No big deal. I've run all my bikes the same way for years with no ill effects. It bugs the hell out of me when I take a bike in for warranty work and the dealer puts my clutch back to "spec." You couldn't just deal with it for the test ride around the block?

 

The problem is clutch drag. How much pull is there when you drop from neutral to first. Try it where your at then take all the play out and try it again. If there's no real difference run it. However I find on most bikes with less play means far less drag and therefor less wear on the clutch and transmission.

 

This might not be the right way, but i put the bike on a rear stand and put it in first or second and run the back wheel and let off the clutch and accelerate a little. I then press the clutch. If the clutch is too tight the wheel won't stop, so I will adjust the clutch until I can press the clutch and the rear wheel stops and I can easily move the tire forward and backward while pressing clutch. I will note that spot on the adjuster and ride the bike to feel. If it slips under hard acceleration i will just go back with adjustment. This way I know the boundaries and can adjust to feel between these boundaries.

If someone thinks this is the wrong way to adjust the clutch i welcome your thoughts.

 

If someone thinks this is the wrong way to adjust the clutch i welcome your thoughts.

That somewhat works, however how I usually adjust it is to simply have the wheel locked to the left, and make sure there is 1-2mm gap in the perch. Otherwise you may find turning full lock it will be too tight and have zero free play.

 

I haven't felt it slipping in the corners but I'll definitely check it the way you suggested. I noticed that when I had play in the clutch and I put it on the stand the back wheel would always spin even when the clutch was all the way in, which is what prompted me to adjust it this way.

 

I might want to try the rear stand test. While it certainly "feels" like it's not in the friction zone when I have the clutch pulled all the way in, your spinning wheel test would be a clear indication if perhaps the clutch wasn't fully disengaging.

I injured my forearm while water skiing years ago (don't ask) and have had issues with tendinitis ever since. It only shows up when I go for long rides with lots of clutching, especially if I'm not in riding shape. If the friction zone is closer to the bars, it really helps prevent my tendinitis from coming back. But I certainly don't want it too close to the bars and risk damaging my clutch either.

As for the dealer always adjusting my clutch, I'm thinking about putting a big "do not adjust" warning sign on my cable when it's in the shop. :laugh2:

 

I might want to try the rear stand test. While it certainly "feels" like it's not in the friction zone when I have the clutch pulled all the way in, your spinning wheel test would be a clear indication if perhaps the clutch wasn't fully disengaging.

I injured my forearm while water skiing years ago (don't ask) and have had issues with tendinitis ever since. It only shows up when I go for long rides with lots of clutching, especially if I'm not in riding shape. If the friction zone is closer to the bars, it really helps prevent my tendinitis from coming back. But I certainly don't want it too close to the bars and risk damaging my clutch either.

As for the dealer always adjusting my clutch, I'm thinking about putting a big "do not adjust" warning sign on my cable when it's in the shop.

I sometimes have issues after long rides in heavy traffic as well, so I purchased an asv *standard* clutch lever because it is adjustable and as such I can put it in a comfortable position. It also has many more adjustment positions than any other lever on the market that I know of. Over 100 points l believe whereas most have 6. People complain about the price but $30 to $50 more for the asv is quickly forgotten when the left hand hurts and you find the perfect position. I suggest getting the c/5 series since it folds and i believe it has a 5 year warranty against breaking in the event of a fall.

Again, i suggest *not* getting the shorty lever for the clutch side. The standard is shaped a little bit differently and imo even for 2 finger clutch is more comfortable than the shorty. Ymmv.

If u want a matching brake lever you can do standard or shorty depending on if u are a 2 finger or 4 finger braker. they don't have to match.

Side benefit of a very adjustable lever is that you can likely adjust the clutch to spec and still have a lever where you like it. When u get it where u like it, take a ruler, fibgers, wallet, whatever and measure the distance to the handlebar. If they adjust it just turn the asv adjustment knob until you are again at that distance if needed.

 

Good point - I never thought about an adjustable lever. So rather than adjust the clutch cable out of spec, you can set the clutch cable properly, but keep a nice short pull by adjusting the lever itself?

 

You can't change the actual pull distance because the pivoting ratios don't change with lever position. If the clutch from fully engaged to fully disengaged is 1", irrespective of where you adjust the cable within the proper operation boundaries of the clutch, the pull distance will be 1".

However, you can set the adjustment of the lever to say it's midpoint for example, and then adjust the clutch cable. Then you can move the lever closer to or further away from the handlebar without touching the clutch cable adjustment.

This will change the distance from the handlebar that the clutch engages, but without affecting the clutch cable adjustment. So the pull distance won't change, but where you start the pull does.

 

It's also worth mentioning that you're still limited by the point where the clutch is fully disengaged. So if the clutch fully disengages ½" from the bar you can only adjust your clutch lever back ½" before you no longer have enough travel to disengage the clutch fully.

 

You said in one paragraph what I was trying to explain in an essay....

 

My new levers arrived on Saturday. I got the standard, not the shorty ones. Now I'll have to check out some YouTube vids to figure out how to install them.

Quick question... Do clutch cable adjustments affect the quick shifter as well? For instance, if I set the friction zone too close to the handle grip, would the quick shifter feel notchy because it was struggling to disengage the clutch?

 

No. Quickshifters only cut the ignition and nothing else. So clutch adjustment will not affect them.

 

Good to know - thanks!

 

When I took delivery of my 2015 R a few weeks ago I had no freeplay as well. friction zone was at full release (close to end) of the lever. but it wasnt until after i replaced the levers with CRG that i was able to adjust the levers in and be more comfortable with where the friction zone starts and ends. lever play is still within specs too