Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Triumph bulletin board Clutch Pull is very hard

RE: 71 T120 R. I imagine this has been addressed but I couldn't narrow down my search. Any tips to get started. Are there cables that are recommended other than stock. What should I look for under right side cover? Is it more likely to find the problem there or on the clutch basket? I don't have arthritis but I'm not the Hulk. I have the "mouse trap" hand clutch booster on my Panhead and I can pull the lever with two fingers. Two hands would be more like it on this exercise machine.
Thanks,
Sam

Hi Scrap.Fit new cable-Set up SRM alloy pressure plate-Find a 7 plate set up Fit new springs and cups- inspect internal splines for wear and see how you go. Clutches are like AMAL carbs-Service items that need to be replaced at regular intervals. Cheers,Max.

Sam I used the 7 plate Aerco, stock pressure plate and lighter springs from The Bonneville Shop like Don and others have explained and I couldnt be happier. Very nice clutch pull now, and I have bad CT syndrome. Lovin the stock levers too. And no grinding in first, no freeing the clutch to start. Better make sure your hub and basket are good though, no cable or clutch will fix that. And I used the poly hub cushes.

I have a what is probably a Wasell cable and it is fine so you should be ok on that front.

You could try checking the clutch pushrod, You can draw it out with a magnet from the primary side. Sticking the magnet to a screwdriver works well. If it is bent it could bend more when you pull the lever. 650 springs work ok even on normal set up if the rest of the parts are ok.


Dave

Hi scrap, I only use Barnett cables. They have swaged steel ends, not soldered. I’ve used various brands including Venhill feather lite. Barnett is lined with some sort of plastic. Teflon? Anyway trust me on this. Lube new cable with motor oil!! Like shop manual shows. Hang cable. Poke hole in baggie & tape it to cable. Overnight will drip out bottom.

Barnett is more costly worth every penny. Shop around, price varies wildly for exact same cable. Last one I found Vintage Triumph Supply was best price. So shop around, that was a year ago.

Again motor oil. Oiling reduces friction by about 35-50%. I oil once a year, about 4-5k miles. This will reduce pull a margin over Venhill featherlite.

Start with Barnett cable.

Springs are all the place with strength. True 750 springs pull very hard. Barnett springs pull as hard. Avoid them.
Try to get 650 springs.

You can tell the tension by measuring the spring wire diameter # of coils & overall length.

If you do not have digital vernier calipers you must purchase some. For this use $20 ones from Harbor Freight or eBay are good enough.

We’ll get into more details later.
Start with cable.
Don’t buy any clutch parts other than cable yet. We need to do tear down first. That will show next steps if cable doesn’t correct problems. I expect cable will not solve all problems, but you must start with perfect cable.
Don

I will watch this thread, as I too have a Bonnie with heavy clutch pull. It is taking the pleasure out of riding the bike. Waiting for you TR7RVMan.

I removed the cable from the lever and lubed it with a cable lube gizmo that comes with a can of lube. I made sure it has no kinks or sharp bends. It helped a little but it's by no means an easy pull. The cable is not lined and its 49 years old, I replaced when the OEM cable broke one night in downtown Boston. Rode back to my Apt. without it...you know the drill, get into neutral before a stop, mash it into gear and repeat till I got home. I'll check the pushrod next then I'll get a new cable before I look at the basket. Report to follow.
Thanks,
Sam

Sam, did you get your clutch worked out? I'm so pleased with my '70 that I know it can be accomplished without too much fuss. I would have never known a Triumph could have such a normal clutch pull. It can be done.

Slofut, I'm waiting for a new Barnett cable. I'll report as to what it does or doesn't accomplish. What did you do to make you so happy?

Sam I used the Aerco 7 plate kit and stock pressure plate with the lighter springs from the bonneville shop. Took Don's advice, he has a couple good threads on the subject. I think the springs had the most to do with lever pull, I started with the primary cover off and not running making sure that things worked smoothly from the lever to the pushrod without contacting the pressure plate. The lever needed some cleaning up and tweeking, new Barnett cable helped, but I could tell those orig springs were a bear, thick and stiff. Hard to remember now, it's in a thread here I think, but I think I ended up with the red springs. I could tell by the time I set the pressure plate adjustment they were much easier. Only worry was if there was enough clamping force. Had a little slip at first and immediately backed off the lever adjustment at the handlebar a tiny bit and have not had another instance of slip. I'm 175lbs, and I've pushed it plenty hard in upper gears so I feel good about it. However, I set the clutch spring adjusters with the bolt at the bottom of the nut slot, since the pull is pretty easy I can afford to readjust with the bolt at the top of the nuts next time I have the primary cover off. As soon as I get this bike back in order I'll pull the new 6 plate clutch off my T120 and change that one too.

A new cable and checking the clutch rod should fix the problem. No need to spend a lot of money. Basket springs should be just proud of flush.