Clutch lever adjustment

[JimK]

I looked in my manual but couldn’t find any info on this. Is there a way to adjust when the clutch engages? Now my clutch engages/disengages when I pull in the lever about 1”. I want to change that so it happens when the lever is closer to the handgrip. Is this possible?

[triton28]

In theory yes one could shorten the master cylinder push rod and then the hydraulics would start to exert pressure farther along the lever's travel. Other than that there is no provision for changing the point of disengagement/engagement.
Although I haven't tried this it would seem to me that the clutch lever would then be loose at it's normal open rest position and I suspect this may over ride the safety lockout switch and one would possibly be able to turn the engine over in gear which may be an undesirable and unexpected event, if it was not anticipated.
This concept,for me at least, is uncharted territory. Others may have found a different way or adopted this approach and if so perhaps they could comment more explicitly on the method they used.
Dave

[Nails]

Now my clutch engages/disengages when I pull in the lever about 1”. I want to change that so it happens when the lever is closer to the handgrip. Is this possible?

That's by design so that you can wrap some fingers to hold on to the grip while using other fingers to operate the clutch. Frankly, I think that using all your fingers on the lever is a safety hazard.

For my part, I pull the clutch with my three smallest fingers, and I modulate the brake with my two largest fingers. I use the leftover fingers to hang on. It's a dirtbike habit.

[JimK]

Thanks for the replies. On my other bike the point of engagement is about an 1 1/2” from the handgrip, which I prefer. The Kaw is the opposite but I’ve been riding with it that way since it was new (1997). I ride the Kaw most of the time so not a big deal. Outside of that the bike is great, love that inline four.

[Nails]

Okay, I misunderstood. I thought you wanted it to engage/disengage closer to the handgrip. My XII also is about 1.5" or so out, and I like that too. Room to hang on and good for quick shifts.

My dirtbike has a cable clutch adjusted to work about there, too. Its clutch pull is considerably harder than the XII, and I'm only now able to ride it at all. I broke my wrist in December, and it's taking a long time for my arthritic joints to come back online, especially the little-finger side of my grip. I thought the dirtbike would just re-injure it; but the handlebar therapy actually gave great results. I'm still not ready to whoop it up in the dirt, but I think a long ride on the XII would be just fine. I have a few in the works for this summer!

[JimK]

Nails you had it right that is what I meant. I prefer to pull the clutch all the way in and then have it start to grab when I release the lever about an inch and a half. Good luck with the wrist BTW.