Hydraulic Lever Throw

[videoarizona]

Nanci Rogers ( acehighleathers.com) and I were talking the other day. While we were talking about the tank bib and gas cap cover I want for my RSV, we also talked about the similar problem with our hands. Both of us find it painful to pull in the clutch lever.

 

This got me to thinking about our hydraulic systems, specifically the clutch.

 

How much throw do we really need on the clutch to activate it fully? Do we really need the full throw of the handle? Or can we modify the handle and use 60% of the throw for full clutch engagement? I realize we would have to adjust or modify the switch that controls the cruise control, but seriously...if we could bend the lever (or get a different handle) so our hands wouldn't have to reach very far and still be able to get full clutch, that would help both of us tremendously. It would still hurt to pull the clutch in, but the throw would be much less!

 

Thoughts?

 

TIA,

david

 

(BTW, enjoyed talking with Nanci...she has such good design ideas and comes up with alternatives for me faster than I could keep up with! Cool!)

Edited June 28, 2016 by videoarizona
spelling.

[MiCarl]

On my '89 the entire clutch operation is within the first third of lever travel. You could reshape the lever back quite a bit and it'd still work just fine. No need to modify switches if you reshape the lever.

 

I reshaped the clutch lever on a customer's V-Star 1100 because his hands were too small to operate it comfortably. I've also reshaped the clutch lever on my wife's V-Star 650. My wife would like me to pull hers back even more.

[videoarizona]

Thanks, Carl. And thank you for the PM conversation. I'll find a spare clutch handle and give it a try and see if I can bend it in a tad to get the throw for me more comfortable.

 

OH...and Nanci has my tank gas cap cover ready! Wowsers! Fast service!

Edited June 29, 2016 by videoarizona

[Luvdaleather]

Please note: I am re-trainable! I'm having luck not pulling the clutch in all the way especially on the "sore thumb days". :(Oh duh....I didn't realize that you didn't need to do that. :doh:No wonder Ken would always beat me when we race the RSTD's on the way home. Dang him, I'm on to his trick now.

However I will say that after an over night to the Oregon coast with a friend down hundreds of curves the thumb joint wound up real sore aka hurt like hell. I've decided to go for the auto clutch. :happy65:Going to pull the clutch this weekend and send it EFM Auto Clutch Inc. I'll report back of course.

[Larry1963]

my other bike is a Victory V92C classic cruiser, you need good hand strength to pull in the clutch. To me my RSV is so easy

[cowpuc]

Tweeks sister has a Barnett set up in her with the 1/2 plate removed.. Right away I noticed how close to the draw the clutch is AND how much more precise in engagement/disengagement it is.. I really believe it would be fine if I bent the clutch lever to within and inch of the bar - that would be plenty of lever..

just had an epiphany you guys,,,, I wonder if putting a small piece of brake line with a bleeder on the end of it (could gang bango it) and then capture just a tiny amount of controlled air in the system (leave it upright so a tiny air bubble would be captured right at the bleeder) to cushion the pull in the clutch - thinking sort of along the line of how we plumb out water hammer in a water system for a house... Dont prosecute me here,, just thinking out loud.. Be cool if a few tiny air bubbles would allow enough compression to make those levers adjustable.. After alllllll these years of :stickpoke::bang head::stickpoke: with air in hydraulic systems - it would be neat to finally find a way to use those nasty air bubbles in our favor

 

 

What say you?

[videoarizona]

Nanci, @Luvdaleather

 

Any word on how the auto clutch works?

 

And @cowpuc, maybe you should re-post your question in another part of the forum. We gotta have someone who knows hydraulics and pneumatics...

david

[Luvdaleather]

Ok you guys, here is my report which started with "Little girls hands, big bad clutch" back in November. So to catch anyone up I went ahead and purchased an EFM Autoclutch. http://www.efmautoclutch.com. So we pulled the clutch out (He got greasy and I supervised!) and shipped it out to Garry, owner of EFM. Installation was about as easy as taking it out. Ken took it for the first test ride and reported that "its certainly different but it seems to work, but you don't have a manual clutch".

With that I contacted Garry who always answered immediately whether by email or phone. I made the mistake of squeezing the clutch without the motor running and that was not a good thing as then it would not allow me to squeeze it. So I contacted Garry who gave me some instructions on how to get it to "come loose" and what to do next. Still no manual clutch so as of this post I've sent an email to him for help.

 

Likes:

My hand doesn't hurt while holding the clutch at stops and shifting.

Easy peasy to shift and take off from stops.

No problem with the friction zone as I still can use the back brake and apply a bit of throttle.

It does not stall.

Garry always answers his phone and replies to emails

Dislikes:

Down shifting is requiring a learning curve; but what the heck life is a learning curve!

While I'm in the learning curve I tend to use a bit more brake, but I went out tonight again....very little brake needed.

 

Do I like it? YES!!!! and short trips around our valley are paying off. It's getting to be second nature.

 

Bottom line: it gives you the freedom to not have to use a clutch if you have an injury to your hand and you can use it like a manual clutch as well. Can't be that.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Luvdaleather
shortened reply