Clutch lever/cable free play

[Wull]

Has anyone else experienced rapid stretching of the cable or the free play of the clutch lever going way out of whack quickly?

The bike has been off the road since middle of October and I noticed the other day that the free play on the clutch lever was quite a bit, I?ve adjusted it so it?s where it should be but I?m perplexed to how it?s went like that, it must have stretched over time and I just didn?t notice, there?s no reason and I certainly can?t see how it could do that just from sitting in the garage, going by how it works the only thing I can come up with is it?s stretched a fair bit towards the end of the season, before putting the bike away.

 

[MrSmooth]

If I recall recently @Katie had a very similar problem with the clutch cable free play and then the cable failed very quickly afterwards and left her stranded. Might be worth either detaching the cable and sliding it from the protective sheath and checking whether it all looks okay or even replacing it.

Found the thread, read it through to the second page. https://s1000rrforum.co.uk/showthread.php?17662-Ou-est-la-quickshifter/page2

 

[pauly]

First time I saw the cable on my new Gen 4, I thought it's thinner than on my Gen2. And I wondered how durable it would be.

 

[Katie]

Given my experie3nce, I would recommend changing the cable fairly quickly! I know mine is Gen3 but there may have been a supply issue with cables?

 

[Sam76]

Mine snapped was replaced under warranty

 

[pauly]

Mine snapped was replaced under warranty

How many miles had it done when it snapped?

 

[Wull]

Mine snapped was replaced under warranty

before it snapped did you notice anything different with the actuation of the clutch lever?

 

[Sam76]

Snapped around 7.5k and no i was coming to a roundabout when it went and felt no different just gave up few days before I was going Spain luckily it happened here and not there

 

[FL4TLINER]

Mine had this issue before the clutch cable snapped, I had it replaced and a few days later my gearbox snapped my fourth gear tooth, now after getting the bike back with a new gearbox, new clutch cable and new Barnett clutch discs receiving the bike 2 months later and it’s still doing it now, I have to adjust it while riding every few minutes as it gets too tight and then after a few gear changes it goes completely loose again, any ideas on what causes this ?

 

[MrSmooth]

I only have a Gen 3. But if your setup is the same, then is your cable locked off properly at the lever end after you adjusted it for lever movement?

There is a large flat knurled lock nut which sits around the cable adjustment thread on the cable on my bike. It has notches carved out of the knurled nut around the rim of the knurling. These little notches lock gently against a U shaped folded spring washer which is fitted to stop the knurled lock nut from turning and thus loosening. Is the spring washer fitted and engaging against the notches in the knurling? See below

 

[alex]

Gen 4 has 2 turning nuts. one to lock off

 

[dugandan]

receiving the bike 2 months later and it’s still doing it now, I have to adjust it while riding every few minutes as it gets too tight and then after a few gear changes it goes completely loose again, any ideas on what causes this ?

None whatsoever, but do you have other bikes? I have a Gen-3 but even though it's the pick of the litter, so they say, I have other more reliable jap bikes that I ride most of the time. A hayabusa gen-2 is a good reliable bike. All euro bikes are prone to issues more than jap bikes, and especially the ones designed for racing. I don't race my rr, never take it near the redline either. It's enough fun just basting around on it moderately. I do very little wrenching on it, replacing chain and sprockets, brakes, the rest I leave to the shop. It recently had a major 30k km service and I was told it's all good inside but who knows what the future holds?
I know this isn't an answer to your question, but I've seen too many riders struggle along with a dog and I think it's wise to keep an open mind about other options.

 

[FL4TLINER]

None whatsoever, but do you have other bikes? I have a Gen-3 but even though it's the pick of the litter, so they say, I have other more reliable jap bikes that I ride most of the time. A hayabusa gen-2 is a good reliable bike. All euro bikes are prone to issues more than jap bikes, and especially the ones designed for racing. I don't race my rr, never take it near the redline either. It's enough fun just basting around on it moderately. I do very little wrenching on it, replacing chain and sprockets, brakes, the rest I leave to the shop. It recently had a major 30k km service and I was told it's all good inside but who knows what the future holds?
I know this isn't an answer to your question, but I've seen too many riders struggle along with a dog and I think it's wise to keep an open mind about other options.

This is my only bike atm and my first European bike, my previous bikes from the last 20 years are a gsxr 7/11 86-92 mix(crashed) a 96 blade , k3 gsxr 1000(crashed), 2 box standard 2006 R1’s which lasted 3 months each, one was engine failure the other electrical failure, an 04 gen 1 Zx10r which I got up to 100k km and sold to get this s1k

 

[dugandan]

This is my only bike atm and my first European bike, my previous bikes from the last 20 years are a gsxr ...

So lots of high performance race bikes then. This is my first bike with a cable clutch, aside from the T7 which is a dirt bike. How did you go with the issue? I was thinking... could it be a jamming cable in the sheath? Have you lubed the cable? It doesn't seem to be a thing these days but years ago guys used cable lubricators all the time to inject oils down into them. I still have one in my tool kit.