Alternative to Hydraulic clutch conversion

I've considered the Hyd. clutch conversion for several years. I'm on my third clutch cable (71,800K) and fortunately all three broke "in the drive-way". * Bought lottery tickets on all three occasions but my luck didn't extend that far !
This winter I started to get set-up to proceed; first by making the mounting plate. I was in the process of tracking-down the slave and master when something occurred to me. Like many, I've found the clutch cable/lever a wee bit on the stiff side and in two of the three cable failures the break was at the bottom-end where it's hidden behind the cover. Prior to the cable failure at the lever, I could see several broken strands before it parted company so I was prepared for that one.
Not intending to discount the hyd. conversion I never-the-less thought I'd try something first. I traced the shape of the stock release-arm onto a similar gauge of steel and then lengthened the cable-arm by an additional 3/8" (approx.) and moved the cable-end mounting bracket hole about the same. Note: The modified arm clears the bolt-casting by several thou. And if you look closely: I made a heavier cable clip as well. The o-ringed acrylic cover allows me to inspect that cable end and my clutch adjustment at a glance and arguably adds some intrigue for the "Looky-Lou's".
Now the ease of the clutch lever is noticeable, albeit minor, the stress on the cable ends is reduced marginally, inspection is at a glance and there is no measurable difference in the clutch disengagement travel as a result of the lengthened arm. This adaptation gave me a result which is satisfactory enough to forego the hyd. conversion (for the time being, until this mod. proves otherwise) and the cost was "0".

Scotch:

A novel idea and this allows those who want to retain the stock appearance, to leave the bike looking original.

Also a simple solution to an age old problem this bike has.

Please keep us informed on the longevity of this modification.

regards.

Todd.

Very smart! Love the simplicity and how you kept the setup closer to the stock configuration!

That is a very nice job........well done if I may say so.

There is nothing wrong with the clutch cable as a rule & it normally lasts many years if lubed & cared for correctly like any cable, its the horrible little mechanism arm that often fails. You have a solution to this which is very effective.

The only other benefit of the hydraulic upgrade is it definitely makes the clutch action a bit lighter.......which is good for old fingers like mine !!

If you could make a few of those mechanisms, I am sure owners on this site would buy them (at the right price of course!).

Pete F
UK

strate6 wrote: That is a very nice job........well done if I may say so.

There is nothing wrong with the clutch cable as a rule & it normally lasts many years if lubed & cared for correctly like any cable, its the horrible little mechanism arm that often fails. You have a solution to this which is very effective.

The only other benefit of the hydraulic upgrade is it definitely makes the clutch action a bit lighter.......which is good for old fingers like mine !!

If you could make a few of those mechanisms, I am sure owners on this site would buy them (at the right price of course!).

Pete F
UK

I agree. This could be useful on my 2nd bike (I've already got the hydraulic conversion slated for the 1st.)