Whilst a handy trick, the mod to ‘lighten’ the clutch action be extending the operating arm will actually make Motoguy's problem worse. By increasing the length of the arm you are increasing the leverage and hence the distance the cable must move to achieve the same movement at the clutch plates. Yes the clutch will feel lighter, but the lever travel will be longer and more likely to hit the bar and not disengage fully.

Assuming the clutch is in good condition and the cable is in good nick, careful setting up should be all that is needed to get things back in working order – it should not be necessary for the lever to touch the bar even with span adjustable levers set with a short span. Start with the simple external adjustments.

The first thing to check is the ‘free-play’. How much is there? At what point does the clutch start to disengage when you pull the lever? Too much free-play will cause the problem you have. Make sure there is no more than 10mm measured from the end of the lever and the handlebar grip, ideally 5-10mm with a stubby lever. Bear in mind that the official figure is 10-15mm, but that’s with a long lever which will travel further at its tip for the same movement of the cable.

If adjusting the free-play doesn’t fix your problem then release the cable from the operating/release arm on top of the RH casing. The release arm should ‘spring’ back and end up pretty much parallel to the side of the engine casing. Push the arm as far forward as it will go with your finger. The point at which it stops moving forward should coincide with the punch marks lining up (one on the casing and one on the arm). If they don’t you will need to loosen the pinch bolt, remove the arm and replace it back on its splines in a different position so that the punch marks line up. If the marks don’t align then the clutch will either not fully engage (slip) or disengage (drag) depending on whether the arm passes or fails to reach the punch marks. Refit the cable after screwing in the adjuster at the handlebar fully and then backing out one or two turns. Set the free play at the lever to 5-10mm by using the adjusters at the release arm (clutch end) not at the handlebar. Any ‘fine tuning’ can be done at the bar end later.

See if that cures your issue. If it doesn’t, then get back to us and you may well have to delve a little deeper into clutch itself.

__________________