubricates thier cables often complain about a stiff or broken cable.

I clean my cables once a month with a cable luber tool and brake cleaner. After it has sat a while to let the cleaner evaporate. I lube it with a "cable life" spray
both are available from any bike shop.

[loudnlow7484]

buy a cabel luber tool and lube it with some cable spray.
i have never heard of anyone that cleans and lubricates thier cables often complain about a stiff or broken cable.

I clean my cables once a month with a cable luber tool and brake cleaner. After it has sat a while to let the cleaner evaporate. I lube it with a "cable life" spray
both are available from any bike shop.

Seems like a lot of trouble to possibly extend the life of your $12 cable, doesn't it?

[Salz07]

New cable!! I lived with that for about a year. Best $15 I spent on the bike(95-600).