Hello all,

I noticed that I can feel the clutch engage about halfway through the release of the clutch lever and I was wondering if this is normal. My bike shifts normal and I just want to make sure that I don't have the clutch lever adjusted too tight or too loose.

I have the screw on the clutch lever only out about a 1/4." (this gives me very little free play). I think I previously had the screw out too far before (at about 1/2")--making the clutch lever too tight (with no free play) and the clutch was engaging when the clutch lever was barely squeezed (about a 1/4" squeeze).

Basically, my question is, is it normal for me to feel the clutch engage? I mean, I know I should feel the clutch engage sometimes, but at what degree? I am not releasing it too fast, but even when I do release it fast or slow, I still feel it engage. I am just wondering if feeling the clutch engage at a certain amount is normal or not normal.

My bike is an 04 F4i with about 2800 miles.

Thanks and sorry if this sounds jumbled together.

What do you mean by "feel" the clutch engage? Are you feeling it in the lever, or in the change of acceleration? Can you feel it engage with the engine shut off(if you're feeling it in the lever).

As long as your clutch isn't slipping, and the wheel doesn't rotate(there may be a slow rotation) with the clutch disengaged on a rear stand, the point where the clutch engages is mostly personal preference.

You need some free play, or you could toast the clutch. A little more free play will mean that the clutch engages closer to the bars, a little less and it will be further out. The adjustment is really a matter of personal choice. My wife has smaller hands so I put Pazzo levers on her F4i so that the engagement point is closer to the bars than could be adjusted with the stocker, even with a lot of free play.

Drew212,

All of this is when I am riding. I kind of feel a little clunk when I am starting off in first gear. It doesn't happen all of the time, but it does happen after I squeeze the clutch lever to disengage, then let go to reengage.

Skapan,

As for the free play, I have a little, meaning the clutch engages further out than closer to the handlebar.

Sounds normal to me :)

Honda's have a big "CLUNK" when you shift it into 1'st from neutral and the spot where the clutch is engaging sounds fine to me.

I don't thing he's talking about the gears engaging, he's talking about when he pulls and releases the clutch lever.

Do you feel the "clunk" in your clutch lever? Check your chain, make sure it isn't too lose, slack in the chain will cause a jerk as the top part of the chain tightens when the front sprocket starts to turn.

Yeah, check your clutch cable. I know that you can feel when it engages, I can sometimes. But it shouldn't be an 'on/off' feeling.

Everything sounds normal to me, I experience the same thing on mine. Not to get off subject or anything. But having only 2800 miles on an 04 F4i is badass. Wish my 17k 04 F4i was that low.

Thanks for the input everyone.

I guess another way to think about what I am feeling is, I can feel the clutch plate as it press against the flywheel (I know that is what it would be for a car, but I am not sure if it is the same terminology/mechanics for a motorcycle).

Everything on the bike still feels normal, but I was just inquiring about this because I don't know if this could be signs of wear or not. Since this is my first motorcycle, I am learning different things little by little.

Most of the time, when I disengage the clutch and reengage the clutch and as the clutch plate press against the flywheel, I don't feel it at all and it is very smooth, but sometimes I can feel the pressure of the plate. (now, I only feel this when holding the clutch in, while in first gear and stopped; then when I am about to roll away from being stopped, I sometimes feel the plate as it presses against the flywheel).

I know that all of this is me just learning my motorcycle, but I would rather come here to ask about something I am not too sure of so someone with more experience can reassure me that I am just going through my infant stage of being a motorcycle rider!

Thanks for your help.

Not to get off subject or anything. But having only 2800 miles on an 04 F4i is badass. Wish my 17k 04 F4i was that low.

Hey man, thanks, but my opinion differs in that because I only have about 2800 miles only means one thing: I don't ride enough!

I am slowly approaching my one year mark of owning my F4i, and when I acquired it, it only had 2188 miles on it. So at the current pace I am going, that is about 1000 miles/year. I only get to ride to school and, occasionally on Sundays, I ride lonely on one of the highways and into the suburbs of the surrounding areas.

There is not any nice long stretches of curvy roads around here where I live that would be nice for me to ride frequently, so I am forced to make the most of my riding while I commute.

Cheers!

I don't feel anything when I pull my clutch in, and I never have in 17k miles of riding my F4i. It sounds like something is binding somewhere in your system, perhaps it's just the lever itself, maybe the cable. I don't know, I suck at mechanics.

Oh, feeling the clutch plate press against the flywheel is completely normal. You don't have enough miles on your bike to have any of that kind of wear anyways. Unless you're dumping the clutch at every stop sign and light.

Thanks for the additional replies.

No dumping the clutch here. I like to get a nice smooth slow start before I hit the acceleration hard (which is only sometimes anyway. Riding with street traffic, I tend to be more careful than being a speed demon).

I do however, switch gears fast and release the clutch quickly going from 2nd to 3rd gear and from 3rd to 4th gear. However, when I am switching from 4th to 5th gear and 5th to 6th gear, I usually let the clutch out slowly because I am usually going faster than the 30 to 40 MPH in street traffic.

The fast gear switching and quick clutch release that I do from 2nd to 3rd to 4th gear is not by intention, but by habit. I have started to try to be more conscious of this and have tried to release the clutch more slowly so I won't burn out the clutch too fast or have problems with gears or shift forks or whatever else that makes our bikes expensive to do repairs on.