Just bought a ‘99 Daytona T595 and took it for a first run yesterday. Fabulous bike to ride apart from the heavy clutch. I was on twisty roads for 120 miles so plenty of gearchanges, but I actually had to stop to give my left hand a break! Are they all like that, or is there something that can be done to improve the clutch action? Maybe it just needs a new cable. Any advice welcomed.
Welcome Wheelnut. They’re not all like that at all, in fact mine has a pretty light clutch action. I’d definitely start with a new cable and make sure your lever isn’t binding. Give the lever pivot point a clean up and lube. It’s also worth making sure the cable is routed correctly and isn’t bending tightly round something.
As Freck says, mines a '97 and is light so check everything to do with lever and cable. If no better check clutch actuator on engine casing. If no better then possible clutch springs check. On other bikes i found owners changed clutch springs for stiffer versions which makes lever stiffer to pull in Geoff
Thanks for the advice. I’ll start by whipping off the cable and see how free/stiff it is. Will probably replace it anyway. Clutch lever pivot seems fine, but I don’t like the look of the 90 degree bend in the cable just where it leaves the lever. Looks like poor design and a recipe for trouble. I suspect the nylon inner liner may be worn or damaged at that point. At least I now know that there is a problem and it’s not just a foible of the T595. I’ve owned singles, parallel and boxer twins, fours, and even a triple two-stroke, but never a four stroke triple. What a fabulous sound it makes, especially with the high level carbon can fitted! I’m hooked...
Yep, it's the cable. Took the clutch cable off and it feels as if it's been lubricated with heavy axle grease. No wonder it felt so bad. New one is on order.
Ah, but I’m still here after 11 weeks! Yes, got a new cable from Wemoto and rerouted it to give it a less tortuous run, and problem solved. It’s not the lightest clutch but perfectly acceptable.
Great stuff! Only got my first speed triple in November so have struggled to get out much until today when I found myself in traffic which highlighted how heavy the clutch was. Will change the cable but but don’t suppose the shorty levers help! Thanks for the reply.
I use to own 99 955i speed triple that I rebuilt and found the clutch on the heavy side, I'd fitted new cables and played around with the routing and even took the clutch apart and 're did springs it made no difference, think it was generally a heavy clutch, but my misses was able to ride it and she is 8-9 stone and said she was happy with it.
I find my 97 T595 a bit on the heavy side but it only shows itself to be so after being in traffic for a while. Once on the move it's only used for downshifts anyway. Something I did fit, just because it was a bargain, was a slipper clutch - bloody brilliant.
Yea I think it’s me rather than the bike as it took me six month to find this bike after selling my cbr so probably (have!) gone a bit soft as well as the Honda having an extremely light clutch. In all fairness there is nothing to suggest anything is wrong with the cable , good routing and its is smooth. More hours riding me thinks.
