My B5 came with what I guess you could call no clutch cable play, as measurable at the handlebar lever, anyway. It worked, and still works, fine.
I've always wondered what we mean when we talk about play - pull the lever until the gap, as shown in singhg5's photo, reaches 2-3 mm, but what exactly is supposed to happen at that point? Should that play exist before the clutch actuator arm on the engine cover begins to move? If I adjust the cable to that spec, my handlebar lever just flops freely within that measurement. Or, are we talking about 2-3 mm before the clutch actually begins to release?
My clutch doesn't disengage as soon as the engine-side arm begins to move; you've got to pull the arm forward a bit before you'll get any action at the clutch plates. So if I set the cable adjustment where the clutch return spring action just holds the handlebar lever in place without any loose play, when I pull the lever the arm begins to rotate right away, but the clutch doesn't actually begin to release until I've pulled the lever beyond that 2-3 mm gap. This is how it arrived from the dealer, and I have had virtually no trouble at all with shifting, false neutrals, etc.