My CT1 clutch pull is fairly stiff compared to most other bikes that I've compared it to, though it's not a problem to ride. I have a new cable on it, greased the pivot, the worm drive mechanism is greased and working well, and I don't have grooves in the clutch basket. It also has standard clutch springs. I think it's basically working how it should, but I wondered if anyone has used any of those easy pull gadgets that you can add on, or put on a new "easy pull" perch with different leverage.

The only reason I ask is I've been practicing more feathering the clutch, for riding maneuvers at slow speeds, and a lighter and smoother pull would be nice. From some reviews I've read of those add-on gadgets that add leverage, I have a feeling they may not hold up very long, and I'm afraid I might just be adding a fail point. But in any case, just curious if anyone here is tried any of them, or maybe I should just forget it. 

 

This is my opinion & others are welcome to disagree!!.
I had an easy pull that came on my yz490k "83 i bought from California--to NZ years ago.
I turfed it straight away & put a nice lubed new cable on & there was nothing wrong with it.
Easy pull style things get their leverage by halving the lift so twice the lever movement needed at the handlebars to get the standard amount of lift.
Ok maybe not halving the lift but!!.
I've seen lever blades with differences in lift so could try one with the nipple hole close to the pivot but its still reducing lift. I've forgotten what bike you have without going back & loosing where i am. But whatever bike, the actuator parts need well lubing if its an early model worm type.

Appreciate the reply! Yeah that's another issue, you're reducing the amount of lift if you get the little leverage device. It's the original worm on a '71 CT1 and I tried to stuff in white lithium from both sides of it, and it seems a bit smoother. It had some real thin black graphite grease inside it. I don't know if that was the from the factory, but I've never put that in it. In any case, it works well enough, so I'll just leave it alone.

This is the kind of device I was talking about, and there's others that are much cheaper.

www.revzilla.com/dirt-bike/moose-racing-easy-pull-clutch-system

Just to follow up on this: Several years ago I found a crack on my original clutch lever in the pivot hole area. It really wasn't a concern, but I ordered a new aftermarket lever anyway. The new lever looks virtually identical to the old one, but did not have the brass bushing, and the hole was not large enough to put a bushing in, but I went ahead and installed it.

I also closed up the crack gap in the old lever is as much as I could, put some Permatex liquid metal in it and sanded it. and put the old lever away.

Then several days ago I took the new lever off to re-grease it, and I noticed that my new cable had a kink on it not far from the ball. I didn't think too much of it, and put it all back together. Then today I pulled the old lever out and took the new lever off again, and compared them. What I didn't notice before was that the cable ramp on the original Yamaha lever is much deeper and smoother. The new aftermarket lever was kinking the cable, and I think that's part of the reason the clutch pull was so heavy now.

So I reinstalled the old original Yamaha lever, went for a ride, and it's much nicer. A bit easier pull, and a much smoother let off. If you zoom in you can see where the crack is near the bushing on the old lever, and in both pictures the old lever is on the left. Just something to keep in mind if you get an aftermarket lever.

imgur.com/a/HEaiULo

 

Lever on the right without bush looks like less distance from pivot point to nipple so in theory should be an easier pull but less lift which isn't good unless you have a perfect clutch. In saying that, the piece you point out kicking the cable would suddenly make it harder to pull for that last part of the movement. No winners really. Original with bush was great. Then they tried saving money I guess.

I just added another picture to the link that shows a better comparison between the two. I remember when I got the new aftermarket lever I could see there wasn't enough material to drill it out to put the bushing in. I think the way the new one was kinking the cable, it might eventually break it. I don't know if the bushing is completely necessary, but I would definitely want to machine the groove like the original one, if I ever use that lever again. I also agree that the new one looks like it has less distance between the pivot and the cable barrel, so it should be easier to pull. I think it would be if that channel was machined out.

imgur.com/a/HEaiULo

Maybe you could channel out that one lever w/cut off wheel to function similar to original. Unfortunately, this may all be rooted in the total height of the clutch pak. 

 

I fixed the new one! I made a couple of hacksaw cuts, then leaned it in to cut out the middle part, then used some mini files to smooth out a channel, and superfine sandpaper to polish it. I made the channel longer than it needs to be, but I put it back on and it really operates smoothly now. It fully disengages, no problem there, and I think the new one does give me a bit better leverage, now that that ledge is gone.

The new one is on the right in both of these pictures, and the original Yamaha lever is on the left.

imgur.com/a/HtrPRg2

Looks good!
 

Good post Tom! Now I’m going to check mine because I have several aftermarket levers.