G'day,

I have only just registered on this K site, on the advice of Ned, from Sydney, Australia. Excellent reading!

I have just now replaced my clutch cable (1991 K100, ex-police, 70,000Km). The handbook says that the length of the exposed inner cable at the clutch end is to be 75mm, and then to adjust the clutch operating shaft for the correct amount of free play at the clutch lever end.

My question is: why is the length of the exposed inner at the clutch end specified with such a tight tolerance? My mind tells me that the travel of the inner cable when the clutch lever is pulled in is a fixed amount, irrespective of the amount of exposed inner. As long as there is the required amount of free play (0.1") the clutch adjustment should be OK.

Any comments?

Thanx,

Rick G.

Welcome Rick, good to see you here. Yes, there is lots of tech stuff here. BTW did you solve the rattle problem you had/have?

My question is: why is the length of the exposed inner at the clutch end specified with such a tight tolerance? My mind tells me that the travel of the inner cable when the clutch lever is pulled in is a fixed amount, irrespective of the amount of exposed inner. As long as there is the required amount of free play (0.1") the clutch adjustment should be OK.

Hi There.
Regarding the exposed length, my guess is that this assures that the pushing pin at the arm is straigth on the boot and centered on the piston when the clutch is engaged so the boot´s deformation and the excentricity of the load on the piston is minimized.
Bet regards
JAP

I never questioned this dimension, but I will second your opinion about the boot's deformation.

I must admit that this DOES make sense! The length of the exposed inner cable determines the home position of the intermediate clutch actuating arm. If it was too short, the adjustment bolt at the boot would be closer to the front of the motor, and if too long, it would be further away from the front of the motor. So, it would seem that the home position of this arm would, in fact, need to be centred on the push rod/boot to ensure an evenly centred push when the clutch lever is pulled in.

Ned, the dreaded rattle...

I took the muffler heat shield off and took it for a ride, no change. Then (too much time on my hands!) I removed the three engine covers and inspected the cam chain and guides/tensioner. All looked in absolute pristine condition.

Spoke with Chris at the BM Shop in Brisbane. His experience indicated that it was extremely unlikely and that this exercise was a waste of time. He suggested that I take the alternator off and check the cush drive rubbers. All three were also in pristine condition! Bugger of a job getting it back on again.

He also suggested (not rattle orientated) that I check the drive shaft spline at the rear wheel end, clean it and re-grease it. In the process of removing the rear disc caliper, one screw holding the ABS modulator unit was completely missing, and the other was quite loose. So, maybe, that is the cause of the rattle. Time will tell, as I'm now waiting for new gaskets etc ready to re-assemble the thing.

But! the more one mucks around with these things, the more one learns about the idiosyncracies of these machines.

Cheers, Rick G.