| Author | Message | ||
     Dr_gumpert |
I am not sure who designed the stock clutch lever, but there is a special place in motorcycle hell for whoever designed the stock buell clutch, and brake lever. I am 5:10, but have a 70 inch wingspan, and piano player fingers, and I can "Barely" reach these stupid levers. What do you all suggest in terms of aftermarket levers to make the levers usable? | ||
| Buellerxt |
My stock levers are fine. Whining about anything is not cool but whining about good stuff . . . . LOL If you want something different, fine, but there is nothing wrong with the stock levers. (Message edited by buellerxt on December 26, 2015) | ||
| Etennuly |
I have never used any other than the stock levers. There are some things you can do to make it easier to use though. Keep the cable lubricated well, including the cable end in the lever and lever pivot points, I use synthetic motor oil. If you are careful about adjusting it you can get about the first 1/2" 3/4" inch of travel to pull very easily. | ||
| Xbimmer |
...but there is a special place in motorcycle hell for whoever designed the stock buell clutch Not to pile on but what's wrong with the stock clutch? Mine's been fine for 105K. Durable enough, easy to adjust.... | ||
| Arry |
The stock brake lever has an adjuster dial, "position 1" locates the lever farthest (for big hands), "position 5" locates the lever closest (for small hands). On the clutch, you can adjust the free play, for the same effect (within limits). it's good to have the owners manual. I'm sure there are good aftermarket options. | ||
| Phelan |
Get ASV levers and adjust them where you want them. Problem solved. | ||
| Dr_gumpert |
I was being a little cranky, I was just used to the CRG levers on my 1125r, so going back to the stock ones on the Ulysses are crazy different. Durability is not a concern, but you get zero feel through the stock levers, and they are so far away you can barely reach them. | ||
| Tootal |
That's really strange. I two finger both levers with no problem. My other bike is a Harley so they do get a little work out from time to time!? | ||
| 1313 |
on my 1125r and you get zero feel through the stock levers That last blue section referring to a Uly. Really?!?! The Uly has a MUCH, MUCH, MUCH lighter clutch pull than an 1125. I could definitely see how you could miss-characterize the light clutch pull as a lack of feel... Want to really mess with you sense of clutch pull/feel? Try an 1190 for a while. After some extended riding time with my 1190RX, I jumped back on my 1125CR and I could 2-finger the clutch on the 1125! Personally I've never had a problem with any stock levers - and wonder what the big to-do is about everyone wanting to change them... 1313 | ||
| Dr_gumpert |
You might be right, I have a long history on big twin sportbikes "rsv1000, 1125r,1125cr,ducati 999, ducati 749, vrod streetrod" so the stupidly light clutch pull may be what is throwing me off. The reach for the lever is still waaayyyy to far though, but once again I am used to shorty levers on all those bikes, and the engagment point starts as soon as you start letting the lever out, unlike on the uly were is starts to bite almost all the way out. | ||
| Tootal |
Just add a little slack in the cable adjustment if you want it to release closer to the grip. I like it letting go further away from the grip for two finger engagement but that's from riding dirt bikes for so many years. | ||
| 651lance |
If you get your cable to far out of adjustment your clutch will start to drag resulting in a loud clunk when you put it in gear and problems finding neutral. Make sure your cable isn't fraying on either end, this will cause the cable to pull hard. | ||
| Dr_gumpert |
I took your advice, and added some slack to the cable, and it really helped with the engagment point. I was irritated when I started this thread because I found out that my local Harley dealer was stopping any buell support. | ||
| Sagehawk |
Irritation is short lived dr. gumpert! if you've ever ridden bicycles at all, the only way they work without freezing up is to have play in the cables. if no play is available then the brakes n shifters freeze up. same with motorcycle cables. since i have loosened up belt tensioner on uellymae there is no on off throttle response that is ludicrous. I could not stand the on / off reponse from the throttle input. it was like riding a light bulb. when play is available, the machine is a joy to ride. when i got slack in all controls then the buell is a joy to ride. Just saying, some like it tight and some like a responsive machine to input. I am the latter! | ||
| Dr_gumpert |
How do you adjust the throttle cable? | ||
| Tootal |
Sagehawk was talking about the belt tensioner being so tight that it affected the throttle inputs. He's not really talking about the throttle cable. Now if you really want to know how to adjust the throttle cable then just go to the adjusters on the cables right below the throttle/handlebars. They have a little locking nut on them. You can loosen this nut, it's just knurled, with your fingers and then make any adjustments. I usually loosen the return cable and then adjust the opening cable to where you can hear it hitting the limit at WOT and then lock it down. Then set your backlash with the return cable adjustment and lock it down. | ||
| Dr_gumpert |
This site has such nice and helpful people, glad to have joined! | ||
| Hunger |
Can you adjust belt tensioner?? | ||
| Etennuly |
The stock belt tensioner is not adjustable on the XB platform. | ||
| Tootal |
Sagehawk, I believe, drilled one of the holes out a little to relieve some of the tension. It's held on by two studs and the larger hole allowed it to rotate a little giving it a slight amount of slack. So Etennuly is correct technically but others have done what Sagehawk did. | ||
| Ourdee |
Let me find a picture. | ||
| Teeps |
What ever you decide, don't waste your $$$ on the eBay knockoff levers... And, don't ask me how I know. | ||
| Ourdee |
 | ||
| Ourdee |
I went one size up on the drill bit to open the holes. Then elongated the hole .050". | ||
| Hunger |
Aah, you're talking about this. Just thought there was an out of the box way. | ||
| Sagehawk |
Hunger: there are a lot of us machinist , millwright types here that this is the out of the box way. we assume that all here are just as capable of doing these things or having a bud that can help. Not everyone agrees with some of these things but just knowing the alternatives can be very helpful. to each his or her own. Tootal: the lack of drive train lash is exactly what i was referring to. that was a huge selling point for the hi performance crowd but i found it really tiring on some 400+ mile days when i live in a mostly flat and straight area. My husky dirt bikes , i set up loose on controls and they just seemed to work better. especially in mud runs. | ||
| Uly_man |
Yes you can use the stock levers but fitting adjustable ones makes clutch control a lot nicer. With highway work it is not much of an issue but if you do a lot of town work ie up and down the box a lot that very wide clutch span can become a bit of a pain. Like Phelan I use ASV levers and they are a joy to use but pricey. With time on a bike you learn some things and for me FULL adjustment of bike parts is a must. | ||
| Phelan |
On mine I actually cut out a lot of material from a Kawasaki clutch perch so I could use the clutch cable dial adjuster, which I also cut down to fit. That way I have a little adjustment available in the cable adjuster, a little on the dial,and a little in the ASV levers. I can pretty much put it exactly wherever I want it. | ||
| Uly_man |
Adjustment of the clutch cable slack at the perch ie old school would be easier and is my preference if I can get it. I am surprised no one ever mentions the lack of an adjustable span clutch lever on this bike. On both my 06 and 10 bikes I made a mod to shorten the span but that was a fixed adjustment. While this worked well it was only good for one adjustment. My problem is I use both summer and winter gloves which require a lever you can adjust to take up the difference of thin and thick gloves. I could have bought a much cheaper lever but the ASVs have a wider and finer adjustment. They are also adjustable on the move without the need to look down at them which is real good feature. They are top quality engineering as well. |
