Super stiff clutch that is hard to pull

Tub67696

New Member
Hey all,

I am super new to this. Just got my first bike in Feb. of this year so kind of learning as I go.

I have a 1975 CB360 that runs mostly great but I am having issues with the clutch. The thing is SUPER hard to pull, to the point where after about 15 minutes of riding my hand is super sore and I have trouble pulling it. My question is, is there a way to adjust the tension on the clutch lever? Is there an easy trick to this or is this just an old bike that I'll have to learn? Also if I can't adjust it is there a hydraulic lever that I could buy to assist?

Any help would be super appreciated!
 

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Unless someone has replaced the clutch springs with heavier ones, there isn't anything to adjust as far as spring pressure goes.

However, if the cable hasn't been lubed or the routing is bad and there are sharp(ish) kinks in the cable, this can affect the pull at the lever.


I see you have clip-ons on the bike so I would check the routing. If the cable hasn't been swapped out for a shorter one, then there may be some creative weaving going on under the tank.
 
Also check the actuator under the LHS rear cover (where the cable goes into the engine) to see that it is lubed and rotates smoothly.
 
When I first bought my CB750 a number of years ago I could barely ride it for more than 30 minutes because the clutch was so stiff. I did a little research and found that the OEM cables have a hard plastic outer housing, and then a nylon sheath in between the cable and the outer housing. Due to this, normal lube will gum up your cable and make matters worse. So if it needs lubing, make sure you use a graphite based lube, it will not gum up the insides of the cable.

While lube does work, old cables are old cables. Chances are good someone has used regular lube in the past and gummed it up, or it's just tired and worn. After lubing my cable a few times, it ended up killing itself off by snapping right at the perch.

Moral of the story: check your routing and give it a good lube with some graphite, but probably put a new (proper length for your application) cable on order
 
coyote13 said:
When I first bought my CB750 a number of years ago I could barely ride it for more than 30 minutes because the clutch was so stiff. I did a little research and found that the OEM cables have a hard plastic outer housing, and then a nylon sheath in between the cable and the outer housing. Due to this, normal lube will gum up your cable and make matters worse. So if it needs lubing, make sure you use a graphite based lube, it will not gum up the insides of the cable.

While lube does work, old cables are old cables. Chances are good someone has used regular lube in the past and gummed it up, or it's just tired and worn. After lubing my cable a few times, it ended up killing itself off by snapping right at the perch.

Moral of the story: check your routing and give it a good lube with some graphite, but probably put a new (proper length for your application) cable on order
Yeah, so now we just need to figure out who's going to make the oem style cables in shorter and longer lengths. My cb550 clutch is a motherfucker on my fingers and it's because I have apes on it with an aftermarket +6 cable. You can feel the metal cable rub the metal sheathing.


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Can't use stock cable routing with low bars. Cable has to go down the right side of steering head and cross over to left in front of carbs
Clutch actuator adjustment is probably way off as well, search for instructions, it's been covered many times
Front brake pivot pin probably needs cleaning and greasing
 
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