Won the Battle of the Hydraulic Clutch - I think...

nick7 said:
Hydraulic clutches are like mudflaps; those that ride their bikes, albeit as a toy than a workhorse, will appreciate the benefit if not the aesthetics. If we wanted a mule  we'd be riding old  MZs.
Click to expand...

What benefit?
 
3patC said:
What benefit?
Click to expand...

Nice light action? The SFC clutch is lovely, two finger action, it's lighter than the hydraulic clutch on the VFR, lighter than the cable clutch on herself's bonnevile

In knocking on 100,000 miles on bikes with hydraulic clutches I've never had one give me any serious bother* - wish I could say the same about the cable clutched bikes: mostly, I suspect, down to lack of maintenance by previous owners - usually cured by a new cable & some fiddling with the routing.

* bet I've just cursed myself - next summer I'll no doubt have to fix both hydraulic clutches
 
It's quite funny, I've been educated by this forum about a lot of things that are wrong with my bike that I never knew I had a problem :o :D Haven't had any issue with my Hydraulic clutch,  (it's certanly not light though)

** as per sfc1000uk no doubt I've just asked for trouble.............
 
Laverdalothar said:
I would put it that way: the ones with several bikes do not fix it right away but take the next one until that one breaks down, too... And then all of a sudden, you find yourself with several bikes with issues and no time to fix it.

Or have the bike at a dealer that takes a year to fix it or longer...
Click to expand...
You have a camera hid here at my house?  >:D
 
3patC said:
I converted it to cable operation.
The hydraulic stuff is in a box.
Click to expand...

drikko said:
I'm thinking about going back to vinyl records......
Click to expand...

Vinyl is all the rage again! The sound is purer!
But why people would put themselves through all that setting up, wear and tear, clicks and pops, stylus skipping I don't know (I was into hi-fi and spent many hours chasing perfection).

One advantage of hydraulic machines is that they are easily modified to change ratios, I believe some people have installed smaller master cylinders to ease the effort.
 
The reason I put mine in a box was actually because I wasn't sure whether all the parts were there and the only reference I had at the time was Laverda Paradies web page which wasn't clear.
I do intend to fit the thing eventually by the way ;)


 
[/quote
SimonR501 said:
Vinyl is all the rage again! The sound is purer!
But why people would put themselves through all that setting up, wear and tear, clicks and pops, stylus skipping I don't know (I was into hi-fi and spent many hours chasing perfection).

One advantage of hydraulic machines is that they are easily modified to change ratios, I believe some people have installed smaller master cylinders to ease the effort.
Click to expand...
8 track with a graphic equaliser now that is the go !!!!
Dont the easy pull conversions for the cables do the same as fitting a smaller master cylinder ???
guess with an RGS you aint got no choice its hydraulic all the way




 
I have a cable clutch.  It is bog standard with no 'easy pull' conversions or anything.  What's the problem with that, granted it's a bit firm but easily lived with.  (mutter, mutter bloody, mutter)

And anyway, they aren't that difficult to ride without a clutch as the starter motor alone could pull a bus.  Managed to ride from Chiswick to Croydon (London) in the rush hour once to get a new cable.  Piece of cake
 
Some bikes have on/off clutches, really heavy and notchy, others are like a hot knife through butter.
Without delving into the clutch drum etc I can't say what the root cause is.
All I know is that when I rebuild an engine, and without special focus on the clutch actuation mechanism, the clutch pull seems standard to me.
The worst clutch pull I have felt in recent memory was on a guy's 3C who dropped in to see me when passing through Spain. I gave him a spare clutch cable in case. He needed to use it shortly afterwards.
 
Standard set up is all good and well, but it does have its shortcomings. 

If the hassles can be easily avoided, wtf not? ???

Have not come across a single competition bike with a seriously heavy clutch action, and there's not many pussies amongst the racers... it's one of the first things that are attended to when preparing a bike.  Excessively heavy clutch pull is just as unnecessary as heavy throttle action, tiresome and mechanical wear provoking.

If somebody wants to put up with that shit, go ahead.  Nothing especially masculine about it, just ignorance imho. ::)  I remember visiting a Laverda meet where one guy actually bragged he had the heaviest clutch pull, he was so proud of it... what utter bullshit.

piet
 
Pat, my cable clutch was probably lighter than many, and fine really until you find yourself in City gridlock sometime. When I was at Keith's one time..actually one a work trip from which I took a cheeky timeout on basis i had to see a man about a dog, which they thought somewhat odd...I tried my hand on one of the bikes fitted with the hydraulic conversion and was hooked on the prospect. It's not cheap , for sure, but such a neat job and very light even compared to a well routed light cable job. Of course there are some hassles, like do your levers then match, and the fact I lost my mirror mount! Which I managed to sort by using a local bike shop who can actually engineer stuff. So , something of a luxury...question is , are you worth it? :D


 
sfcpiet said:
Standard set up is all good and well, but it does have its shortcomings. 

If the hassles can be easily avoided, wtf not? ???

Have not come across a single competition bike with a seriously heavy clutch action, and there's not many pussies amongst the racers... it's one of the first things that are attended to when preparing a bike.  Excessively heavy clutch pull is just as unnecessary as heavy throttle action, tiresome and mechanical wear provoking.

If somebody wants to put up with that shit, go ahead.  Nothing especially masculine about it, just ignorance imho. ::)  I remember visiting a Laverda meet where one guy actually bragged he had the heaviest clutch pull, he was so proud of it... what utter bullshit.

piet
Click to expand...

Cm'on Piet. How many competition bikes are used in traffic every day by people who need the machines and don't have much time for maintenance?

But yes, a well set up Laverda clutch is not heavy.

Most Laverda racers are out 3 times a year which leaves them 4 months between outings to sort clutch action and most Laverda road users are out twice a year which leaves them plenty of time to discuss the virtues of one or another setup.

Paul
 
Point is Paul, competition bikes are set up for ease of use.  Not wasting your energy on pulling a heavy throttle or clutch frees up the brain for more important things, like "am I in the right gear for this corner?" or "is that fucker really pulling out of his lane in front of me?" or "that's a nice ass on the sidewalk over there" or even "what's for dinner tonight?"  Why should a road bike be demanding and tiring?  The things were built to get us around, not to wear us out!  A gym is a better place for that, if you really need it. :D

I don't put up with the stock cable set ups on my Laverdas, all of them are altered in one way or another to ease the pull.  Not only are they not so tiresome on a long trek, the cables don't break and the clutch levers and perches don't wear out as quick.  I'm quite OK with the hydraulics on the RGS, replace the fluid and slave o-ring every once in a while, no issues whatsoever in 15-odd years of ownership.

piet
 
Yes Piet I totally agree with you only when you're pressed for time, you compromise.
I try not to compromise with a track bike (though the last time I took the SFC out at Francorchmaps, the fork seals were spewing oil to the point that it was getting on the discs  :o. That and the 25 year old front Metzeler Comp K) but I just don't have the time to get my daily hack perfect, so I compromise. Carb set up or change clutch cable? I set the carbs. Clutch cable will be changed this winter. It's been on since something like 97 or 98 so about 60 000 km, that's a lot of clutch changes and I think it's beyond any oiling.

The only thing that distracts me on a bike is my neck. After a few hours in the saddle, turning my head is near impossible due to the pain.
The rest doesn't intrude into my sphere of consciousness.

Paul
 
I had to trailer JWC's Eagle to Andy Wagner's in the summer (on the way to Breganze) because he could no longer pull the clutch lever in at all, it was just as though there was a wedge of timber between the lever and the handlebar, when it was sorted,. the only problem was the brand new Venhill  cable, when one of Andy's locally made cables was fitted all was well again, and the pull was restored to Swarznegger type standards.
CLEM

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top