Early onset of arthritis. Need lighter clutch pull.

[NikitaUCLA]

Two of the fingers that I rely on for clutch control are acting up, and I need a lighter clutch pull. Do I have any options to get lighter clutch pull?  

[mossrider]

Just now, NikitaUCLA said:

Two of the fingers that I rely on for clutch control are acting up, and I need a lighter clutch pull. Do I have any options to get lighter clutch pull?  

First thing I'd do is clean up the pivot and cable groves, re-grease the pivot with a lightweight white litium grease or similar, lube the cable and make sure it's routed correctly with big gradual bends. This costs next to nothing.

Then I'd look at swapping on a dogleg style lever. This will get the lever closer to the bar meaning less reach for the fingies. A few bucks.

If that's not enough I'd experiment with a different clutch perch that had a different leverage ratio. This might cost a few bucks in trial and error.

Then maybe add a quick shifter, couple hundred bucks.

Good luck. 

Gnarled finger racing..

[minkster]

In addition to lubing cable, try moving the clutch lever in a little.  It means the mirror will catch even more of your shoulder, but if your fingers hit even a half inch more towards the end of the lever, you get a lighter pull.  Also, grip a little wider, if your pinky is on the bar end weight, you really have max leverage on the clutch. 

[NikitaUCLA]

Thanks! I'm trying all of the quick suggestions. 

My doctor said that I need to stay off the bike for a while because I'm overusing my fingers.

 

 

[Beemer]

I'm not suggesting you do this but just putting the option out there. I have the same problem (sucks bad) and what helps me is shifting without using the clutch. There are pros and cons to doing this but I've never had any trouble with it, not one bad shift and I downshift without the clutch at times also, depending on how my fingers are feeling. Like anything else, it takes practice to get smooth with it but once you do you do it without even thinking about it. 1st gear is pretty low on this bike so shifting without the clutch from 1st to 2nd can take a little more focus than the rest of the gears to do smoothly but there is never any grinding even with a not so smooth shift. Plenty of videos on you tube that teach how to do it if you're interested. 

I do recall a particular set of levers someone mentioned a couple years back that are designed to make shifting easier, the design gave them better leverage. If I run across them I'll post it. I use shorty levers myself and as long as you keep them lubed they work easy enough. Right now mine need some lovin'. GL!

[Beemer]

I found them in an old thread, they're RSC levers. I remember now that some people had some trouble with them but made adjustments and were OK with them. I liked the shorty levers because you can adjust them in to shorten the reach to them and set the clutch engagement closer to the grip for less strenuous operation. Here's the link:

Anyone have an RSC lever installed? - Yamaha MT-07 FZ-07 General Discussions - The FZ-07 Forum

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I bought an RSC lever a few months back and just recently went to install it. The problem Im having is the clutch does not fully...

 

[rfmueller]

On 5/28/2019 at 12:47 PM, NikitaUCLA said:

Two of the fingers that I rely on for clutch control are acting up, and I need a lighter clutch pull. Do I have any options to get lighter clutch pull?  

One of my old pass times was hiking.  Osteo arthritis put the kabosh to that, however.  I couldn't walk half a mile before my knees started giving me fits.  Anyway, in the interest of staying fit, I started lifting weights and taking a test-booster called "Primasurge" that I'd found on Amazon.  I was 49 at the time.   (No, this isn't a commercial for Primasurge.)  It seemed okay.  The odd thing is, 8 months later, my wife started asking me why I wasn't complaining about my knees, angles, hips, elbows, hands, and shoulders any more.  I didn't know why.  The only thing that changed was the addition of the aforementioned test booster.  Later I found an Australian study on men revealing that Boron (found in the test booster) very consistently got rid of osteo arthritis.  I'm back to the long hikes and no pain.  That was 5 years ago.  If your a lady and interested in trying it, keep in mind those herbs are directed at muscle, tendon, and joint health besides testosterone encouragement.  It's up to you.  Food for thought.  It beats having to buy a motorcycle with an automatic.   

[tavisb]

Auto clutch?

[robbo10]

I had reactive arthritis nearly ten years ago for a short time. I started taking a Glucosamine and Chondroitin pill daily and have kept that up.  I have little indication of arthritis now, but on the other hand the original event and  cause of it (seemingly unrelated) has not repeated either (thanks be!). Sometimes you just cannot be sure what works and what doesn't, but trying somthing could be worthwhile.

[Kyuzo]

Look into below if you have the funds!

Been thinking about this, lighter clutch pull. I have carpul tunnel...

Though still saving up for a good rear shock and raising links... 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by Kyuzo

[rfmueller]

19 hours ago, tavisb said:

Auto clutch?

Automatic tranny such as the Honda CTX700 

[tavisb]

6 hours ago, rfmueller said:

Automatic tranny such as the Honda CTX700 

No, clutch. Like a Rekluse. Have one in two of my bikes. You can shift without using the clutch lever. There are companies that will custom make a similar setup for about any bike  (I used to know of one in Ohio at least, pm me if you want details).

[Redempire]

Look at the RSC or similar style stunt levels. They are one finger easy pull. Impaktech makes one as well.

[Beemer]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 2:47 PM, NikitaUCLA said:

Two of the fingers that I rely on for clutch control are acting up, and I need a lighter clutch pull. Do I have any options to get lighter clutch pull?  

Back again but about the suspected arthritis. This is just a friendly heads up. I had bloodwork done recently to determine if I had arthritis (which I thought I had) and the results came back as "negative." It's likely that it's tendonitis that I have because I've been diagnoses as having that in my feet and ankles and have had problems with tendons not having enough flexibility in other areas of the body. Just saying that if you haven't, you should have bloodwork done too so you can diagnose the problem and treat it properly. GL!

[NikitaUCLA]

It's part of the aging process.  My personal doctor (brother in law) told me to stop stressing your fingers and allow it to heal otherwise it will continue. I'm not going to stop riding so I had to adjust the way I ride. Basically, don't ride aggressively to the point of having to rely on the clutch too much.

[gregjet]

A rekluse would be excellent if you can get one for the 07.

Another possibility , if your thumb joints are OK is a thumb clutch. A few available.

Also lengthening the actuation lever at the clutch end will reduce the torque required to actuate the clutch ( at the expense of having extra lever throw). Did that on ducati's a few times. Side benefit of increasing the modulation distance at the lever. NOTE make sure you realign the clutch cable pull direction with the new position of the pull spot or the cable will have more friction and wear faster.

Edited June 14, 2019 by gregjet
Missed bit

[gregjet]

Just checked.

RADIUSX CLUTCH | Rekluse

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A high performance auto clutch is just a clutch pack swap away. RadiusX combines a TorqDrive clutch pack with our...

If I could afford one of these I would really consider it. I would buy one for the cb500x if they made one.

 

This the the version for the HD but it shows the clutch free use reasonably well.

 

[Redempire]

RSC Stunt clutch for ~100. Even if it does not completely cure the arthiritis, it is a way better lever than the stock one and will definately improve things for you cheaper than the other options listed.

[robbo10]

A quickshifter?