Clutch Adjustment

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Bikebone

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First time in the forum. Hello everyone, glad to be part of this group of Yamaha enthusiast. My son and recently bought a 1980 Yamaha xs400 and started wrenching on it to bring it back to life. Discovered this forum and has been very helpful. Glad to be a part of it.

Current issue: my son has been riding the bike for a week, today he informed me the clutch handle was very difficult to squeeze. I went through the manual and read the instructions to adjust the clutch. The manual told me to screw the cable tensioner in so the handle had freeplay, then pop the cover off the locking nut and screw adjuster slot. Then unscrew the locking nut and turn the screw clockwise until you felt a bit resistance then turn it counterclockwise 1/4 turn. All was going well until I went to unscrew the locking nut. I was using pressure to turn it counterclockwise, there was movement in the clutch, but the nut wouldn't break free.....not sure if this if normal. So then I went back to the cable to put it back into position, it was very tight with tension, more than before I started. I was curious about the clutch at that point to I rode the bike, the clutch was barely engaging. So my question: should I keep applying pressure to the locking nut until it breaks free or will I make matters worse.
 
You need a deep 12mm socket, pair of vise grips and a strong screw driver.

Clamp vice grips to socket and insert screwdriver through socket. Place socket into nut and screw driver on to screw.

If you don't have a way to secure the mechanism it will end up turning on you. The screwdriver holds it while you can turn the socket.

Just went through this in my bike.
 
Mines hard to squeeze as well. I just thought thats how old bikes are?? I sat on my sisters 08 gsxr and I could pull the clutch with my pinky. Also, The clutch cable could be binding somewhere. The cable housing gets hard and brittle and it makes cable movement harder. You can buy new cables and that will make a difference. I replaced my throttle cable and it made things much smoother.. I also have a metal plate (snowboarding accident) in my left wrist so I suffer from arthritis so this doesnt help.
 
firebane said:
You need a deep 12mm socket, pair of vise grips and a strong screw driver.

Clamp vice grips to socket and insert screwdriver through socket. Place socket into nut and screw driver on to screw.

If you don't have a way to secure the mechanism it will end up turning on you. The screwdriver holds it while you can turn the socket.

Just went through this in my bike.
Click to expand...


Firebane.....thank you for the reply, your info is very helpful. I was considering removing the plate to access the clutch adjustment until I read your post. Your technique is much quicker.

Thank you
 
NewHavenMike said:
Mines hard to squeeze as well. I just thought thats how old bikes are?? I sat on my sisters 08 gsxr and I could pull the clutch with my pinky. Also, The clutch cable could be binding somewhere. The cable housing gets hard and brittle and it makes cable movement harder. You can buy new cables and that will make a difference. I replaced my throttle cable and it made things much smoother.. I also have a metal plate (snowboarding accident) in my left wrist so I suffer from arthritis so this doesnt help.
Click to expand...


NewhavenMike......I was also considering your suggestion, to replace the cable. I image the cable on my son's bike is original.

Thanks you
 
I recently used some penetrating oil to loosen up my clutch cable. Made a world of difference. Just pull off the little rubber cover for the clutch adjustment on the handlebars and rotate the adjuster so the slit is facing up (you'll be able to see the opening of the cable housing), lean the bike a little and drip it in slowly while working the clutch. Took about 5 minutes instead of replacing the whole cable!
 
Chance said:
I recently used some penetrating oil to loosen up my clutch cable. Made a world of difference. Just pull off the little rubber cover for the clutch adjustment on the handlebars and rotate the adjuster so the slit is facing up (you'll be able to see the opening of the cable housing), lean the bike a little and drip it in slowly while working the clutch. Took about 5 minutes instead of replacing the whole cable!
Click to expand...


Chance.......thanks for the suggestion, I'll do as you have recommended prior to investing in a new clutch cable. I'll reply with the outcome.
 
Thanks for the link. This is a very reasonable prices items to resolve a cumbersome issue. Very helpful.

Hopefully today I can find time to wrench on the bike.
 
The 77-79 cables are shorter than the 80-82 stock sohc xs400 cables. They used different bars. I would google the oem part number to find one.
 
xschris said:
The 77-79 cables are shorter than the 80-82 stock sohc xs400 cables. They used different bars. I would google the oem part number to find one.
Click to expand...


xschris.....good information to be aware of prior to making a purchase. I currently have a 1980 and a 1981 parts bike. I was considering swapping out the cable. I'm not going to proceed with the swap because we in the market for new handle bars. I didn't consider the length and profile of the new handle bars having an impact on the cable length.
 
First all I want to thank everyone for the input.

Here's how the fix went down. Went to Harbor Freight and purchased a set of 3/8" metric deep sockets. Applied the 12mm socket to the locking nut, used a screwdriver through the socket to hold the screw in place while applying pressure using vice grips attached to socket. Vice grips didn't have enough bite, they slipped on the socket. So I decided to just use the socket and socket wrench and apply a bit more pressure, which broke the locking nut free. I proceeded per the Yamaha manual to turn the screw clockwise until I felt resistance, then 1/4 turn counterclockwise, then locked the nut into place. Next I lubricated the clutch cable at the clutch handle and started exercising the handle. Within 30 seconds the I heard a loud click and then no tension in the cable at all. The clutch cable then came out from the right crankcase cover. I figured I snapped the cable or broke something else. Then I grabbed the hex wrench and removed the right crankcase cover and discovered the cable came out of the spring loaded clutch cable termination bracket. Not such a bad thing to happen, this allowed me to lubricate the cable from both ends and move the cable back and forth for a couple of minutes. Finally I put everything back together, made the final adjustment at the clutch handle and all is working great. Approx. 1 hour to perform the aforementioned.
 
You would be surprised on how many people don't lube the cables on bikes. Buy a cable lube tool and it will make it much easier and more effective.
 
xschris said:
You would be surprised on how many people don't lube the cables on bikes. Buy a cable lube tool and it will make it much easier and more effective.
Click to expand...

xschris.......I'll have to admit, it didn't cross my mind until my son started complaining about the pain in his wrist from the difficulty of shifting. I wasn't aware of the cable lube tool until you mentioned and then viewed it on youtube. $12.00 seems like a reasonable investment to keep up on a maintenance item.
 
I usually lube all of the cables by removing the handlebar end attachment so the cable end is upright. Snip the corner of a baggie and tape it to the cable housing. Add a capfull of motor oil and let it run through the cable.
 

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