Hard clutch

Had forks survived and greased swearing head bearings. Bars hung on both sides of the fairing, now after putting it all back together my clutch lever is hard to pull. 2005 non ABS.

A good place to start is to pull the clutch lever, then inspect, clean & lube the bronze bushing. The bronze bushing can wear and distort if it wasn't kept lubed.

harpo said:

Had forks survived and greased swearing head bearings. Bars hung on both sides of the fairing, now after putting it all back together my clutch lever is hard to pull. 2005 non ABS.

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Whenever I'm servicing that area, I first remove the windshield, then join the bars loosely with a piece of soft cord, drape a towel or similar over the cluster and fairing, and then use another longer length to secure the bars out of the way against the upper fairing where the shield normally sits. This technique allows more wrenching room, and has keeps the reservoirs more or less upright, reducing the chance of an air bubble.

You may need to bleed the clutch. I'd check the brakes as well.

Air bubble = soft 'n spongy. Firm/hard = mechanical issue or blocked hydraulic passage.

While it could be the slave cylinder is unable to actuate the push rod or an issue with the clutch spring/plates the only thing really fiddled with in the entire hydraulic system was the lever and master cylinder on the handlebar. If the hose going to the slave cylinder isn't pinched or blocked the next most likely place to check is the lever and pivot. The pivot and brass bushing have to be removed to check, clean & lube and should be done on a regular basis anyway so doing this makes sense as the first step in diagnosis while performing required maintenance at the same time.

Also, you might try your "compress the front assembly" differently.

Don't use the brakes!

Instead, roll the bike up to something stationary, such as a garage wall or a truck bumper, etc., and do the compression test without touching the front brakes to keep the bike from rolling away from you while you attempt the test.

Your clunk SHOULD go away, as it probably is the front rotors or calipers making the noise.

Eliminate the brakes from the test.

Thanks for the help. I found it odd that everything was fine till I put it all back together. I pumped the clutch lever several times after I got the bars bolted back with no issue with a stiff pull till I went to ride it and, that's when the clutch was so hard to pull. It disengages and engages fine. Thanks again folks.

Clutch line was pulled to tight. Took tension off line by lowering the clutch lever and BEHOLD the clutch is easy to pull.

harpo said:

Clutch line was pulled too tight. Took tension off line by lowering the clutch lever and BEHOLD the clutch is easy to pull.

Click to expand...

Good to hear it's ok, and thanks for the update.

It's always good to know such results, stops peops worrying about dreaming up all sorts of potential causes for your situation, and it adds to the knowledge-base.