Clutch Pull

I've always suffered with tendonitis in my left wrist *enter wanking jokes here*.  I'm finding the 1200's clutch a bit heavy.

I've done the following:

1. increased the fullcrum effect by moving the lever assembly inwards

2. bought long adjustable levers

3. ensure the line up is suitable for me

Physio has never worked, ever.  So don't advise it, anything you can think of, I've tried.  It's not carpal tunnel etc...so if people could stick to answering the below, that'd be great.

Nothing's worked, 20 minutes in traffic and my tendons are ready to give up.

How can I easily lighten the pull on the lever, I was thinking of changing the clutch master cylinder and the cylinder (correct term?) on the engine.  Would this work?  I assume a smaller master cylinder will ease up the effort required to pull, no idea how I've come to that conclusion but for some reason I think I've read it elsewhere.

You're a DCT candidate! Couldn't hurt.

Not related to doing anything mechanical but have you looked into acupuncture. I've had a pulled left shoulder and torn ligaments in the left inside arm at the elbow joint... worked perfectly. now I have full strength back in left arm and shoulder.   worth looking into buddy.

I've heard that on a hydraulic clutch sometimes you can use an aftermarket slave cylinder with a larger diameter piston to ease the action at the lever.... but I don't know what size piston we have on the 1200 and if there is a suitable drop in replacement.

Not related to doing anything mechanical but have you looked into acupuncture. I've had a pulled left shoulder and torn ligaments in the left inside arm at the elbow joint... worked perfectly. now I have full strength back in left arm and shoulder.   worth looking into buddy.

Ha, never know...I have to admit I scoff at the thought of any kind of treatment like this, but maybe I should give it a go.

Thing is, it's knackered tendons, there's no fixing that with spikey needles

You should have bought a DCT John. They are great for commuting, I'd have bought one myself but there are no new ones available

take a couple Ibuprofen, or a Aleeve before you ride.  Works for me.

My next bike maybe DCT for the same reason.

Surgery? 

There must be a clutch master from another bike you could use that offers greater hydraulic force with less effort.  Hove no idea how to figure it out though.  Find a bike with a light clutch and try the master cylinder on your bike?  Goldwing master?

John you need either a clutch lever with more leverage (basically, a shorter radius from the pivot to the point it pushes on the piston) or a smaller diameter master cylinder, or larger diameter master. Either way, you want to end up with more lever travel to move the clutch pushrod the same distance. If you keep the standard slave cylinder, then you need a master cylinder that has a smaller diameter so that it has to move further to displace the same volume of liquid as the standard diameter piston.

The standard clutch master cylinder on the VFR12 is 12.7mm (1/2 "). Out of interest, I looked up the master cylinder size on a few recent Hondas and they generally are 12.7 or 14mm, so no help there. I can't find any size reference for the clutch slave cylinders, sorry.

A company in the uk make a replacement clutch slave cylinder that give a lighter clutch action with a 38mm piston. They are called Oberon performance.

http://www.oberon-pe...e_Cylinder.html

Go Radial.If you mess with the ratio, it may help, but it may not have enough clutch throw. Radial arrangements transfer the force more efficiently. I would try a radial master cylinder of the same size first, see how you like that and if you still want more, then add on a 2mm larger slave cylinder.

take a couple Ibuprofen, or a Aleeve before you ride.  Works for me.

My next bike maybe DCT for the same reason.

Surgery? 

There must be a clutch master from another bike you could use that offers greater hydraulic force with less effort.  Hove no idea how to figure it out though.  Find a bike with a light clutch and try the master cylinder on your bike?  Goldwing master?

I do this but it doesn't really help, plus I'd rather not perpetually put that stuff into my system.

John you need either a clutch lever with more leverage (basically, a shorter radius from the pivot to the point it pushes on the piston) or a smaller diameter master cylinder, or larger diameter master. Either way, you want to end up with more lever travel to move the clutch pushrod the same distance. If you keep the standard slave cylinder, then you need a master cylinder that has a smaller diameter so that it has to move further to displace the same volume of liquid as the standard diameter piston.

The standard clutch master cylinder on the VFR12 is 12.7mm (1/2 "). Out of interest, I looked up the master cylinder size on a few recent Hondas and they generally are 12.7 or 14mm, so no help there. I can't find any size reference for the clutch slave cylinders, sorry.

The lever I have is just a tad longer than the handlebar, any longer would be fruitless as I'd have nothing to leverage it against when pulling it in.  I've moved the assembly inwards so I'm grabbing the furthest end of the lever.  Still no dice, the discomfort and pain creeps in eventually.

A company in the uk make a replacement clutch slave cylinder that give a lighter clutch action with a 38mm piston. They are called Oberon performance.

http://www.oberon-pe...e_Cylinder.html

Brill, had a look at this but nothing listed for the 1200, might try and convince them it's worthwhile, thanks for this.

Go Radial.If you mess with the ratio, it may help, but it may not have enough clutch throw. Radial arrangements transfer the force more efficiently. I would try a radial master cylinder of the same size first, see how you like that and if you still want more, then add on a 2mm larger slave cylinder.

I'll look into this if the Oberon thing doesn't pan out, I've asked if any of the existing items will fit the 1200.  May offer my bike up as a test bed for them to design one if they want it.  Thanks for the info.