How to Adjust Clutch Lever on Dirt Bike
Introduction
There are a lot of different adjustments on your dirt bike that you can make to improve performance. One adjustment that is often overlooked is the clutch lever.
The clutch lever controls how much power your engine transmits to the rear wheel, and it’s important for an optimum power transfer between the engine and rear-wheel during acceleration. In this article, I will discuss an easy technique on how to adjust clutch lever on dirt bikes which will help the bikers keep their bike in a top-notch condition.
Why is Adjusting Clutch Lever Necessary on Dirt Bikes?
Lots of dirt bike riders don’t know how to adjust the clutch lever on their bikes. It’s a pretty simple task that can make an enormous difference in performance and control.
A poorly adjusted clutch makes for lots of grumbling and other noise from your engine when you’re trying to slow down, especially if it is dragging too heavily at low speeds or not enough at high speeds – which will cause problems while riding over rough terrain. Adjusting this part means taking off some slack (tightening) or adding more tension (loosening).
Required Materials
There are various tools that you might find useful in adjusting the clutch lever. These include a wrench, screwdriver, and pliers. You will also need some glue for repairing any broken pieces of plastic or metal that you might come across when making adjustments to your dirt bike’s clutch cable system.
A few other items which are often used by many people who work on motorcycle gears are grease, oil, and compressed air; these can be found at most major chain automotive parts stores as well as specialty shops devoted entirely to motorcycles.
Steps on How to Adjust Clutch Lever on Dirt Bikes
There are certain steps following which you can easily accomplish the work. These steps are described below with proper explanation.
Step One:
Sit on the bike and adjust the seat to your comfort level.
Step Two:
Check that your gear shifter is in neutral, but if not, press it into place. Take off the air filter cover or any other parts you need to remove.
Step Three:
Reach down with your left hand and do a quick release of chain tension from the rear sprocket (below engine) by loosening the axle pinch bolt until there’s enough slack for chains to be slid out of the way.
This should take about six inches worth of movement at most, just loosen as needed while pulling on the chain to slide it over pulleys, then tighten the screw when finished so that tightness will hold everything still again once done adjusting clutch lever position. Reach up with right hand and loosen the top bolt holding clutch lever to handlebars.
Step Four:
Pull back slightly on the clutch arm so that it’s not engaged in the grip or touching any other part of the bike.
Step Five:
If you have a torque wrench, set it at about 15 ft/lbs (20 Nm). If not, then just make your best approximation – tighten down the screw until resistance is met but don’t overdo it as this will only make things worse when trying to adjust in the future.
Step Six:
This adjustment can be made by loosening bolts from both arms simultaneously while pulling away from each other till desired tension is achieved before tightening screws again once done adjusting position.
Step Seven:
Reach up with right hand and loosen the second bolt holding clutch lever to handlebars – pull back slightly on the arm so that it’s not engaged in grip (or touching any other part of the bike) before flipping top screw down over lower nut while applying slight pressure downward onto upper bolt head which should release outer edge of the clutch lever from the grip.
Step Eight:
Flip upper screw back up over lower nut while holding the clutch lever in the desired position before tightening down outer bolt
Step Nine:
Re-engage bike by slowly reaching out with right hand and pulling on grips just enough to engage engine without an engaging clutch – then tighten the second bolt that was loosened earlier, as well.
Final Step:
Test the adjustment of the new gear ratio before riding off to see if anything had changed for better or worse than when it started. If there’s no change, you’re done! Congratulations, your levers are now adjusted for optimal performance!
Precautions
Clutch lever adjustment can be challenging if you don’t know what to do. You might end up in a dangerous situation and damage your bike, which will require costly repairs. Here are some guidelines that should help:
- Don’t adjust the clutch level when it is wet or too hot, as this may make metal parts brittle
- Before attempting any work on your dirt bike, ensure you have clean hands and wear gloves for protection from sharp objects.
- Always make sure that you have the correct tools before starting any dirt bike repair.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the clutch lever is a more complicated adjustment on the dirt bike. If you need to make the adjustments, it will be best if you locate your manual for instructions and directions. In general, though, adjusting the lever should only require loosening or tightening of bolts with wrenches.
Once this has been done, adjust as needed and then retighten all screws when finished. Hopefully, these tips have helped answer any questions that could arise while making an adjustment to your own dirt bike’s clutch level in order to get off those pesky hills!
You must know this as Dirt Biker – How to Unseize a Dirt Bike Engine?
Darren Matlock
Hi, I'm Darren. I love dirt bikes and everything about the off-road lifestyle. I'm passionate about motorbikes, cars, racing sports and going on adventures. If you're like me and enjoy extreme sports, you've come to the right place! I like to write articles about dirt bikes to help beginners get started. Whether you're interested in buying a dirt bike, ATV, motorcycle or want to ride for hobby, I hope my articles will inspire you to learn more about how this machine can be used to ride.
