upgrade hydrolic clutch vs. air shift 82 KZ1000

Hey guys, I was checking out my bike last night and was debating on which would be better for daily riding. I'm pretty sure the bike has heavy duty clutch springs and even with a new cable system its pretty difficult to squeeze the clutch. I had my friend come over and he felt the same way. (So now im debating tring to upgrade to a hydrolic assisted clutch or switch to air controlled system. I found a whole kit (AIR ASSIST)for about $300 on ebay. On the other hand not sure of the work or cost of a hydrolic clutch. anyone done this conversion or have any ideas? thanks in advance,

how about ust putting stock springs in there?

Possibility, i havent even taken the bike out for the first ride yet to make any real decisions. It just keeps snowing. Its a good thought though since im not going to be racing it anyway.

I would start by cleaning and adjusting the clutch release mechanism (don't forget to lube the cable) to make sure that's all working smoothly as designed. If the clutch is still hard to pull in check the springs to see if they are stock and if they are adjusted properly. If a P.O. overtightened them they will be too stiff even if stock. If they are heavy duty replace them with stock. Be sure to use the manual for all adjustments. An air shifter is fine for drag racing but is not a good street component. Installing a hydraulic clutch would require one-off mods and IMHO is not worth the work when a stock clutch system should work freely and easily. Remember too, hydraulic clutches can be a pain in the butt if due to wear or contaminants the slave cylinder isn't working perfectly and you have to pump the clutch to shift smoothly (ask how I know). Ed

Hydraulic actuation is not as difficult to achieve as one might think..

www.excite-webtl.jp/world/english/web/?w...&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2

There's at least one for sale on fleabay now.

There must be a reason why they make cable kits to replace the hyd on busas for drag racing. Cables are better! I used a Suzuki cable on my KZ that will probobly never need to be replaced. It was twice as thick and had a curved tube at the bar end, can,t remember what model it fit though. You can shim up stock springs if your making that much power, or get a lockup.

thanks ed, i think you are right. ill have to take the bike for a ride and make sure it is shifting smoothly and after that check all the components, im pretty mechanical but never had to check or replace a clutch in a bike just cars. im going to get a manual and check the components.