crosstrainingenduro.com 10 tips for a lighter clutch on your adventure bike or dual sport bike! Your 'clutch hand' can get a very tough workout, especially if your adventure bike has a heavy clutch. Or you have medical conditions like arthritis or tendonitis. So here are some tips for a lighter clutch pull. We begin with the cheapest modifications. Completely free dual sport bike mods? Maintenance! If you have a cable clutch, the 'pull' will slowly increase over time if you don't lubricate the cable. Welcome to Cross Training Adventure, we are into all things dual sport and adventure on the east coast of Australia. Also make sure the cable has no tight turns or kinks. Next? Clutch lever position. If you have long fingers, move the adventure bike clutch lever to the right. If you can reach the lever with your index finger, this provides a bit of extra leverage. So called dual sport riding reviews are just glossy ads nowdays. Everyone is trying to sell you stuff you don't need, convince you to buy the latest model with anodized coffee cup holders for your trips to the coffee shop. Of course if you are cashed up and into bling, go for it. All we are saying is there's also the budget option for adventure riding. Another free dual sport bike tip? Simply use the the clutch less for gear changes. Experienced riders often don't use the clutch for clicking into higher gears. It takes good timing and lots of practice. There's a lot of debate about whether it can cause gearbox wear. See our video discussing this. Our final free tip? If your clutch has six springs, remove two clutch springs. This needs a big disclaimer - try this at your own risk! But quite a few dual sport bike riders do this on motorbikes that have excessively heavy clutch springs. To date, I have not found anyone who caused damage with this technique. I suspect it would never suit aggressive adventure bike riders. The 33% reduction in clutch 'pull' will probably lead to clutch slippage at full throttle. But plenty of everyday riders say it has worked brilliantly, with no negative effects. Let us know if you tried this and encountered problems!Next? Spend $1 on a pile of washers to reduce the tension of your clutch springs. Use washers so your clutch bolts sit further out. If you use too many washers, the bolts will hit the inside of your clutch cover. I used 2mm wide washers without problems on my Beta Xtrainer. The clutch felt about 15% lighter. Search the adventure bike forums to see if other riders have tried this modification on your type of motorbike. Clutch levers that use extra leverage. These are usually for cable clutches. Manufacturers often exaggerate their claims about a lighter clutch pull, but you can get a 20% reduction. The problem? The clutch lever needs a lot of movement to work properly. It often needs careful adjustment to ensure the clutch full disengages. And riders with short fingers may find the clutch lever is too far out. There are plenty of options out there. Do your research. If you have a hydraulic clutch, you can use a smaller master cylinder to achieve a lighter clutch. However, you may have same issues as a clutch lever using leverage. Adjustment can be tricky. And it probably won't suit short fingers. Keen to spend more money? Lets backtrack to clutchless gear changes. A 'quick shifter' eliminates the need to use the the clutch when changing to higher gears. It automatically cuts engine power at the right time to change gears quickly and smoothly. But a 'quick shifter' will cost from $300 to $600. If you have a hydraulic clutch and love to spend money, we think the best solution is the Clake One Light clutch. It doesn't use leverage. It uses a mechanism to store the energy used when you pull the lever in. It uses that stored eneergy the next time you pull the lever in. You can adjust it to make the clutch up to 75% lighter. I have used this on various motorbikes for seven years. It's an amazing bit of kit. See our review. What if you have a cable clutch? There are hydraulic clutch conversions. A hydraulic clutch often has a lighter 'pull' but generally it's a very expensive way to achieve a slightly lighter clutch. However, there are other benefits to a hydraulic clutch which might tempt you in this direction. Have you tried any of these clutch modifications? Did it work well? Let us know in the comments.
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