Hitchcocks Forum

My 89 350 has a heavy old clutch and no mistake- always has had, but I've got a bit of arthritis in my left hand now and I'm thinking of modifying it; either the clutch improvement kit or even a hydraulic clutch. Has anyone any experience of either? I can't see how the Improvement kit is really an improvement to be honest.

I wouldn't expect it to be rediculously heavy as standard on a 350 bullet. The one on my 2007 350 bullet is lighter than the hydraulic clutch on my VFR750. Might be worth making it work as well as it can do to begin with?



First off I'd change the cable because a worn cable can creep up on you. You don't realise how stiff it's become until you change it. Get a decent, UK made cable on there. If it's a nylon outer, lube it with silicone, if it's a plain outer, oil it. Route it over the outside of the tank first to try it out. If it becomes stiffer when you re-route it under the tank, spend some time fiddling it into a good position with gentle curves.



Secondly, I'd give the pushrod some love. Take it out, check it's perfectly straight (roll it on a window) clean it with emery cloth/wire wool and grease it. Consider fitting a ceramic ball bearing to reduce heat transfer. Cleaning and greasing the pushrod on my mates BSA B40 earlier this year utterly transformed both the clutch action and the gear shifting. In fairness, it does on my VFR750 too which has a modern hydraulic clutch dealing with 5 times the horsepower of the bullet.



These two things alone could literally transform the clutch action. One other reasonably cheap thing you can try is to fit a span adjustable Japanese clutch lever. I've used GPZ500 clutch levers for both clutch and (flipped) for front brakes to very good effect on a variety of bikes. In fact, I just bought another one to fit to the 612 bullet I'm building now. The pivot point is a lot further from the bar so it gives you a lot more leverage and the pivot itself is bushed for smooth movement. The GPZ ones use the same size nipple as the minda levers so they are a straight swap. Even have a mirror boss.

As stinkwheel says, it shouldn't be that heavy, mine isn't. A new cable and addressing other points of friction should make a big difference. I recently did the same to a Tiger Cub that had an almost unpullable clutch. I was a two finger pull afterwards.