Softening The Controls

[rustandoil]

Ok looking for a little help here , I am back on a trials Bike after a 25 year break from 2 wheeled transport!

I was never that good at trials riding , however I am pleased to find that my balance is still quite good, so that's a good start, keeping my targets low so that I wont be disappointed ! just hoping to have a bit of fun, however I am struggling with the controls of my 2007 Sherco, both the clutch and the throttle are both "pin sharp" I am sure this is fine if you have the reactions of a well practised rider but not for me, would a "slow action" throttle help me?

After a fair bit of messing around with the position and bite point of the clutch lever I have come to the conclusion that I need to cut 1

[feetupfun]

I was in the same boat as you a couple of years ago.

There is probably no need to modify the bike, just keep practising and the sensitivity of the controls will miraculously become exactly right as your brain adjusts. Be patient. It will happen.

Yes, a slow action throttle tube can help you adjust. You will find that modern clutches are absolutely fabulous to use once you get used to them. Same for brakes and throttle too.

I don't get what you are saying about the clutch lever. You should be able to use one (usually the index) finger with the standard lever and rotate the bar clamp wherever you want.

[rustandoil]

Thanks for the reply, I am determined to keep practising, its just a bit disheartening when you are struggling. :D

For the sake of a few

Edited August 27, 2008 by rustandoil

[b40rt]

Thanks for the reply, I am determined to keep practising, its just a bit disheartening when you are struggling. :D

For the sake of a few

[big5]

hi i put a slow action throttle on my motesa did'nt help but went down one tooth on the front sprocket and up two on the back this made a huge difference the bike is a lot softer now

[dan williams]

I know it feels odd but one of the common adjustments riders must make for trials is getting used to the levers being much more level. The reasoning is you need them accessible on steep downhills and drop offs and if they are too low you run the risk of rotating your wrists off the bar on a dropoff. Do that once and you'll be know what that front tire looks like from WAYYYY too close.

As for the "sharpness" of the clutch much of it is the fluid used in the gearbox. ATF tends to be on the grabby side. Good synthetic gear oil much mellower. One of the problems I find is the dressing of the fiber plates in the clutch pack is less then optimal. In fact on some bikes it's abysmal and the clutch action can be greatly improved by taking the plates out and de-burring the tabs on the sliding surfaces. I find this makes a world of difference on the Betas and I think Sherco uses the same Adagio plates as the Beta. On my Beta after I did the polishing of the fiber plate tabs I was able to remove two of the six clutch springs and my clutch is now super progressive as well as a very light pull. If you'd rather spend money then you can get the same effect from a set of SUREFLEX plates.

A fast throttle is a bit much especially on a crisp new bike like your Sherco. Give it about a year on the slow throttle and you'll be craving the fast throttle again but be aware that it's great 'till it's not. You may have to work a little more with the slow throttle but it also is a lot less likely to launch you across something you really would rather not fly over.

[copemech]

There are three basic lengths of AJP levers, short , med and long.

Conversley, the "shortie" levers have the longest arm to the "sweet spot" on the lever and operate more slowly.

Adjust so things start happening just off the fingers, and keep index finger on most all times, and at something like a natural tilt when standing on the bike and just resting your hands.

The factory spec is 10-40 oil, and they come with the surelex plates.

[dan williams]

The last bikes I remember coming with the Sureflex stock were the Fantics. Best clutches I've ever felt. I rode my buddy's '06 Sherco last week and I also noticed his clutch was really grabby. Put me off a bit. Motor was outstanding though so I'd like to pull his clutch apart and have a peek to see if I can help it out.

[rustandoil]

Thanks for all your replies and comments, it all helps , might look into changing the oil, that makes sense, though I wont be getting the spanners out and polishing the plates, the bike is near new so I suppose it needs a little use to help things along.

Going later today to buy some nice new protective gear more

[dan williams]

Yeah you'll notice the top guys use the least throttle on the stuff we duffers are really hammering. The big difference is confidence. They trust their bike (and reactions) much more then we do. So we tend to hit it harder then necessary with less then outstanding results.

I like your attitude though. It's all about having fun and you will get more confidence as you get more time on the bike. Of course the beauty of it is as you get better there's always bigger stuff to try.

[copemech]

Dan has done mods on the beta clutches and reports good results., including the removel of two (opposing) springs on the pressure plate.

As they are very similar and the same principals apply, this could work for you, yet I have never done it on a big bike, only a youth's 125.

It was sweet! But if the engine power is allowing any excess slippage it will burn the plates, so beware!

Another thing that comes to mind, you could even run 20-50 oil on the box to slow the grabbiness of the clutch.

Once again, never done it in a Sherco, I just run what I brung for the most part, yet I have run the ATF(light oils), and it does seem to make the clutch a bit too snappy for me. All per your taste I think!

Edited August 31, 2008 by copemech

[rustandoil]

Unfortunately I did not get to ride as much as I had hoped for this weekend , but did have a little go when a friend came round, he rides various 'bikes, interestingly he too found the clutch on my Sherco difficult to use, that's good then, not just me

Dan you mention "a good quality synthetic gear oil" any particular recommendation's? spec?

Thanks.

[dan williams]

I currently use Spectro "Golden Gear" but just about any good oil will be sufficient. I've also used mobil1 10W30 motor oil in the Beta but Betas shift kinda notchy (sp?) anyway so it's tough to see much difference and since I smoothed the tabs on my fiber plates the clutch really doesn't seem to care what I put in as long as it's not ATF. I tried ATF years ago and I couldn't ride the bike at all. Most bikes transmissions will work fine with any good oil with the possible exception of GasGas because of the radical clutch design. One thing I did notice when I used Mobil1 is that it didn't emulsify like other oils when a little water got in the gearbox. Always found that interesting. Perhaps because it was a pure synthetic.

Edited September 1, 2008 by Dan Williams

[rustandoil]

Thanks Dan

I am going to give this a try

[rustandoil]

Ok, went to the local garage looking for oil, no luck, went to a bigger store that's were the confusion set in the only fully synthetic oil I could see was Mobil 1 this is a 0w 40 spec engine oil, so the question is would this be Ok in the gearbox of the Sherco.

I have found a fully synthetic gear oil designed for use in Land Rover (another passion) gearboxes, I have yet to find the spec of this , unfortunately only available "on line" and very expensive.