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stock clutch


outcrydrummer

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outcrydrummer

Im going to preface this by saying im no clutch expert so bear with my non technical terms and loose understandings.
 
Got about 500 miles on the bike now...still cant get use to the stock clutch. Since day one ive had to let out the lever over half way before the clutch starts to engage.......
Is it just me or shouldnt a brand new clutch on a brand new bike almost immediately start to engage.
 
Ive always associated the life of the clutch with how far you have to let out to engage the clutch....less the better.
 
Just curious if im mistaken...
If its simply an adjustment.....
Or if im right i need to take the bike in and see what the heck the deal is....
 
 
Thanks

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howworkclutch

It's adjustable. The cables stretch a lot in the first couple hundred miles. And require periodic adjustment afterward.

-HowWorkClutch

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Go into the owners manual and read how the lever freeplay should be adjusted.
 
Clutch life has nothing to do with any of the things you've described - unless the clutch pack can not close properly cause there's no freeplay in the cable (btw, if it was hydraulic, "freeplay" becomes another issue ) . If the clutch pack is worn out, it will slip, the motor will rev, the vehicle goes no where. Same thing happens if there's not enough freeplay.
 
If you turn that adjuster at the lever until there's a ton of play, just so the clutch engages closer to the bar, the clutch pack will not open enough to provide good shift quality.
 
If you want the clutch to start working closer to the bar, you will need to purchase an adjustable reach lever - like the Pazzo or knock-offs.
 
The throw of the lever must still be adequate to push the clutch pack apart or you will have gear box issues down the line.

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It's not based on wear. I much prefer a clutch that engages further away from the bars. On my gs500 I could adjust the contact point independently of cable play. I wish I could do that with this bike, I find the pull slightly too much to disengage.

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It's adjustable. The cables stretch a lot in the first couple hundred miles. And require periodic adjustment afterward.
He's complaining the clutch catches out too far.  
Modern cables are very, very strong. It's like drive chains - they don't stretch either. 
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bmwpowere36m3

It's normal.... You can slightly adjust the friction zone by adjusting the clutch cable/housing. I shoot for a nickel's worth of gap (2-3 mm) between the lever and perch.
 
Typically the clutch will engage when the lever is most of the way out. To shift you only need to pull the lever 1/2-3/4" or so in (no need to fully). Doesn't bother me, my other bikes are the same.
 
If I'm stopped and want to take off, I'll quickly release the clutch 3/4 of the way out, till it hits the friction zone and pause there for a split second as the bike starts moving and then I'll release the clutch the rest of the way a little slower.
 
If you set the clutch to engage closer to the handlebar, the lever will have a LOT of play. It also might not fully disengage the clutch and when you shift you'll have to pull the lever all the way in.

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+1 an the adjustable clutch lever. Made a world of difference for me and my small hands.  I ride with the setting on 2 and the engagement point is about an inch from the handlebars.
 
I got these ones 

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...Got about 500 miles on the bike now...still cant get use to the stock clutch. Since day one ive had to let out the lever over half way before the clutch starts to engage.......

+1 an the adjustable clutch lever. Made a world of difference for me and my small hands.  I ride with the setting on 2 and the engagement point is about an inch from the handlebars. 
I got these ones 
Even though I finally got used to the clutch zone out at the far end of the lever travel, I was never truely comfortable with it either. I had read member's posts that said shorty levers solved the problem, so I got some and put them on. YES, the shorty levers can bring the engagement zone close to the grip and have the correct free play after adjustiing the cable. I got the same shorty levers that @zesty has and they're machined and anodized...good quality. 
I'd suggest that the cable engagement and freeplay be set using both the threaded rod adjuster down by the clutch and the adjuster wheel up at the hand lever. The goal is to get enough travel on the clutch's actuater lever (at the clutch) so the clutch completely engages and disengages.
After the total travel is set very close, I final adjust mine so that I can use my fingers to feel the tension in the cable itself down by the clutch. When I can feel the tension in the cable get tight with just a little pressure on the hand lever and then be able to wiggle the cable about 1/16" with the hand lever released, it's set. Free play at the lever is around an 1/8".
 
OJWMtUf.jpg
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Guest Ralph

The bike as a very short engagement zone so there is very little movement
between starting
to bite and fully engaged, yet even though there is no noticeable drag
they go into gear with a little more clunk than normal, it could be something
to do with the stacked gearbox the gears don't run in oil but are sprayed with
it, don't think it's any sign of a problem just how they are and I am ether
getting used to it or it's getting better at 4000 miles, a mate swapped bike with
me a bit back and I distinctly heard a expletive as he suddenly got launched down
the road

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outcrydrummer

Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback. I'm not concerned so much with how far I need to let it out before it engages just as long as its suppose to be that way. I might eventually get a set of shorty adjustable levers anyways. It has been a learning process with the fz07 coming from a drz400. The bike just performs and acts differently and I'm still learning the hp and tq curves on the bike.
Getting comfortable enough with the power and the torque to start playing with wheelies. Did a few 2nd gear power wheelies and a 3rd gear clutch up running them out last night and once I get the balance point covered and how the bike reacts to clutching up i'll start stretching them out and working on gear changes.
 
Ralph:
Also fealt like the gear changes were very notchy and violent.....I'm slowly getting use to it. I've heard people say ( internet so its true lol ) that once they swtiched to a different/ better fuel synthetic at 600 mile service it became much smoother.
I'm getting ready to do that service so maybe my results will show the same deal. I will be sure to post that up here.

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bmwpowere36m3

My DRZ400 also engages further out, but the friction zone is wider... from where it starts to grab till it fully engages. Whereas the FZ has a much narrower friction zone.

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howworkclutch

i switched to a racing sythetic and found the friction zone gave better feedback. but the transmission in this bike is silky smooth. i clutchless shift it all the time and it just falls in with no problem.

-HowWorkClutch

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i switched to a racing sythetic and found the friction zone gave better feedback. 
Well that would be a welcome change. Swapping from a bike with a hydraulic clutch and the longest engagement throw (combined with a slipper mechanism) I've ever experienced to the fz results in some choppy/sloppy clutch work on my part.  
Another couple hundred miles, mine will be full synthetic. That swap made a huge difference on my Aprilia. Maybe I'll do that oil change sooner. 
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howworkclutch

go with the racing-only oil. thats the only way to get modified oil nowadays. because of epa emissions standards, the oil companies have been taking the good stuff out of oil (zinc). evidently, if the good oil gets into the combustion chamber, the metals flow out the exhaust and stick to the catalytic converter. this leads to premature failure of said catalytic converter.
 
not running zinc'd oil leads to premature failure of lower-ends (plus a lot of bearing makers went to china and are not making the bearings to tight tolerances).
 
i'm not going to say brand-x is better than brand-y but i will say race-duty oil is better than the junk they're selling us now.

-HowWorkClutch

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well, I dunno about the "racing" label. But it will be motorcycle specific oil that has Amsoil on the bottle.

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outcrydrummer

You shouldnt need zinc......everyone uses steel cams now....zinc was used previously because of its properties of clinging and coating flat tappet cam shafts....steel cams no longer require zinc additives......
At least thats how it works with all my sbf engines.

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