Hello, Sorry if this is not in the appropriate forum. I recently purchased my first bike, a 2021 Street Triple R which now has about 1600 miles on it. I had the break in service done at about 900 miles and have not adjusted or modified anything since owning the bike. When the bike had maybe 1400-1500 miles I laid the bike down in the drive way( foot slipped on leaves when backing up, touched the ground then immediately picked up before fully let go), minor scratches on the left side of the engine, handle bar tip, the clutch lever and the left blinker, though everything is intact. It does not appear to have any bending or denting or anything noticeably damaged other than the cosmetic scratches. About a week ago I noticed that under moderate to hard acceleration the clutch will slip leading me to realize that the clutch lever can be manually pushed out to further engage the clutch completely. I have since tried adjusting the free play at the clutch lever and at the engine to no avail. It would seem that even with the cable adjusted to be much tighter the lever will not return to the appropriate spec 2-3mm spacing. It does become tighter to pull in but will not return to any more than 5-6mm spacing despite the adjustment. I do not have much motorcycle knowledge at all and even less on maintenance so I called a friend who used to ride to tell me I'm just bad at following instructions. He made his adjustments and was unable to fix the disengaged lever spacing and suggested laying the bike down may have had more serious repercussions that displayed on surface level. At this point I can not even get the bike to a rideable state. I may be making too large of adjustments myself or maybe it is something more. I have seen the bike barely engage the clutch when the lever is fully pushed out, just enough to get it back in the driveway, or the engine dies when I fully push out the lever because it is too tight(?). I am happy to provide any more information that might be needed here. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated, Thanks!
I dont know if I am reading this right but you say even by tightening up the lever etc. You need to loosen up the cable to give the free play and there should be 2 to 3 of mm movement before you feel the lever tighten the cable. Also maybe you have slightly bent the lever or damaged the pivot so try backing off the screw a little and see if it helps. Does the lever move freely without the cable attached, may need greasing. Simple stuff first.
Hi Spencer. It's a common issue for the clutch lever pivot to get corrosion on it. You will need to take the lever out completely, clean any corrosion off the lever, bush and screw, grease up and reassemble. While it's out lubricate the cable. My preferred method is to use a cable oiling block and a can of GT85. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
Spencer Bates Welcome to the family. Yes i would think you have bent the lever slightly or the lever kill switch in the lever has pushed out a little . I would take the lever of make sure the kill switch is properly located and test the cable is free pulling in case you kinked it somewhere. Then lightly grease up all the components and see if that helps. Lastly a 2021 bike the dealer would i am sure take a quick gander at it. Most dealers do a pick up service these days so worth a shot. Do hit the upload a file button bottom right corner and show the inmates your beastie. When you got your grin of satisfaction back of course. Joe.
As you are able to get the clutch to completely engage by pushing the lever out it would be possible to ride your machine to a dealer because you have the shift assist on the bike and only need the clutch when pulling away or stopping. Having said that it certainly sounds as if you did bend something on the clutch lever.
With the cable disconnected fully from the handlebar end, does the lever have full and free range of travel with no binding?
