Another for the Clutch - Clevver Mod

The Seritec clutch mod works great but halfway through the test ride my left hand kept cramping. It wasn't always a problem but because of playing classical guitar, the cramps have gotten worse over the years. Having tiny hands also makes it harder to manipulate the clutch at low speeds. I heard about the Clevver and how it reduces the pulling effort for the clutch. Gave it a try and it's definitely worthwhile. Here's the view from underneath the clutch handle.



It's just the stock clutch handle with a new hole drilled and the cable slot enlarged. Again, if you want to save money, you can attempt to do this mod with your stock clutch and a reliable drill with good bits. $40 is all right for having the precise measurements and drilling done. Would be safer to do with a bench drill since it does require the hole to be straight.

I had to file the housing down to accept the new lever because if you look at the pic, the new position of the cable end has to pass over the edge of the housing. It's 1/16" too thick to clear the edge hence the slight filing. Models before '09 might not encounter this problem, mine's the only one I've seen with this minor change.

I had to back out the clutch lever adjusting nut almost all the way out just to ensure the clutch is fully disengaged when I pull on the lever. You can tell if you're clutch is not fully disengaging by testing it out:

With the engine running and the bike in neutral, put up the side stand and duck walk the bike carefully. If it's smooth, then carefully shift it to first. You shouldn't feel a sudden lurch. Still in first with the clutch lever pulled in, you should be able to smoothly walk it out like in neutral.

If in neutral there's a drag to the bike when you push it, adjust it before you test it out in first, the clutch is not fully disengaging.

I didn't just do this test in my driveway. After adjusting it properly, I rode it in a safe area for a little bit, did some upshifts and downshifts. After it warmed up, the cable felt a bit looser and I had to do some more adjustments.

This is probably why Yamaha limited the range of clutch adjustments to just the lever free play. An improperly adjusted clutch cable will burn out your clutch faster and it's definitely not safe especially when shifting out of neutral.

Combined with the Seritec mod, it's now possible to adjust the friction zone beyond the clutch lever pulled all the way in. That's why it's important to test it out and tweak it. I had to adjust both ends, the lever adjusting nut as well as the crankcase adjustment by the seritec addition. As well as the clutch fully disengaging when you pull it in, it should also fully engage when the lever is all the way out.

On a note, with both mods installed, my clutch lever doesn't go back out to what used to be the fully engaged position past the free play. At regular operation, it just stops where the free play is supposed to start, but it's already fully engaged. This is because of the new angle the cable takes with the clevver. The free play zone is now more of a "dead" zone. If anyone else has notice this, tell me about because I'm curious as how it acts in different models.

Overall, it did reduce the pull effort significantly and gave me a wider range for the friction zone. Tested it out with u-turn and figure 8's and had vastly improved control with no hand cramping. It becomes more forgiving, plus I only need to release the clutch lever by an inch to get into that sweet spot for tight u turns with a slight throttle and brake control. Hill starts were much easier. If you had problems stopping and taking off on an incline or even just at stop signs, this will ease the pain. Especially for guitar players.