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broken clutch lever!
JoelP - 8/10/06 at 03:25 PM

well, managed to reconnect the cable today but the clutch wouldnt disengage. Would pull hard for a few inches than SNAP! would go loose like it had come off. The lever can be moved by hand easily, ie its not pulling any springs apart. Took it out (difficult as it turns out that the bent bit was holding it in!) and found it to be badly worn.

I used to have no proper bottom stop on the pedal, is this the likely cause?

Anyone got a spare zx9c1 clutch lever arm?!

looks like its been hit by something hard, and the wear is in the opposite direction to what you would expect.

[Edited on 8/10/06 by JoelP] Rescued attachment clutcharmsmall.JPG
Rescued attachment clutcharmsmall.JPG


mookaloid - 8/10/06 at 03:36 PM

Hi Joel

Couldn't you weld/grind/file it back into shape?

The weld is likely to be as hard as the original steel I would have thought.

You can only know if you have been 'overpulling' the cable by looking at it on full travel at the clutch arm and seeing if the pedal has a bit more travel than you need but it is certainly possible.

Cheers

Mark


Tangerine Scream - 8/10/06 at 03:46 PM

Exactly how mine failed !!

Quite common on ZX9s (apparently!)

A new one from Kawasaki was about £22 and I'm keeping a close eye on it.

I don't have a pedal stop either although I may well fit one now


JoelP - 8/10/06 at 03:48 PM

if i had a picture of one id have a stab at repairing it. Might just buy a new one anyway if they're that cheap...


Tangerine Scream - 8/10/06 at 05:08 PM

The problem is that the action of it depends on the cup shape around the cut out......I should've really taken a picture of the new one

Anyhow, they're reasonably cheap and hopefully if I watch this new one, I'll be able to spot the trouble before it fails again

The ZX12 has an improved design but unfortunately all that does is to strengthen the middle of the shaft (where it thins down on the ZX9, it doesn't on the ZX12)

Cheers
Steve

[Edited on 8/10/06 by Tangerine Scream]


JoelP - 10/10/06 at 04:52 PM

anyone hazard a guess what its made off? Would guess mild steel since its in oil but the exposed bit doesnt rust either...

i have a suspicion that the weld i add on will be too soft for the job. Any DIY way to harden it?


tks - 10/10/06 at 07:59 PM

after welding it put it down rappidly in oil

do this a couple of times and you have it hardened.(blow torch)

its the DIY way anyway.

remember that to harden a material should have carbon in it!!

sow normal steel doesn't have it very much!

Tks


chrisf - 10/10/06 at 08:29 PM

Joel:

This might be a good place to buy the proper part. Imagine what would happen if the bit broke off? I bet best case is that it would roll around the clutch basket and the worse case is that it could end up in the engine


ChrisGamlin - 11/10/06 at 12:29 PM

Yep I have to agree, for the sake of £20 you don't want to be thinking "what if" every time you dip the clutch.


David Jenkins - 11/10/06 at 12:53 PM

quote:
Originally posted by tks
after welding it put it down rappidly in oil

do this a couple of times and you have it hardened.(blow torch)

its the DIY way anyway.

remember that to harden a material should have carbon in it!!

sow normal steel doesn't have it very much!

Tks


If you want to harden mild (ordinary) steel then case hardening is the best way - you get the toughness of the mild steel core, with a super-hard thin skin on top. Done properly, it's a very good method (often used in highly-stressed gun parts).

You can (could?) buy stuff called Kasenit, which you used by heating the part to red-hot, then dipping it in the powder. Alternatively, you could pack the stuff round the part within a metal can, and heat the whole lot.

There are various recipes for making your own case-hardening compound, involving leather, bones and other gruesome stuff (or even cyanide salts at 600C! ) but kasenit is the easiest.


chrisf - 11/10/06 at 02:18 PM

BTW, this is exactly what happened to me. My clutch lever looks much more normal than yours, but, like you, I can move the arm and the clutch will not disengage. What's odd on mine is that there is very little signs of wear--it just suddenly quick working!

I'm of to Honda at lunch to get a cost or order a new one.

--Chris


JoelP - 29/10/06 at 04:45 PM

well, today i finally got the welder out and built it back up, then ground it into the right shape. Bit of fettling to get it back in, and it works just fine! Whilst carefully testing it, i realised that 2" of pedal travel was enough to seperate the clutch, the remaining 4" served to turn it far too far, hence the damage


Coose - 29/10/06 at 05:17 PM

Joel, measure the linear travel of the cable at the pedal - you shouldn;t need any more than 13mm if the arm on the motor is standard.

Hope this helps!