I had a mate come have a look at my bike today (ducati rider). I had a pretty good feeling my cutch lever was stiff as it became a bit of a pain after I encountered some traffic. when he had a pull of it, it was the first thing he commented on. "...i thought my hyrdraulic clutch was stiff..."

Im going to be servicing the bike soon - hopefully next month, when Ive got the money to repalce the rear tyre once ive pulled it off.

in regards to lubricating the cable. when i remove the cable from the lever side, do i need to remove it from the clutch release mech in the transmission case also?

or can i simply lubricate it from the lever side and then drain the trans fluid during my service?

yep. Someone posted a good idea of lubricating cable Thanks to RUS4570

Mate I always use Graphite powder mixed with metho. Say 1 teaspoon of graphite to 100ml of metho (maybe up to 200ml). you can get it from a locksmith.

put it into a squirty bottle or squeezy bottle and then squeeze away. Wipe up spills with a rag soaked in more metho. just leave the leftovers in the bottle and add more metho next time you need it.

If the cable is off the bike ( I.E. new install or repair required) then I put a small lenght of clear tube over the end of the cable. either tape or hose clamp and fill tube with metho graphite mix. work the other end of the cable in and out to allow the graphite to flow down the cable. the metho evaporates and leaves the graphite.

You will not believe how much of an improvement you can get.

Using Graphite Powder eliminates the possibility of junk mixing with the oil and gumming up inside the cable

i gave the poweder a go, it was a little bit better. im thinking maybe ill need a new cable (it was routed correctly, and free from kinks) there could be something in there causing resistance.

OR getting one of those pull assist mechanisms, there's heaps to pick from, just need to read & work out which one might suit

 Mate go to bike shop and get a cable oiler just a few bucks pull cable of of clutch handle end screw on run oil down it a bobs ya uncle.    Good luck

 

Ohhhhhhhhh do it once every 3 to 4 months.  

 

Regards Dave.                  

The graphite trick really works the best if the cable can be free at one end. that way gravity can help. I used that method again the other week on a sticky boot release cable in the car. over twelve feet long and now it works like new again.

Regards.

yea i balanced the kickstand on some books and had a mate on hand in case wanted to move.

took the derby cover off disconnected the cable and used the graphite powder. it wasnt a significant improvement. so its got me thinking that the cable is fine and the "hard to pull lever" is just normal clutch operation. my hands arent huge so 2 finger clutch work is impossible. i have to use my whole fist towards the end of the lever to get as much leverage as possible.

so im thinking to try one of those clutch assist pullers and go from there. the traffic on my ride home from work is just torment on my wrist.

righto mate. Dont forget to write up a product review when you find somthing that helps.

Regards

ok, thanks

for now ill deal with it until my pull-assist arrives and have another go at it lubricating the cable, and see how it goes.

is it a sporty ya sorting as if the cables bit tight id have a check in the primary if its an older sporty id get new balls as they wear flat spots .when i oil cables i tape a small funell up top tie the cable to a roof batten or something bit higher than bike an fill funnel with sewing machine oil an leave over night if it gets in ya primary its no prob have done shovels an ironheads an evo an evosportys an twinkies like this an never a prob the powder is a great idea but it dont guarentee that the whole cable is gettin coated imho .with cables they pull in the shortest direction bit like water runs on the outside of a bend cables run like fishin rods it takes the most direct path sometimes when ppl lube cables it only gets the lower sides where oils can flow best way is to oil with cable strait up n down a fill the top put container under bottom to collect left over eg; if cable is high at top an sags down to the rhs then all oil will only get to the bottom edge
if ya rides a sporty check ya release an pivot setup could be where the prob is but oil cable anyhows

thanks everyone, im pretty sure ive got it sorted now. once i had my jack come i lifted the bike to service it
repacled the primary fluid, adjusted the primary chain, adjusted the clutch to specs as it says in the service manual and the cable as well. it all turned out well after that