Clutch hard to pull

I recently picked up a KZ900 project and have been slowly working through some of the issues. Right now I'm dealing with a clutch that's very hard to pull... like ridiculously hard. The clutch cable was SO gummed up, when I pulled it off I couldn't move the wire through the cable housing by pulling on it. Without the leverage from the clutch lever it wouldn't move. So I changed cables Also pulled the push rod and found it to be encrusted with dried grease and oxidation. Cleaned and lubed that as I also did the actuator screw. So now it's a lot better.. pretty much OK for the most part but still it's hard enough that I can see it would be a bit of a pain in stop and go, so it got me wondering about a quick easy fix. Everything I did pretty much isolated the springs as being at the heart of the problem. I'm not sure if they are stock or aftermarket or heavy duty. Is there a way to tell? Anyway, I went ahead and loosened the bolts on the springs a couple turns, effectively reducing spring pressure on the backing plate. This made the clutch pull perfect. So I was wondering, if I shimmed out the springs by putting one or two washers on the inside... on the boss the springs ride in (or whatever you call the protrusion) it seems this would effectively lighten the pressure on the backing plate and as long as the clutch didn't slip, can anyone think of a foreseeable problem this might cause?

Your washer or shim would need to be smaller than the ID of the spring but larger that the OD of the Clutch hub post. So when you tightened down the bolt you would reduce the spring preload. Also the Id of the shim would need to be a good fit to the bolt to keep it from shifting on the bolt and interfering with the spring. IMHO not worth the potential problem for the cost of $30 to buy new springs. Pull the clutch apart and measure the friction disc. Count the number of friction and steels to make sure nobody added anything. Make sure they are all free and not hung up on burs on the basket. Install new springs and do it per factory manual. It will ensure longer service life. Im not a fan or "rigging" things.

www.partzilla.com/product/kawasaki/92081...d2fe31fbcf99a682f2a7

If your original clutch cable outer sheath is good Id try to lube the inner cable and free it up. Aftermarket cables are not as good as OEM.

Good points... finding the washer you described to fit those criteria would be a stroke of luck, especially with the loss of my local Ace and Sears Hardware, I'm reduced to pawing through the sorry hardware dept. at Menards or Home Depot.

IIRC... back in the day, it's was a common mod to use valve springs in the clutch pack. The valve springs are about the same size but exerted more pressure than the OEM clutch springs. and were harder to 'pull in'. Also some aftermarket springs can be tough to pull (i.e. some Barnett springs)

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationTighten your springs back up and replace the worm drive actuator. I lived with mine 40 years, still broke cables, clutch hard to pull and trouble to get into neutral while running. There's EZPulls you can buy or get this one. Night and day.
Steve

kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/612341-hydro-...-kit?start=12#819576

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configuration

SWest wrote: Tighten your springs back up and replace the worm drive actuator. I lived with mine 40 years, still broke cables, clutch hard to pull and trouble to get into neutral while running. There's EZPulls you can buy or get this one. Night and day.
Steve

kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/612341-hydro-...-kit?start=12#819576

Put one of those on my thou, plus a nee cable, much lighter and smoother, also make sure cable is routed with no sharp bends.

It says OEM, whats different about it?

Yes OEM, but from a different year bike. Its has steel helical cut ramps with a caged ball bearing assembly between the inner and outer pieces. The steel and bearing are far smoother than the plastic Screw style. Its a nice upgrade using OEM parts.

I have done this upgrade, If you do it Id suggest you pull it apart and clean all the old hard grease out and re-lube. Its easy if you pay close attention to the timing or indexing of the inner and outer pieces to the bearings as you take it apart. The bearings are held in a cage but not retained, they fall out as it is broken down. Do this service over shop towels or something similar so the bearings dont run away on ya. Upon assembly use grease to hold the ball bearings in place, its a little tricky, but doable.

The worm drive actuators become hard to pull as they wear in even if you grease it regularly. I modified one by making the arm 1/4" longer. It helped a little but I was still breaking cables. There was a conversation about the Easy Pull sold by Z1E and other suppliers. It was out of stock and the $100+ price plus my CL 350 had one like it where if adjusted wrong it would go POP without warning and I would be stranded with no clutch at all. During the discussion it was suggested a unit from a later smaller KZ might fit where they weren't the ball and ramp style but a worm drive assembly with ball bearings riding in it with no plastic. I found one for $25 delivered and tried it. It works great with hardly any pull pressure at all. That's why I suggested it.
Steve
www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/612372-sm...-mod?start=12#821005

SWest wrote: The worm drive actuators become hard to pull as they wear in even if you grease it regularly. I modified one by making the arm 1/4" longer. It helped a little but I was still breaking cables. There was a conversation about the Easy Pull sold by Z1E and other suppliers. It was out of stock and the $100+ price plus my CL 350 had one like it where if adjusted wrong it would go POP without warning and I would be stranded with no clutch at all. During the discussion it was suggested a unit from a later smaller KZ might fit where they weren't the ball and ramp style but a worm drive assembly with ball bearings riding in it with no plastic. I found one for $25 delivered and tried it. It works great with hardly any pull pressure at all. That's why I suggested it.
Steve
www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/612372-sm...-mod?start=12#821005

your suggestion is the reason i put one from a later smaller KZ on mine, not that my original one was hard to pull, i just wanted it even lighter.

SO HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? :huh: