[staib]

Well, not literally, but earlier this morning I went to pull in the clutch and it suddenly 'went' - as in all the tension went out of the lever.  I managed to pull over and stop (in gear) and assuming the cable was broken, cursed not having a spare...

But upon closer examination (as they say) I could see that the cable remained firmly attached at both ends - it just seemed to have about an inch of slack in it...

I adjusted at either end, and managed to get some clutch action back - enough to get the bike back home.  But something is not right... 

The lever only comes in now about half way, and is much harder to pull in than it should be.

Is this a 'common' thing?  Has something broken or come loose inside the clutch? Only having been a Bulleteer for a week I am probably the world's least experienced RE mechanic - but if it's a 'simple' thing, I'm up for having a go....

Thoughts?  Suggestions?  Cheers!

[fun2drum]

Not sure if it's the same thing, but my clutch actuating arm literally tore apart down in there such that the clutch  cable released from it and left me with NO clutch at about 750 miles.  I suggest that you get it to your dealer if you're close enough and let them check it out.  I'm thinking that it's possible that your actuating arm may have broken, but not enough so that the clutch cable broke totally free.  If that's the case, then it's just a matter of time before it leaves you stranded.   Anyway, if that's your problem then it's covered by the warranty and you'll be back on the road without much fuss. 

[staib]

I'm also thinking that this could be the case. Sadly the bike's out of warranty now, but a dealer near me (Richardsons) has also just suggested that this sounds like a component breakage (which they added was rare but quick to fix).

They kindly offered to interrupt their scheduled service work to fix the clutch 'while I wait' - so I'll get the bike down there next week and see what can be done. 

Thanks for the input fun2drum - I'm sorry you went through the experience too, but pleased that I'm not alone...    Cheers.

[fun2drum]

Oh, sorry you're out of warranty, but it shouldn't be a very expensive fix anyway.   It's probably rare as your dealer said, but I'll bet there are several more Electras out there with the defective actuating arm.  In mine the metal tore apart as if it was from a bad cast.  I have a feeling we're not alone, but it's hard to tell how many of us got the bad part.  The replacement part seems to be holding strong and the clutch actually feels better than it ever did with the old defective part.  Good luck and I hope that's the only problem we ever have that keeps us from riding.

[staib]

Well that's encouraging. I'm hoping to get it fixed on Tuesday morning. Others have suggested this is a partial cable breakage - but it will be interesting to find out! I'll report back, once I know for sure.

[Tiny Tim]

Staib,

if everything looks the same at the lever end, then it can only be at the clutch actuating arm end.

In the UK, they now supply a modified actuating arm which has a swivel at the cable end and overcomes the tendancy of the 5 speed box to eat clutch cables.

Ask your dealer before you travel?

REgards

TT

[staib]

Hi TT,

I opened the 'inspection panel' to peer in and saw that the clutch cable is fine, but is holding on by its finger nails... The clutch actuating arm has stretched and 'opened up' so that the hole for the cable is now a large crescent      I will be holding my breath all the way to the dealer tomorrow - luckily it is straight down an 'A road'  - so few traffic lights, or other stops to further damage the clutch mechanism.

Sounds like a strengthened and improved clutch arm might be just what is needed...

Cheers,

Nick

[fun2drum]

...The clutch actuating arm has stretched and 'opened up' so that the hole for the cable is now a large crescent...

That's exactly what I thought.  I don't know if it's a bad cast that only affected a certain run of those actuating arms, or if there's a general design problem that Royal Enfield needs to look into.  After seeing how the metal seemed to rip apart when it happened to mine, it makes me wonder.

[staib]

All is now fixed... and the bike is running great again!   But... 

Somewhat to my embarrasment (but in the spirit of caring and sharing - LOL) what I perceived as a 'stretched' actuating arm or lever (never having seen one before) was actually a good lever, that had somehow rotated towards the cable...

The dealer managed to sort out the required adjustments pretty quickly, and it now feels as good as new.  The best bit?   The dealer didn't charge a cent for his troubles - how nice was that?!

I know most of you are in the USA, but a big thank you to Simon at Richardsons, in Ripley, Surrey (UK) who provided what I can only describe as Royal customer service 

Simon commented that in his experience an actual 'breakage' (like fun2drum experienced) on an Electra is very rare, so perhaps this is not a design issue after all...

Nick

[fun2drum]

...what I perceived as a 'stretched' actuating arm or lever (never having seen one before) was actually a good lever, that had somehow rotated towards the cable...

The dealer managed to sort out the required adjustments pretty quickly, and it now feels as good as new.  The best bit?   The dealer didn't charge a cent for his troubles - how nice was that?!

I know most of you are in the USA, but a big thank you to Simon at Richardsons, in Ripley, Surrey (UK) who provided what I can only describe as Royal customer service 

Simon commented that in his experience an actual 'breakage' (like fun2drum experienced) on an Electra is very rare, so perhaps this is not a design issue after all...

Nick

I'm very glad to hear that you're back on the road and it sounds like you've got a great dealer over there.   What you found gives me a lot more comfort in the actuatiing arm's design, too.    I know there were several that broke - Somebody even posted a picture of a broken one somewhere on this forum a while back - but maybe it was just a bad cast that only affected a select few.   I was just one of the few lucky ones, I guess  . 

[scoTTy]

that had somehow rotated towards the cable

  that sounds weird..  did he have any ideas on how that happened..  Glad It was minor though

[staib]

...  did he have any ideas on how that happened...

He had earlier asked if I was in heavy traffic at the time (ie the engine/clutch had overheated), but no, I was just ambling along country lanes. He guessed it (the arm itself) had somehow been incorrectly adjusted by the previous owner. He thought it would be fine now, but said that if there were any further problems at all he could replace the arm/cable with one of those new ones that TT mentioned...

I took the bike out again for an evening ride, and all still feels perfectly fine...  and I just heard the forecast for a WARM weekend ...  yeay