The cause of the intermittent clutch problem I first experienced under duress in Le Mans is still a bit of a mystery, so troubleshooting by a process of elimination would seem appropriate. The easiest and therefore first action is to replace the cable, which is old and almost certainly shot. The small 1950s motorcycle maintenance hardback I bought describes a simple but effective cable oiling technique which I decided to try prior to installation. I don’t know for sure if it needs oiling but it’s a neat, innovative process which can hardly go wrong. Something to get the confidence up.
The book suggests using a small glass bottle of oil with a cork in it, I have substituted a cut plastic bottle. The cork is drilled to the diameter of the cable sleeve and the end is inserted. This is hung up, in effect to form an oil header tank arrangement, with the cable hanging below. Oil poured into the plastic container pools above the cork and gradually finds its way into the sleeve. You can push and pull the cable itself to help it on its way.
The net effect is a super slippy, friction free cable action, lovely. Routing the new cable without having to remove the fuel tank, and the pipes to the carburettor, is quickly done by releasing the ends of the old cable, fixing one end of the new one to the opposite end of the old and pulling the pair of them through. This requires some judicious feeding and wriggling but takes a lot less time.
Apart from the new cable being a bit tight – i.e. there’s no tolerance at the lever – the action is quite different, the old one was clearly well worn. I’m a bit concerned about the lack of any slack but it all works fine, so job seemingly done. I will have a look at the clutch over the winter and replace the springs/plates as required, when I figure out how to get the chain cover off. Pathetic, I know, but this is really not my thing. I'm going to need to secure a friendly 'expert' for when I get stuck.
