Adjusting clutch with firewall adjuster

[slalomdude]

Not really sure how tight the cluch cable should be. The clutch was set up at Steeda about 6 8 months ago.The adjuster seems to be showing a lot of threads, about 1 1/2 ".It seems like it is backed a long wayout. The cable is not very tight against the adjuster, is this correct. I can move it side to side. I dont want to adjust it without knowing the consequences. Any suggestions

 

[stang99]

If you have adjusted a motorcycle clutch, the quadrants work exactly the same way. The lever that would be on the handlebar is the clutch pedal. It needs a little free play to make sure that the clutch is fully engaged. As the clutch wears, you may have to take some of the free play out. That's why I got the UPR cable that also adjusts at the clutch. Some say it is not a quality cable, but the dual adjustment option as well as having three hooks on the quadrant let you have a ride range of choices in setting up your clutch action. I keep the minimum amount of free play possible in all my cables from bicycles and motorcycles to the Cobra.

 

[slalomdude]

what exactly is free play, is it the amount that you press the pedal (with resistance) before the clutch starts to disengage.

 

[stang99]

You should not have a lot of resistence in the "free play". But basically it is the movement that you get before the clutch starts to disengage.

 

[racerat]

I have a question about that setup.
I want the pedal to be softer...can I do that with the UPR extreme quadrant, cable and adjuster? I have the Spec II clutch and it doesn't feel like Bingo's Spec II.

 

[stang99]

My pedal was so soft that my mechanic moved the cable to a different hook on the quadrant that gave me a shorter throw on the clutch. My quadrant has three hooks and depending on which one you use the pedal effort gets lighter or heavier. My clutch was so easy to push that I could barely feel it, but, it had a long engagement and started to come in right off the floor. I believe that he moved it to the middle hook and it engages higher from the floor and has greater effort although it is still softer than stock. I presume the other hook would be more like an on-off switch and would operate way out from the floor. Great for speed shifting but harder for every day driving.
The UPR Extreme setup offers lots of options. It is tricky to move the cable from one hook to the other but my mechanic did so in a few seconds. You loosen the adjustment at the tranny way loose and then you can slip the cable from one hook to the other if you are small enough to get under the dash. My mechanic can do this but I never could as I am too big.
If you can move the cable then you should try the various positions to see what suits you the best.

 

[Ratt Fink]

The most important thing is to NOT adjust the clutch so that there is no free play. You want the throwout bearing to be clear of the pressure plate release fingers. As the clutch disk wears, these fingers will actually move rearward some, getting closer to the throwout bearing and making it feel like the clutch is disengaging at a higher point.