Clutch lever hard to pull..suggestions?

[tkatc]

First let me say that I am a newbie. Second let me say that I have ridden quads, dirt bikes, street bikes, etc. so I know what a clutch SHOULD feel like. I have done a search here and have read a few things that might be the cause of my problem, i.e. frozen cable, not lubed enough. I just bought this 400ex last night. It was cold and the bike looked very clean so they probably cleaned it well with water. (Lending to the theory of a frozen cable.) I am going to try and lube it up and wrm it up also and see if that helps. I hope it does. But if not....what else could cause such a problem? If it turns out not to be a cable problem then what might it be? The bike seems to shift fine through the gears but that damn lever is gonna give me Popeye forearms in less than an hour. Those miguri hydraulic levers look very nice but very pricey. Any help guys??

[Pappy]

mine was the same way...id lube it and it would be fine.

but ...after being around a ton of guys that race non -stop....flat out replacing the cable when it gets crappy seems to be the best way.

using a better clutch perch and lever will help a ton also...ris...works etc with better leverage will be a big boost also

[odie]

my clutch was the same way.I would wash it and the cable would be frozen.one day I was pissed at it because it was froze,pulled on it as hard as I could and the cable broke,had to get a new cable and it works so much smoother now.

[SobeAHonda]

I would probably suggest to either buy a new clutch cable, or buy a E-Z Pull Clutch. I am going to get one pretty soon. I think it might be that time is starting to wear into your clutch and it is just wearing out.:)

[4TraxRider]

Give teh pivots on the lever a little bit of grease, it helps a little.

[dariusld]

No matter what lever you have, if you need a new cable its going to be hard to pull. A riding buddy had a stock lever and I had the cr250 lever and mine was easier. He bought the lever and mine was still easier. He lubed his cable and it got harder. He bought a new cable and wa-la his was easier to pull. But after awhile we will probably be even.

[Mxbubs]

Also if your cable got on your exhaust pipes, it may have melted the outside rubber, and/or any telfon lining inside the cable, or the outside rubber could have seeped inside, dried, and made the cable hard to pull.

[tkatc]

Ok...thanks for the help guys...but I just removed the cable end from the lever arm that goes into the clutch casing. The cable moves with ease. Now I am really worried...what could be causing the clutch to be sooo tight? New clutch time? bad spring? HELP!!!

what year quad is it???

[Pappy]

is it possible that the previous owner has installed an aftermarket clutch and springs? when i put a barnett in my LT500 it was way more stiff then stock....even after i replaced the cable

[tkatc]

1999, I just bought it the other day so I am not sure if the clutch is stock but I believe it to be.

[tkatc]

Is a hydraulic clutch lever the answer to my problem? What besides the cable could cause the clutch to be hard to pull? a bent spring? bad clutch? HELP

[Bean]

maybe its a messed up lever, thats what i would guess, stock ones are IMO junk anyway, replace it with like a pep or soemthing, clip the 2 wires togather, soder them, and then wrap them in electrical tape and youl be good to go

yea the stock lever is really stiff get a PEP there real smooth

[Steven]

its a common problem on the 400ex. the cables fail after a year or two. replace the calbe. its costs about $14 from your local honda dealer...

[Ramin]

Did I read somewhere that a clutch level will become difficult to pull when the clutch has gone bad, or is just on the edge of failure?