My K100RS (trike) has a very heavy clutch. I've changed the cable (twice) and it seems to solve the problem for a week or two but the problem comes back. The actuator moves freely when the cable is removed, it will just flop down so it's not a stiff actuator problem. I get the feeling it's a routing problem but I can't see any other way to route the cable. It's really spoiling what is a wonderful ride. Any help ?

Hi cathyh,
Interesting problem, your clutch lever is it worn? I have heard of worn clutch levers allowing the end of the clutch cable to shift so it is not pulling it smoothly and giving problems.

With regard to binding due to the route through the chassis I guess the proof of the pudding would be to take a cable and completely ignore the standard route taking it down an external route only ducking in to join the actuator arm at the last moment so as far as possible the cable is free. Does the action change then over the week or so if it does not stiffen up then having ruled out the lever and a routing problem it is with the clutch mechanism inside the beast.
Regards,
K-BIKE

I never thought of the lever, it is kinda floppy and I did manage to aleviate the problem slightly once by cable tying the clutch cable to the handle bar, but it used to pull through the tie. It's definitely worth investigating
cheers

Have you oiled or greased the cables when you fitted them? Some cables (specially original BMW) should not be lubricated. There is an inner sleeve of a nylon kind of material that growth when in contact with oil or certain grease and will squeeze the cable.
With the cable disconnected on both ends, do you feel play (clearance) in the handle? If the handle is not properly aligned with the cable feeder part it can give problems. Sometimes the hole in the handle is worn and the end bit of the cable 'drops' in the handle part and is no longer neatly aligned. On the other end, the lever runs in needle bearings which will go over time. It might be that the lever easily drops when disconnected, but is actually not running smoothly under tension of the cable. Moving it by hand and having a good feel should let you know if it is moving freely or is catching a bit. Let us know how you get on? Cheers, Rene.

Hello Cathy,

First, welcome to this forum.

I have a stupid question: Do you have the original handle bars (RS) or the higher one (RT)? I would believe that you may have the higher handle bars on a trike.

The original cable for an RT is 1625mm long and only 1510 mm for an RS. This could make a big difference on the stiffness of the clutch lever.
The setup of the cable is important too. At the clutch side, the lenght of the cable outside the jacket should be 75mm.

Could you pleeaaassseeee post a picture of your trike?

Cheers

Bert

Maybe this will help:

Thanks guys for all your help, I never believed I would get so much response. I do have the RT handlebars. The first cable I had became stiff and was snagging through age so I replaced it firstly with a RS cable (mistake number 1), we realised this was a problem because it was stiff from the word go and putting the old cable back on was better. So I bought a RT one, (the easy glide one from motorbins), this was good for a couple of weeks but then stiffened up. Thinking it was due to this being an aftermarket cable I have now bought a genuine BMW one (never oiled it), which was so smooth for the first outing (for which I'm eternally greatful as I could never have made the Egg run with the old one) but is now just as bad. I'm gonna check distances etc as soon as I get home tonight. Thanks again for all your replies. Kate
PS Photo of trike will be posted soon

cathyh wrote:I have now bought a genuine BMW one (never oiled it), which was so smooth for the first outing (for which I'm eternally greatful as I could never have made the Egg run with the old one) but

OOPS I was under the impression that we had only 5 hours difference between Canada and UK..... It seems that we have more like 5 days!
Cathy has already made the Egg run (Easter eggs I presume), but here in CDN, Easter comes only next week end.



We were too serious for too long. Time to put a bit of humor on our posts.

Let us know how you make out.

Crazy Frog

What, you expected me to deliver eggs to every house in just one weekend, I'm not Santa Claus you know ! Dont worry I'll be over delivering your's next weekend on time